The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has cleared the appointment of two senior Indian Police Service (IPS) officers to lead key law enforcement institutions under the Ministry of Home Affairs. Alok Kumar Mittal, a 1993-batch IPS officer of the Haryana cadre, has been appointed Director General of the Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D) until his superannuation in June 2029. In a separate order, Sujeet Pandey, a 1994-batch IPS officer of the Uttar Pradesh cadre, has been appointed Director of the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy (SVPNPA) in Hyderabad until July 2028.
Alok Kumar Mittal Appointed DG of BPR&D
Alok Kumar Mittal has been appointed to the post of Director General of BPR&D at Level 16 in the pay matrix, the highest grade for civil servants in India. He will assume charge from the date of joining and will serve until June 30, 2029, the date of his superannuation, or until further orders. The appointment was processed through the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) and approved by the ACC.
Mittal is a distinguished officer with over three decades of service. He holds a B.Tech in Mechanical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Roorkee, a Master’s degree in Police Management from Osmania University, Hyderabad, a postgraduate diploma in Cyber Laws from NALSAR University of Law, and an LLB from Maharshi Dayanand University, Rohtak.
Career Highlights
Mittal has served in several key positions across the country. He was Commissioner of Police, Gurgaon, where he is credited with launching the Cyber Safe Campaign to educate students and parents about cyber security. He also served as Superintendent of Police (SP) in CBI’s Economic Offences Wing and Cyber Crime Cell, as Inspector General at the National Investigation Agency (NIA), as Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) of the Anti-Corruption Bureau in Haryana, and most recently as Director General of State Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau, Haryana.
He has been recognised with the Indian Police Medal for Meritorious Service (2009) and the President’s Police Medal for Distinguished Service (2016) for his contributions to policing.
What Is BPR&D?
The Bureau of Police Research and Development was established on August 28, 1970, under the Ministry of Home Affairs, with the primary objective of modernising police forces in India. It is headquartered in New Delhi and serves as the country’s principal think tank for police reforms.
BPR&D currently operates through four main divisions:
| Division | Function |
|---|---|
| Research | Studies crime trends, police procedures, and policy challenges |
| Development | Drives modernisation through technology and forensic tools |
| Training | Standardises training curricula for police forces across states |
| Correctional Administration | Works on prison reforms and correctional services |
In 2008, the National Police Mission was added as an additional division. BPR&D also oversees outlying units such as the Central Detective Training Schools (CDTS) and the Central Academy for Police Training (CAPT) in Bhopal, which serves as a Centre of Excellence for Police and Correctional Administration.
Sujeet Pandey Takes Over as SVPNPA Director
Sujeet Pandey, a 1994-batch IPS officer of the Uttar Pradesh cadre, has been appointed Director of the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy (SVPNPA), Hyderabad, succeeding Amit Garg. Pandey will serve in this role at Level 16 in the pay matrix until July 31, 2028, the date of his superannuation. Prior to this appointment, he was serving as Director General of Fire Services in Uttar Pradesh.
Pandey was born on August 1, 1968, in Patna, Bihar. He holds a postgraduate degree in History and joined the Indian Police Service on September 4, 1994, as a Regular Recruit. His father, Narendra Kumar Pandey, was an officer of the Indian Administrative Service in the Bihar cadre.
Career Highlights
Pandey has had a wide-ranging career spanning more than three decades. He served as Superintendent of Police across several important districts in Uttar Pradesh, including Ghazipur, Fatehpur, Mainpuri, Mau, Moradabad, Varanasi, and Bulandshahr. In 1998, he handled urban policing as SP City, Lucknow.
He was appointed as the first Police Commissioner of Lucknow in January 2020, overseeing the city’s transition to the commissionerate system. During his tenure, he implemented reforms in emergency response and law and order management, including during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Pandey has also served at the central level. He was Director of the CBI Academy in Ghaziabad, where he led initiatives to modernise training programmes and strengthen forensic science education. With the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), he handled several high-profile investigations, including the Mumbai blast case and a high-profile murder case of a British teenager in Goa. He also served with the United Nations Peacekeeping Mission in Kosovo.
He has been decorated with the Police Medal for Meritorious Service (2010) and the President’s Police Medal (2024), along with multiple commendation discs from the Director General of Police.
What Is SVPNPA?
The Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy is India’s premier training institution for officers of the Indian Police Service (IPS). It was originally established as the Central Police Training College on September 15, 1948, in Mount Abu, Rajasthan, shortly after India’s independence. The institution was renamed the National Police Academy in 1967 and later named after Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel in 1974 in recognition of his role in creating the All India Services.
In 1975, the academy moved to its permanent campus in Shivrampalli, Hyderabad, spread across 277 acres. The academy was awarded the President’s Colours on its 40th anniversary on September 15, 1988.
The academy is headed by a Director, who is an IPS officer of the rank of Director General of Police (DGP). It provides foundational training to IPS probationers, Mid-Career Training Programmes (MCTPs) for senior officers, and specialised courses for officers from Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) and state police organisations. The curriculum includes criminal law, forensic science, cyber security, weapon handling, physical fitness, and field craft.
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet: Who Decides?
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) is a high-level committee of the Government of India responsible for making appointments to the most senior positions in the central government and public sector undertakings. It was established in 1950 and is chaired by the Prime Minister of India, with the Minister of Home Affairs as the other core member.
The ACC is one of the eight Cabinet Committees of India. It functions under the Government of India (Transaction of Business) Rules, 1961, which are framed under Article 77 of the Constitution. Its secretariat is the Establishment Officer’s Division of the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT).
Key categories of appointments that require ACC approval include:
| Category | Examples |
|---|---|
| Top Civil Service Posts | Cabinet Secretary, Secretaries to Government of India |
| Security and Intelligence | National Security Advisor, Director of Intelligence Bureau, Chiefs of Army, Navy, Air Force |
| Police Leadership | Directors General of BPR&D, NCRB, SVPNPA, NIA |
| Regulatory Bodies | Governor of RBI, Chairperson of SEBI, CVC, CIC |
| PSU Leadership | Chairpersons and Managing Directors of public sector undertakings |
Key Takeaways
- The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) approved Alok Kumar Mittal as Director General of BPR&D and Sujeet Pandey as Director of SVPNPA, two top law enforcement leadership positions.
- Alok Kumar Mittal is a 1993-batch IPS officer of the Haryana cadre, with a B.Tech from IIT Roorkee and over 30 years of service. He will serve as DG of BPR&D until June 30, 2029.
- The Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D) was established on August 28, 1970, under the Ministry of Home Affairs, and is headquartered in New Delhi. It serves as India’s think tank for police reforms.
- Sujeet Pandey is a 1994-batch IPS officer of the Uttar Pradesh cadre. He was the first Police Commissioner of Lucknow and has served in CBI and the UN Peacekeeping Mission in Kosovo. He will lead SVPNPA until July 31, 2028.
- The Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy (SVPNPA) was established on September 15, 1948, in Mount Abu, Rajasthan, and later shifted to its permanent campus in Hyderabad in 1975.
- The ACC is chaired by the Prime Minister with the Home Minister as member, and is constituted under the Government of India (Transaction of Business) Rules, 1961, framed under Article 77 of the Constitution. It is an extra-constitutional body.
