Nina Singh becomes first woman CISF chief

Nina Singh, an Indian Police Service (IPS) officer of the 1989 batch, Rajasthan Cadre, assumed charge as Director General, Central Industrial Security Force, at CISF Headquarters, New Delhi, on Friday.

“Singh is the first woman officer to hold this post in the CISF. Prior to her appointment as DG, CISF, she was serving as Special Director General, CISF,” as per a press release from the CISF.

She has a Master of Arts degree from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi, and a Master’s in Public Administration from Harvard University, USA. She is also trained in the evaluation of social programs at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA. She co-authored research papers with Nobel Prize winners in economics, Prof Abhijit Banerjee and Prof. Esther Duflo, both from MIT, USA, on evidence-based police reform initiatives.

“Singh is a trailblazer, holding the distinction of being the first woman IPS officer of Rajasthan. With a distinguished career spanning 34 years, she has worked on various assignments across the state of Rajasthan and acquired in-depth knowledge of the police administration, training, criminal investigation and maintenance of public order,” as per the release.

She was the Member-Secretary of the Rajasthan State Commission for Women, an autonomous and quasi-judicial institution that acts as a watchdog to protect the rights and interests of women. She has also served as Joint Director in CBI, New Delhi, where she supervised many high-profile crime cases having national and international ramifications, in addition to cases pertaining to anti-corruption, economic offences, bank frauds and sports integrity.

“Singh is the recipient of the President’s Police Medal for Meritorious Service in 2005, the President’s Police Medal for Distinguished Service in 2014 and the ‘Ati Utkrisht Seva Medal’ in 2020. She has also been honoured with the Indira Gandhi Priyadarshini Award for outstanding contributions and the Nari Shakti Samman,” the release stated.
Furthermore, she earned the title of “Champion of Evidence-Based Policing” from the Cambridge University Police Executive Programme, U.K.

“Upon her arrival at the CISF Headquarters in New Delhi, Nina Singh, IPS, DG CISF, was received by Piyush Anand, ADG (North) and other senior officers of the CISF. A ceremonial guard of honour was presented to her,” as per the release.
Interacting with the senior officers of CISF, Nina Singh has reiterated her priorities for enhancing professionalism and welfare measures in CISF.

“Singh is the 30th Director General of the Central Industrial Security Force, bringing a wealth of experience and expertise to lead the force into its next chapter of service and excellence,” as per the release.