Vivekananda International Foundation
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| Formation | 2009 |
|---|---|
| Founder | Ajit Doval |
| Type | Public policy think tank |
| Headquarters | 3,San Martin Marg, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi - 110021 |
| Location | |
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Director
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Gen. N.C.Vij |
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Parent organization
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Vivekananda Kendra |
| Website | www |
The Vivekananda International Foundation (VIF) is an Indian public policy think-tank affiliated to the Vivekananda Kendra, which is in turn a charitable organisation affiliated to the Hindu nationalist volunteer organisation Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). Along with the India Foundation, it is considered to be a right-wing think-tank closely aligned with the Prime Minister Modi led Government of India.
The Vivekananda International Foundation describes itself as an "independent, non-partisan institution that promotes quality research and in-depth studies." However it is affiliated to the Vivekananda Kendra, a charitable organisation set up by Eknath Ranade, full-time missionary and former General Secretary of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). The Vivekananda Kendra is said to be one of fifteen important front organisations of the RSS, which derives its income from the Vivekananda Rock Memorial, also set up by Ranade.
The Foundation was established in December 2009, at a site in New Delhi's Chanakyapuri allotted by the P. V. Narasimha Rao government in 1993. Ajit Doval, who retired as the director of the Intelligence Bureau in 2005, devoted his energies into building the organisation and became its founder Director. The Foundation made news in 2011-2012 when it was said to be instrumental in bringing together Anna Hazare, Arvind Kejriwal and Kiran Bedi, along with Baba Ramdev, to form the 'Team Anna'. In 2014, its director Ajit Doval was appointed by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi as India's National Security Advisor. The Prime Minister's Principal Secretary Nripendra Misra and the Additional Principal Secretary P. K. Mishra were also recruited from the Foundation's staff. The Prime Minister Modi is said to have been following the Foundation for some time and impressed with its work.
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