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About Intelligence Bureau

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About Intelligence Bureau

shape Introduction

The Intelligence Bureau (IB), India's internal intelligence agency, was formed on 23rd December 1887 and has its headquarters is located in New Delhi. The current Director of IB is Rajiv Jain. IB is primarily responsible to garner intelligence from within India and also execute counter-intelligence and counter terrorism attacks. Below mentioned are some of the quick facts to learn about Intelligence Bureau, the intelligence agency of India.

shape IB Profile

Intelligence Bureau Description
Formed 23 December, 1887
Head Quarters New Delhi, India
Motto English Translation: Always Alert; जागृतं अहर्निशं
Current Director Rajiv Jain since January 1, 2017. (Prior to Rajiv Jain , Dineshwar Sharma served as the Director of IB (Jan 1, 2015 – Jan 1, 2017)
Parent Agency Ministry of Home Affairs(MHA)
Website Ministry Of Home Affairs
Annual Budget Rs.1577 Crore in 2017 (Rs. 78,000 crore for MHA
Employees IB consists of classified employees belonging to Law Enforcement Agencies:
  • Indian Police Service (IPS)
  • Indian Revenue Service (IRS)
  • Military
  • Note: The Director of Intelligence Bureau (DIB) has always been an IPS officer. Estimated Number of Employees: 25,000 Estimated Number of Field Agents: Around 3500
    Key Responsibilities 1. Garner intelligence from within India and also execute counter-intelligence and counter-terrorism tasks.
    2. Intelligence collection in border areas, following the 1951 recommendations of the Himmat Singh Ji Committee (also known as the North and North-East Border Committee), a task entrusted to the military intelligence organisations prior to independence in 1947.
    3. Duties of all spheres of human activity within India and in the neighborhood.
    4. Pass on intelligence between other Indian intelligence agencies and the police.
    5. Grant the necessary security clearances to Indian diplomats and judges before they take the oath.
    6. Keep track of issues like terrorism, counter-intelligence, VIP security, threat assessment and sensitive areas. (i.e. Jammu and Kashmir and such).
    7. Interact with the media during a crisis situation.
    8. IB is also authorized to conduct wiretapping without a warrant.
    9. The IB was also tasked with other external intelligence responsibilities as of 1951 until 1968, when the Research and Analysis Wing was formed.
    Functioning 1. The Group A (Gazetted) officers carry out coordination and higher-level management of the IB.
    2. Subsidiary Intelligence Bureaus (SIBs) are headed by officers of the rank of Joint Director or above,
    3. Smaller SIBs are also sometimes headed by Deputy Directors.
    4. The SIBs have their units at district headquarters headed by Assistant Director (AD) or Deputy Central Intelligence Officers (DCIO).
    5. The IB maintains a large number of field units and headquarters (which are under the control of Joint or Deputy Directors).
    6. An association is maintained between IB and state police agencies through the above units and offices and through the intricate process of deputation.
    7. In addition to the above offices, IB has several units (in some cases SIB’s), at the national level to keep track of issues like terrorism, counter-intelligence, VIP security, threat assessment and sensitive areas (i.e. Jammu and Kashmir and such).
    8. IB officers (like their counterparts in R&AW) get monthly special pays and an extra one-month salary every year, as well as better promotions.
    Constitutionality IB was created on 23 December 1887, by the British Secretary of State as a sub-sect of the Central Special Branch. However, there is no act of the Indian parliament nor executive order relating to the functioning of the IB
    Ranks and insignia
  • Director Intelligence Bureau A Four Star Ranking Officer (post held by senior most Indian Police Service officer)

  • Special Director (Equivalent to Director General of Police)

  • Additional Director (Equivalent to Additional Director General of Police)

  • Joint Director (Equivalent to Inspector General of Police)

  • Deputy Director (Equivalent to Deputy Inspector General of Police)

  • Joint Deputy Director (Equivalent to Senior Superintendent of Police2)

  • Assistant Director (Equivalent to Superintendent of Police)

  • Deputy Central Intelligence Officer (Equivalent to Additional Superintendent of Police)

  • Assistant Central Intelligence Officer I (Equivalent to Deputy Superintendent of Police), DANIPS Officers

  • Assistant Central Intelligence Officer II (Equivalent to Inspector of Police)

  • Junior Intelligence Officer (Equivalent to Sub-Inspector)

  • Besides the above executive posts, there are various other supporting posts in the Bureau as well.
    Media Intelligence Bureau has been mentioned in the entertainment media, primarily in films such as
  • Bad Aur Badnaam (Hindi, 1984),
  • Mukhbiir (Hindi, 2008),
  • Vande Matharam (Tamil, 2010),
  • Kahaani (Hindi, 2012),
  • Jism 2 (Hindi, 2012)
  • Spyder (film)(Tamil, Telugu, 2017),
  • Iru Mugan (Tamil, 2016).
  • Sony TV Series Yudh starring Amitabh Bachchan
  • Other Information 1. The operations conducted by IB are rarerly declassified.
    2. There is a high level of secrecy surrounding IB and hence very limited information is available regarding the activities
    3. The IB was trained by the Soviet KGB (Komitet Gosudarstvennoy Bezopasnosti – A Committee for State Security) from the 1950s onward until the collapse of the Soviet Union.
    4. The IB was initially India's internal and external intelligence agency.
    5. IB was bifurcated in 1968 and since entrusted only with Internal Intelligence due to
  • Lapses by IB in predicting the Sino-Indian War of 1962, and
  • Intelligence failure in the India-Pakistan War in 1965

  • 6. The external intelligence branch was handed to the newly created Research and Analysis Wing.

    shape Insignia IB

  • Director Intelligence Bureau A Four Star Ranking Officer (post held by senior most Indian Police Service officer)

  • Special Director (Equivalent to Director General of Police)

  • Additional Director (Equivalent to Additional Director General of Police)

  • Joint Director (Equivalent to Inspector General of Police)

  • Deputy Director (Equivalent to Deputy Inspector General of Police)

  • Joint Deputy Director (Equivalent to Senior Superintendent of Police)

  • Assistant Director (Equivalent to Superintendent of Police)

  • Deputy Central Intelligence Officer (Equivalent to Additional Superintendent of Police)

  • Assistant Central Intelligence Officer I (Equivalent to Deputy Superintendent of Police), DANIPS Officers

  • Assistant Central Intelligence Officer II (Equivalent to Inspector of Police)

  • Junior Intelligence Officer (Equivalent to Sub-Inspector)