Former NSG Chief Kodagu-Born M.A. Ganapathy Takes Charge of Security at GMR Airports

A 1986-batch IPS officer from the Uttarakhand cadre, Ganapathy has built a distinguished career. (Photo: @nsgblackcats/X)

New Delhi: Kodagu-born former police chief M. A. Ganapathy, a veteran of India’s internal security and aviation safety apparatus, has taken charge as Executive Director (Security & Vigilance) at GMR Airports. The induction of the retired IPS officer, known for his deep expertise in counter-terrorism and civil aviation security, is being viewed as a major strengthening of the group’s security and vigilance framework.

According to Indian Masterminds report, a 1986-batch officer of the Uttarakhand cadre, Mr. Ganapathy has built a reputation over nearly four decades as one of the country’s leading professionals in aviation and airport security. He has earlier held several sensitive leadership positions, including heading the National Security Guard, serving as Director General of the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security, and functioning as Additional Director General and Special Director General of the Airport Sector in the Central Industrial Security Force. His work across these assignments involved extensive engagement with anti-hijacking preparedness and counter-terror response mechanisms.

Mr. Ganapathy concluded his government service as Director General of the National Security Guard, a post he held from March 2021 until his superannuation in February 2024. During this period, he oversaw India’s elite force responsible for handling high-risk terror incidents, hostage crises and aircraft hijacking threats, steering it through a demanding national security environment.

Earlier, as the head of the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security, he was responsible for overseeing and upgrading India’s airport security architecture. His tenure in the CISF’s Airport Sector between 2017 and 2020 was marked by a focus on deploying advanced security technologies, optimising manpower deployment and enhancing the skills of CISF personnel through engagement with international aviation security agencies.

Born on March 1, 1964, in Kodagu district of Karnataka, Mr. Ganapathy completed his schooling locally before graduating in Economics from Madras Christian College in 1984. He began his policing career in Uttar Pradesh, serving in several districts between 1987 and 1999. Those formative years exposed him to diverse challenges ranging from communal disturbances and urban law-and-order issues to investigations of serious crimes, anti-dacoity drives and tackling left-wing extremism—experience that later shaped his contributions to national security and aviation safety.

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