O P Singh takes charge as DG of CISF

IPS officer O P Singh today took over as the new Director General of CISF, a paramilitary force tasked to secure vital civil airports, and nuclear and aerospace installations in the country.
Singh, a 1983-batch officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre, who was serving as the Director General of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), was appointed to head the 1.48 lakh-strong force after an order by the Appointments Committee of Cabinet, headed by the Prime Minister on September 23.
His tenure is till January 2020. On his arrival at the CISF headquarters here, he was accorded a guard of honour after which senior officers briefed him.

The government has carried out a comprehensive high-level security audit of civil airports in the country and has underlined that all these facilities need to be secured by the Central Industrial Security Force.
Singh, the only DG-rank officer in the present lot to have been decorated with the President's Police Medal for Gallantry, has been credited with initiating some of the best standard operating procedures in the NDRF and having led his men on the ground during the massive Nepal earthquake rescue and relief operations last year.
He had earlier served in the SPG, CRPF and CISF, and is an alumnus of the National Defence College in the national capital and holds an MBA in disaster management.

R K Pachnanda, a 1983-batch IPS officer, took over as the new DG of NDRF, a charge demitted by Singh.
CISF was tasked with airports security in the aftermath of the Kandahar hijack in 1999.
Apart from securing airports and other important installations, the CISF also secures a host of VVIPs along with providing armed security to the Delhi Metro network, seaports, power plants and sensitive government buildings.