K C Verma, currently advisor on security issues to Home Minister P Chidambaram [Images], is likely to be appointed as the next chief of the Research and Analysis Wing, also known as Secretary (R).

The development comes as a surprise, as it was earlier believed that the competition to head India's external intelligence agency after its current chief Ashok Chaturvedi retires on January 30 was between P V Kumar, the senior-most officer of the organisation after Chaturvedi, and Sanjeev Tripathi, another senior officer.

K C Verma is a 1971 batch IPS officer. Throughout his career, Verma served the country's internal intelligence agency (Intelligence Bureau). However, he is also a heart patient and not keeping perfect health.