India, June 25 -- The Centre has appointed 1993-batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Mahesh Dixit as the next Intelligence Bureau (IB) chief, people familiar with the development said on Thursday.

The IB is the country's premier domestic spy agency that collects intelligence on various issues, including terrorism, conflicts in different regions, threat assessments related to government policies, counter-intelligence, and assistance to other agencies and police forces.

An officer of the Andhra Pradesh cadre, Dixit is currently a special director in the IB and was overseeing important operations in various sectors.

"The appointments committee of the cabinet has approved the appointment of Mahesh Dixit, IPS (AP:93), special director,...