No extension of Natgrid CEO Raman

Days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi assumed office, the government has decided not to give an extension to National Intelligence Grid (Natgrid) CEO Raghu Raman though the previous UPA dispensation was in favour of renewing his contract.

Home Ministry officials said they were looking for Raman’s replacement after it was decided against giving the contract to him as the head of Natgrid, an intelligence-gathering mechanism set up to track terror suspects. The Ministry is looking for a new professional to appoint as the new CEO of Natgrid. Raman’s tenure had ended on May 31.

The Natgrid was the UPA government’s biggest showpiece internal security project that was set up after the Mumbai terror attack in November 2008. It was part of the overhaul of the security and intelligence apparatus of the country that was mooted by then Home minister P Chidambaram.

While the clearance for the Rs 3,400 crore project from the Cabinet Committee on Security came in 2011, execution of the project slowed down after the exit of Chidambaram from the Ministry in July 2012. There are around 70 personnel, drawn from both the government and private sectors, in Natgrid.