Making IB, RAW reports public a matter of grave concern: Kiren Rijiju

Subject : National Body

Concept :

Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju on Tuesday said it was a “matter of grave concern” that certain portions of sensitive reports of the Intelligence Bureau and the Research and Analysis Wing were put in public domain by the Supreme Court collegium.

Research and Analysis Wing

Established in 1968, to handle the nation’s international intelligence affairs, RAW came into force after the China-India War in 1962.
At present, the intelligence arm operates under the aegis of the Prime Minister’s Office.
RAW provides intelligence support to various significant operations on foreign soil.
RAW works in cooperation with the Intelligence Bureau or other Indian intelligence agencies.
Genesis:
After the 1962 China-India war and Indo-Pakistani war in 1965, India established a separate and distinct external intelligence organization – the Research and Analysis Wing.
In 1968, R. N. Kao was appointed as the first director of RAW. Under his leadership, RAW provided intelligence support, which resulted in India’s successful operations including
creation of Bangladesh in 1971,
the defeat of Pakistan during the Kargil conflict of 1971,
the accession of Sikkim in 1975,
and the increase of India’s support to Afghanistan.

Working mechanism of RAW

RAW collects military, economic, scientific, and political intelligence through covert and overt operations.
It also monitors terrorist elements and smuggling rings that transport weapons and ammunition into India.
It primarily focuses on India’s neighbours. The collected inputs by RAW also help Indian officials, which are further used in national security policy and revise the foreign policy.

Attached Bodies

Aerial Reconnaissance Centre :
The Aerial Reconnaissance Centre (ARC) collects high-quality overhead imagery of activities and installations in neighbouring countries.
Special Frontier Force:
The inspector general of a paramilitary force of India, the Special Frontier Force reports to the director-general of security for RAW.
While the force has functions independent of RAW, it is often fielded to support covert and overt RAW missions.

Intelligence Bureau (IB)

Intelligence Bureau (IB) was founded during the British colonial rule.
The unsuccessful Sipoy’s Mutiny in 1857 compelled the English to create an intelligence organisationthat can have eyes on the activities of the Indian mutinous and rulers in different parts of India.
IB was founded on December 23, 1887, as the “Central Special Branch” by the Secretary of State for India in London. It is renamed as Intelligence Bureau in 1920.
The Intelligence Bureau (IB), considered the oldest surviving intelligence organization in the world, serves as India’s internal security agency responsible for detecting domestic threats.
IB technically falls under the authority of Ministry of Home Affairs.

Responsibilities and Mandate

The IB is used to garner intelligence from within India and also execute counter-intelligence and counter-terrorism tasks.
The Bureau comprises employees from law enforcement agencies, mostly from the Indian Police Service (IPS) or the Indian Revenue Service (IRS) and the military.
However, the Director of Intelligence Bureau (DIB) has always been an IPS officer.
In addition to domestic intelligence responsibilities, the IB is particularly tasked with intelligence collection in border areas.
All spheres of human activity within India and in the neighborhood are allocated to the charter of duties of the Intelligence Bureau.
The IB was also tasked with other external intelligence responsibilities as of 1951 until 1968, when the Research and Analysis Wing was formed.