Prakash Singh has been a very distinguished police officer of India with an excellent track record for combating domestic and international terrorism in the turbulent parts of the country. He served – and occupied the highest positions – in the most volatile areas: Nagaland, Assam, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Kashmir. He dealt with the insurgents in Nagaland, tackled the ULFA (United Liberation Front of Assam) rebels in Assam, fought against terrorism in Punjab and contributed to combating insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir.

Singh was Police Chief of two of the largest states of India – Uttar Pradesh and Assam.  He also commanded India’s Border Security Force, which is the country’s premier paramilitary outfit.

The Government of India, in recognition of his contribution to national security, awarded him the Padmashri in 1991, one of the highest awards given to a civilian in India.

He was also conferred 'Paul H. Appleby' Award in 2019 by  the Indian Institute of Public Administration for his contribution to the field of Public Administration.

An expert on terrorism and counter-insurgency, Singh has given lectures all over the world in Universities, Think Tanks, Police Institutes, Defense Colleges and international seminars on a wide range of subjects.

A prolific writer, Prakash Singh has written six books so far. Three of these were published in India: ’Nagaland’ which deals with the tribals of the north-east; ‘The Naxalite Movement in India’, an account of the Marxist-Leninist movement in the country; and ’Kohima to Kashmir’, which gives a panoramic view of terrorist movements in different parts of the country. Three other books were published in USA:  ‘Disaster Response in India’, which was written in collaboration with two researchers of the Foreign Military Studies Office, Ft. Leavenworth, USA; 'India's North East: The Frontier in Ferment' and 'The Maoist Challenge to India's Internal Security', the last two being published by the JSOU (USA)   Besides, he has contributed about 350 articles to the editorial and op-ed pages of national newspapers and magazines / journals, and is interviewed regularly on the Indian TV channels as a security and law enforcement specialist.

Singh is also the architect of Police Reforms in the country. The public interest litigation filed by him led to a historic judgement of the Supreme Court in 2006.

An expert on the Naxal problem, Singh headed the One-man Inquiry Commission to look into the circumstances leading to the attempted assassination of Chandrababu Naidu, then Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, by the leftwing extremists in 2003.  The Government of Haryana  appointed him to conduct an inquiry  into the role of officers of civil administration and police during the Jat Reservation Agitation in February 2016. 

Singh was Member, National Security Advisory Board (2013-14). Presently, he is Associate Fellow of the Joint Special Operations University (US).  He is also Member, Advisory Council, Vivekananda International Foundation and Chairman, Indian Police Foundation.