The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved Saran's appointment as the deputy NSA for a period of two years
Saran is currently India’s Ambassador to Russia.
Former chief of the Intelligence Bureau, Ajit Doval is the National Security Adviser (NSA).
The NSA is the chief executive of National Security Council (NSC) and primary advisor to Prime Minister on national and international security issues and oversees strategic issues.
It is NSA to whom intelligence agencies such as Research & Analysis Wing (RAW) and Intelligence Bureau (IB) report, rather than directly to Prime Minister.
The post of NSA was created in November 1998 by Atal Bihari Vajpayee Government. Brajesh Mishra was first to be appointed NSA of India.
Since the inception of the post, all NSAs appointed belong to Indian Foreign Service (IFS) except M K Narayanan and incumbent, Ajit Doval, who belong to Indian Police Service.