Alok Joshi was chief of Research and Analysis Wing, the external intelligence agency of India.
[1] Hailing from Lucknow, he graduated from Jawaharlal Nehru University, (JNU), completed his postgraduation in political science[2] and then joined the Indian Police Service (IPS), Haryana cadre in 1976.
[4] Joshi and Amitabh Mathur of 1977 batch of Manipur and Tripura, IPS cadre were the main contendants for the top spot.
Mathur had joined R&AW in 1981 and switched from IPS to RAS cadre.
However the Prime Minister-headed Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (India) chose Joshi over Mathur because of his seniority.