Intelligence Service : Intelligence Agencies in India

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Intelligence agencies in India:

National Investigation Agency (NIA)
Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)
Intelligence Bureau (IB)
Research and Analysis Wing (RAW)

National Investigation Agency (NIA) is a new federal agency approved by the Indian Government to combat terror in India. The agency will be empowered to deal with terror related crimes across states without special permission from the state governments. NIA was created after the Nov 2008 Mumbai terror attacks as need for a central agency to combat terrorism was realised. Mission of the agency is to investigate and prosecute offences affecting sovereignty, security and integrity of India at the national level.At present, NIA is functioning as the Central Counter Terrorism Law Enforcement Agency in India. Phone : 011-29947020, 011-29947021, Fax : 011-29947037, E-mail : info.nia@nic.in

Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is India's premier investigating agency, responsible for a wide variety of criminal and national security matters. It was established on 1 April 1963 and evolved from the Special Police Establishment founded in 1941. Later it was brought under the Home Ministry of the Government of India. This organisation works on referral cases from Home Ministry or when specially called for by the Supreme Court or High Court. The CBI is the official Interpol unit for India. They are responsible for taking care of illegal activities in every field, be it crime, economic offenses etc. Cases handled by CBI are divided into Anti-Corruption, Economic Crimes and Special Crimes.

Anti Corruption Division: Deals with cases of corruption and fraud committed by public servants of all Central Govt. Departments, Central Public Sector Undertakings and Central Financial Institutions.

Economic Crimes Division: Deals with cases including bank frauds, financial frauds, Import Export & Foreign Exchange violations, large-scale smuggling of narcotics, antiques, cultural property and smuggling of other contraband items etc.

Special Crimes Division: Deals with cases of terrorism, bomb blasts, sensational homicides, kidnapping for ransom and crimes committed by the mafia/the underworld.

For further details of CBI refer www.cbi.gov.in/

Intelligence Bureau (IB) is India's internal intelligence agency and reputedly the world's oldest intelligence agency. It was recast as the Central Intelligence Bureau in 1947 under the Ministry of Home Affairs. IB is used to garner intelligence from within India and also execute counter-intelligence and counter-terrorism tasks. All spheres of human activity within India and in the neighborhood are allocated to the charter of duties of the Intelligence Bureau. The Intelligence Bureau comprises employees from law enforcement agencies, mostly from the Indian Police Service and the military. However, the Director of Intelligence Bureau (DIB) has always been an IPS officer. The IB handled both internal and external intelligence until the creation of RAW in 1968.

Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) has evolved from its origins as a part of the Intelligence Bureau to develop into India's predominant intelligence organization. RAW is India's external intelligence agency. It was formed in September 1968, after the newly independent Republic of India was faced with 2 consecutive wars, the Sino-Indian war of 1962 and the India-Pakistani war of 1965, as it was evident that a credible intelligence gathering setup was lacking. RAW works towards offsetting the intelligence offensives of other countries against India. It has two duties to be performed that are Tactical intelligence which is done on daily basis and Strategic intelligence to provide the government for future possibilities and remedies. Its primary function is collection of external intelligence, counter-terrorism and covert operations. In addition, it is responsible for obtaining and analyzing information about foreign governments, corporations, and persons, in order to advise Indian foreign policymakers. The information collected by RAW is used by several investigating organisations in the country such as the CBI. It also aids important ministries with information such as the Ministry of Defence. The RAW has its headquarters on Lodhi Road in New Delhi. Initially, RAW relied primarily on trained intelligence officers who were recruited directly. In times of great expansion, many candidates were taken from the military, police and other services. Later, RAW began directly recruiting graduates from universities. Today, RAW has its own service cadre, the Research and Analysis Service (RAS) to absorb talent. Recruitment is mostly by deputation from the Armed Forces or Civil Service Officers. Most of the Directors have been officers from the IPS.

Apart from the main categories of intelligence agencies there are various Private Detective Agencies. Private detective agencies work outside the framework of government departments or organisations. They may be involved in cases concerning family disputes, industrial espionage, fraud and theft. Increasingly, private detectives are entering the lucrative security business. They provide security cover to VIPs, residences and commercial establishments.