| Order: | Secretary of the Research & Analysis Wing |
| Predecessor: | Sanjeev Tripathi |
| Successor: | Rajinder Khanna |
| Nationality: | Indian |
| Term Start: | 30 December 2012 |
| Term End: | 31 December 2014 |
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.[3] He rose through his ranks and later in 2005 became the joint director of Intelligence Bureau, the internal intelligence agency of India. In 2010 he was appointed as a Special Secretary at R&AW. He took over as Secretary (R) on 30 December 2012.[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.[5]