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GeminiBiography
Vappala Balachandran is an Indian national security intelligence specialist and a former Indian police officer who served 17 years in the state of Maharashtra, India and 19 years in foreign intelligence service. He retired as Special Secretary, Cabinet Secretariat, Government of India in 1995 and is based in Mumbai.
Early life
Balachandran originally hails from the state of Kerala, Southern India. His father, K.P. Kutti Krishna Menon, was an officer in the Myanmar government and he lived in Yangon till 1940. During the War, his father stayed back in Myanmar to serve the government.
Balachandran is the grand nephew of the late V.P. Menon of "Vappala" Theravad, Ottapalam, Kerala.
Achievements
In 1993 and 1994,Vappala Balachandran led the Indian interagency groups for annual dialogue with U.S agencies on terrorism.
Between 2007 and 2009 he wrote several papers for the Henry L. Stimson Center, Washington, D.C. for their "Regional Voices" project. His paper "Insurgency, terrorism, and transnational trends" was included as Chapter 6 in their publication Transnational Trends. Balachandran was a member of the two-man "High Level Committee" appointed by the Government of Maharashtra to inquire into the police response during the Mumbai November 26, 2008 terror attacks.
In November 2009 he was invited by the Governor of Hawaii to be the key note speaker at the 2009 Asia Pacific Homeland Security Summit at Honolulu and address senior police officials in Singapore on urban security and terrorism. Balachandran spoke at the Pluscarden Programme conference on "The Future of International Cooperation in Countering Violent Extremism" at St Antony's College, Oxford University in October 2010 and in 2013 on "India’s Politics of Free Expression-A Law & Order perspective" under the "Marchioness of Winchester Lectures 2013". The interview was aired by the BBC radio along with three other participants.
Vappala Balachandran is also an active columnist who writes for The Sunday Guardian and The Asian Age newspapers.
Awards
In 1975, Balachandran was awarded the Indian Police Medal for meritorious service and in 1986, The President's Police medal for meritorious service.
Career
1961-1965: Assistant Superintendent of Police, Nashik
1965-1969: Superintendent of Police, Sangli district
1969-1972: Superintendent of Police, Yeotmal district
1972-1973: Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zones-Law & order), Bombay city
1973-1976: Deputy Commissioner of Police (Special Branch, C.I.D), Bombay city
1976: Cabinet Secretariat, Government of India
June 1995: Retired as Special Secretary, Cabinet Secretariat, Government of India
Book
His book National Security and Intelligence Management-A New Paradigm was released in March 2014.