spymaster
A spymaster is a leader of a group of spies or an intelligence agency
An intelligence agency is a government agency responsible for the collection, Intelligence analysis, analysis, and exploitation of information in support of law enforce ...
and retired IPS officer of 1976 batch of Haryana cadre who previously served as the chief of
Research and Analysis Wing
The Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) is the foreign intelligence agency of the Republic of India. The agency's primary function is gathering foreign intelligence, counter-terrorism, counter-proliferation, advising Indian policymakers, and a ...
, the external intelligence agency of
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
Lucknow
Lucknow () is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and the largest city of the List of state and union territory capitals in India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is the administrative headquarters of the epon ...
, he graduated from
Jawaharlal Nehru University
Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU; ISO: Javāharalāla Neharū Viśvavidyālaya) is a public research university located in Delhi, India. It was established in 1969 and named after Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first Prime Minister. The university ...
, (JNU), completed his postgraduation in political science and then joined the
Indian Police Service
The Indian Police Service (IPS) is a civil service under the All India Services. It replaced the Indian Imperial Police in 1948, a year after India became Partition of India, independent from the British Empire.
Along with the Indian Admini ...
(IPS),
Haryana
Haryana () is a States and union territories of India, state located in the northern part of India. It was carved out after the linguistic reorganisation of Punjab, India, Punjab on 1 November 1966. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with les ...
cadre in 1976. He rose through his ranks and later in 2005 became the joint director of Intelligence Bureau, the internal intelligence agency of India.
In 2010 he was appointed as a Special Secretary at R&AW. He took over as secretary R&AW on 30 December 2012. Joshi and Amitabh Mathur of 1977 batch of Manipur and Tripura, IPS cadre were the main contendants for the top spot. Mathur had joined R&AW in 1981 and switched from IPS to RAS cadre. However the Prime Minister-headed
Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (India)
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) is a high-level committee within the Government of India responsible for appointing senior officials to key positions in the central government and public sector undertakings.Soon: CBI, IB, R&AW to get new chiefs /ref>