Amit Kumar Appointed OSD in SPG, Set to Take Over as Director in 2027

Amit Kumar, Special Director General of the CRPF, has been appointed Officer on Special Duty in the Special Protection Group (SPG), positioning him to take over as Director of the SPG when the incumbent, Alok Sharma, completes his tenure on July 31, 2027.

The SPG is the elite central agency responsible for providing security to the Prime Minister and designated protectees, and its Director's post is among the most sensitive appointments in the central security architecture, reporting on protection protocols to the highest levels of government.

Kumar is a 1994-batch IPS officer of the Bihar cadre who has risen through the paramilitary ranks to Special Director General in the CRPF, the force responsible for internal security duties ranging from counter-insurgency operations to VIP security and election deployment.

The OSD posting functions as a transition period, allowing Kumar to shadow the outgoing Director and familiarise himself with SPG protocols before formally assuming charge.

The appointment continues a pattern of drawing SPG leadership from senior IPS officers with paramilitary command experience, given the operational overlap between counter-insurgency deployment and close-protection detail management.

Kumar will take charge of an agency whose responsibilities have expanded in scope in recent years with additional protectee categories and evolving threat assessments, requiring coordination across the CRPF, Intelligence Bureau and state police forces.

The handover to Kumar is scheduled for July 31, 2027, as per the current order.