A. Radha Krishna Kinni has been appointed the head of the Special Protection Group (SPG), adding to the list of Bihar-cadre IPS officers in key positions in central organisations.

Kinni, a 1981-batch Bihar cadre officer, has been appointed secretary (security) in the Union cabinet secretariat. He will be the administrative in-charge of the SPG.

Kinni, with roots in Karnataka, will assume charge from his batchmate Malay Kumar Sinha (Uttar Pradesh cadre), who retires on September 30. Born in 1957, Kinni holds the post of director-general in the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). He had proceeded on central deputation from Bihar in 2014 and will retire on November 30, 2017.

Hailing Kinni's elevation, a senior Bihar-cadre IPS officer said: "The secretary (security) is the SPG's administrative head and monitors security for the Prime Minister, former Prime Minister and members of their immediate families in India and abroad."

Kinni will be the nodal authority on policies on procurement of jammers by state governments and central police forces. All operational proposals of the SPG are approved and processed by the secretary (security), said the officer, preferring anonymity.

Kinni is among the many Bihar-cadre IPS officer, who hold top positions in central police organisations. Krishna Choudhary, a 1979-batch Bihar cadre IPS officer, is posted as director-general of Indo-Tibetan Border Police. Another Bihar-cadre IPS officer, Anil K. Sinha (1979 batch), is the director of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Anil had replaced Ranjit Sinha, a Bihar-cadre officer, who superannuated in December 2014.

Recently, R.R. Verma of the 1978 batch retired from the post of NCRB director-general. A.S. Rajan (1987 batch) is posted as joint director in the Intelligence Bureau (IB).

Praveen Vashishtha, a 1991-batch IPS officer, recently joined as joint secretary in the Union home ministry. Vashishtha has been assigned to look after Left-wing Extremism division, which is a major security challenge. R.S. Bhatti (1990 batch) IPS officer is posted as CBI joint director.

R.K. Mishra (1986 batch) is looking after the affairs in Central Reserve Police Force as additional director-general. Sudhir Pratap Singh of Saran district has been made director-general in the National Security Guard (NSG), a counter-terrorism force assigned to deal with terrorists and militant outfits. The 1983-batch IPS officer of Rajasthan cadre is Union minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy's brother.

Moreover, O.P. Singh, an IPS officer of Uttar Pradesh-cadre (1983 batch) but with roots in Bihar, has been appointed as chief of Central Industrial Security Force, which provides security to important installations, including airports.

Sources in the home department said the total strength of IPS officers in Bihar is 231 of which 33 officers serve central organisations. Over a dozen officers have submitted their proposals to move to central deputation. "At least six more officers can be accommodated at the Centre," said a senior home department officer.