Ajit Kumar Doval was born on 20 January 1945 in the village of Ghiri Banelsyun in Pauri Garhwal district of Uttarakhand.Ajit’s father, Major G.N.Doval, was in the Indian Army, which likely influenced Ajit’s early desire to serve the country.He was educated at King George’s Royal Indian Military School, Ajmer (now known as Ajmer Military School). He obtained a post graduate degree in Economics from Agra University in the year 1967 standing first in the class.

In 1968, Ajit cleared the civil services examination and joined the Indian Police Service and was allotted the Kerala cadre.

But his real interest was in the art of espionage.For years he worked under cover for the Intelligence Bureau (IB) in Pakistan and then spent six years at the Indian High Commission in Islamabad.This gave him hands-on experience in covert operations and planning, which would become the cornerstone of his career.

Ajit had for years been known as one of India’s best intelligence officers.

He was a key player in Operation Black Thunder in 1988 to dislodge militants from the Golden Temple.For this he was awarded the Kirti Chakra, India’s second highest peace time gallantry award.He also took part in the 1999 hijacking of Indian Airlines flight IC-814, the rescue of Indian citizens in Iraq, counter-insurgency operations in Punjab, Mizoram and Jammu and Kashmir, and the 1991 rescue of a kidnapped Romanian diplomat.

In 2004, Ajit was appointed Director of the Intelligence Bureau, a position he held until January 2005.
Instead of retiring, he started the Vivekananda International Foundation (VIF) in December 2009, a think tank based in New Delhi focused on strategy and security.He also wrote a lot about national security and gave talks at places like the IISS in London and the National Defence College in New Delhi.

Since May 30, 2014, Ajit has been India’s fifth and current National Security Advisor under Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
He is the longest-serving NSA in India’s history and has been in his third term. In 2019, he became the first NSA to have the rank of a Cabinet Minister. As NSA, he has supervised important security operations, including the 2016 cross-border surgical strikes, the 2019 Balakot airstrike, efforts to resolve the Doklam standoff, and the 2025 Operation Sindoor.His career has also inspired stories in Indian movies and TV shows.

Ajit has never disclosed his net worth to the public, and there are no official reports on his personal finances in 2026.

Unlike elected officials, who must file their financial information, he has made no public statements about his wealth. Online estimates are all over the place, with some claiming a modest amount of ₹20–30 crore (around $3–4 million), based on his government salary, IPS pension and reported property, while others claim much larger sums without clear evidence.He has earned most of his income from government jobs, including salary from the NSA (which is equal to the salary of a Union Cabinet Minister), pension from IPS and remuneration from his assignment with the VIF.His net worth has not been confirmed and any figure is probably just a guess.