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R. N. Ravi Biography: Age, Career, Family and More

F4U Editorial Desk • Updated October 1, 2026 • 6 min read

Quick Info

Date of birth3 April 1952

Age73 Years

BirthplacePatna, Bihar, India

ProfessionRetired Civil Servant (IPS Officer)

NationalityIndian

Marital statusMarried

SpouseLakshmi Ravi

FamilyChildren - Rahul Ravi; Shefali Ravi; Shamika Ravi (economist)

R. N. Ravi Biography

Ravindera Narayan Ravi is a retired Indian Police Service officer who moved from a long security and intelligence career into constitutional office. He has

Early life and background
Ravindera Narayan Ravi was born on 3 April 1952 in Patna, Bihar. He completed postgraduate studies in physics in 1974 and grew up in a middle-class family in Patna. After a period working as a journalist in New Delhi, he sat for the civil services examination and joined the Indian Police Service in the 1976 batch of the Kerala cadre. He received his formal IPS training at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy.

Career
Ravi’s early career was spent in varied policing and investigative roles. He served in the state of Kerala in several capacities and worked in other parts of the country, including Jammu & Kashmir. While attached to the Central Bureau of Investigation, he led anti-corruption operations targeting organized criminal networks. Later postings with the Intelligence Bureau and in the Ministry of Home Affairs involved work on insurgency-affected regions, particularly in the Northeast and in Maoist-affected areas. He was frequently noted for his knowledge of the Northeast.

Before his retirement in 2012, Ravi served as director of the Intelligence Bureau. After leaving active service he wrote columns for national newspapers and in 2014 was appointed chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee, coordinating intelligence agencies and advising on national security matters. Also in 2014 he was appointed as the central government’s interlocutor for talks related to the Naga peace process.

Ravi continued to play roles in national security after his bureaucratic career. He was named Deputy National Security Advisor on 5 October 2018. On 20 July 2019 he was nominated as Governor of Nagaland and took office on 1 August 2019. He also held additional charge as Governor of Meghalaya from 18 December 2019 to 26 January 2020 while continuing to serve as interlocutor for the Naga peace talks. In 2020 he had a public fallout with the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isak-Muivah faction) and resigned from his role as interlocutor in 2021.

In September 2021 Ravi was transferred to Tamil Nadu and assumed the governorship of that state on 18 September 2021. During his tenure he has exercised the constitutional powers of the office on a number of occasions, including decisions on legislative bills presented by the state assembly and actions involving the state’s Council of Ministers. He has also served as Chancellor of Manonmaniam Sundaranar University in Tamil Nadu.

Public profile
Ravi’s appointments to high constitutional office have drawn public and political attention. His transfer from Nagaland to Tamil Nadu prompted criticism from some regional political parties, and several of his decisions as governor—such as referrals and rejections of bills and administrative interventions—have been publicly debated. Media and political reactions have included disputes with state governments, exchanges with journalists in Kohima during his Nagaland tenure, and court petitions challenging aspects of his role.

Controversies and notable incidents
During his time as Governor of Tamil Nadu, Ravi has been involved in legal and political controversies. A petition filed in the Madras High Court in 2022 sought to challenge his holding of an additional post while serving as governor; the court declined to issue notice on grounds relating to constitutional immunity for the governor’s office. In 2023 he removed a minister from the Council of Ministers following law-enforcement action; the chief minister later disputed the governor’s authority to take that step. Ravi has also been criticized for administrative interventions in the state legislature: between September 2021 and April 2022 he reportedly returned or delayed assent to a number of bills before the assembly and later gave assent to a group of pending measures. In January 2025 he left the legislative assembly citing concerns about how the national anthem and the state anthem were presented before proceedings.

Personal life
Ravi is married to Lakshmi Ravi. The couple have children: a son, Rahul Ravi, and daughters Shefali Ravi and Shamika Ravi, the latter noted as an economist. He is described as approximately 170 cm tall (about 5 feet 7 inches), with black eyes and salt-and-pepper hair. His nationality is Indian and his hometown is listed as Patna, Bihar.

Latest updates
In April 2025, Ravi attracted attention after participating in an event in Madurai where he invited students to chant a religious slogan; this led to calls from some groups for his removal from office on constitutional grounds. In January 2025 he left a Tamil Nadu assembly session citing concerns about the playing of anthems prior to proceedings. These incidents reflect the continuing public and political scrutiny of his conduct as a constitutional officeholder.
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Recent Work

Governor of Tamil Nadu

Assumed office as the 15th Governor of Tamil Nadu on 18 September 2021; involved in decisions on state legislation and administration.

2021
Governor of Nagaland

Nominated as Governor of Nagaland on 20 July 2019 and assumed office on 1 August 2019; also held additional charge as Meghalaya governor for a brief period.

2019
Deputy National Security Advisor

Appointed Deputy National Security Advisor of India on 5 October 2018.

2018
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Career Highlights

  1. Joined Indian Police Service, 1976 batch (Kerala cadre)
  2. Director of the Intelligence Bureau before retirement in 2012
  3. Chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee, 2014
  4. Interlocutor for Naga peace talks, 2014–2021
  5. Appointed Deputy National Security Advisor, 2018
  6. Governor of Nagaland (2019) and Tamil Nadu (2021)
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Frequently Asked Questions

When was R. N. Ravi born?

3 April 1952

What is R. N. Ravi known for?

Retired Civil Servant (IPS Officer)

What is R. N. Ravi’s marital status?

Married

Who is R. N. Ravi married to?

Lakshmi Ravi