Research & Analysis Wing

The Research & Analysis Wing (R&AW) is the foreign intelligence agency of the Government of India. A key member of the Indian Intelligence Community, R&AW's mandate includes surveillance of foreign politico-military developments that directly affect India's foreign policy, counterproliferation and counterterrorism.

Administratively, R&AW is not an agency in essence, but rather functions as a wing of the Cabinet Secretariat, albeit with autonomy from bureaucratic control. Its chief officer – designated as Secretary (Research), works under the Cabinet Secretary and cooperates with the National Security Advisor to report to the Prime Minister on all intelligence-related concerns. Despite lacking a codified charter, R&AW's norms of conduct are drawn from the Intelligence Organisations (Restriction of Rights) Act, 1985.

Presently, R&AW's current Secretary (Research) is Parag Jain, who took office on 1 July 2025.

Objectives

Formally, R&AW does not have a written charter or legally-established statute that defines its responsibilies, but as the agency principally responsible for external intelligence collection, its mandate is understood to have the following:<br/>

Surveillance: To monitor the political and military developments in adjoining countries, which have direct bearing on India's national security and in the formulation of its foreign policy.<br/>
Collection: To conduct intelligence collection about foreign threats deemed averse to India's long-term national security interests, and to suppress them through covert action.

Organizational structure

Secretary (Research)

As R&AW functions as an arm of the Cabinet Secretariat, its chief officer – designated as Secretary (Research), works in the Cabinet Secretariat. By placement of position, the Secretary (Research) is understood to have the undermentioned details:<br/>

Works under the Cabinet Secretary while cooperating with the National Security Advisor to report-cum-advise the Prime Minister on all intelligence-related concerns and affairs.
Exercises sweeping powers over R&AW's functioning, except regarding administrative and financial matters – which is the remit of the Cabinet Secretary. However, that status was degraded and redesignated as Director, R&AW – by the Morarji Desai-led government in 1977; nevertheless, the pre-1977 designation was reinstated by the Rajiv Gandhi-led government in 1986. The longest serving chief was R. N. Kao, who held the office from R&AW's inception in 1968 up to his retirement in 1977.

Aviation Research Centre

The Aviation Research Centre (ARC) was established in 1963 for aerial reconnaissance after R. N. Kao persuaded the Government of India to create a dedicated airborne intelligence capability. It was later made permanent in 1971. ARC superseded the Indian Air Force's earlier reconnaissance aircraft and by the mid-1970s was producing high-quality aerial imagery of installations along the Line of Actual Control and the India–Pakistan border.

Electronics and Technical Services

The Electronics and Technical Services (ETS) unit was added to R&AW as the agency expanded its technical intelligence (TECHINT) capabilities during the late twentieth century. ETS provides technical support including electronic surveillance (ELINT), communications monitoring (COMINT), and specialized equipment used in intelligence gathering operations.

Radio Research Center

The Radio Research Center (RRC) was established as part of the agency’s growing signals intelligence (SIGINT) and communications monitoring capability. It works alongside other technical units to intercept and analyze radio and communication signals relevant to national security operations.

Special Frontier Force

The Special Frontier Force (SFF) is an Indian special forces unit composed primarily of Tibetan refugees and Gurkhas in India. It was established after the Sino-Indian War of 1962 to primarily conduct covert operations behind the Line of Actual Control in case of another war with China. Based in Chakrata, Uttarakhand, the force was put under the direct supervision of the Intelligence Bureau (IB), and later the Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW), India's external intelligence agency, and is not part of the Indian Army but functions under their operational control with its own rank structure, charter and training infrastructure.

Special Group

The Special Group (SG) is a covert special clandestine operation unit operating under the Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW). It was formed in the early 1980s to conduct sensitive missions such as counter-terrorism, special reconnaissance, and covert operations. The unit is believed to be composed largely of personnel drawn from the Parachute Regiment of the Indian Army. Due to the classified nature of its activities, most details about its structure and operations remain undisclosed.

Directorate General of Security

The Directorate General of Security (DGS) is an organisation under the Research and Analysis Wing responsible for supervising several specialized security and covert units. It oversees agencies such as the Special Frontier Force and the Aviation Research Centre. The directorate coordinates sensitive operations and provides administrative control for these units. Due to the classified nature of its work, many operational details remain undisclosed.

Rank Structure of Officers & Employees

Given R&AW's secretive nature, there is little verifiable knowledge regarding the true orientation of its administrative structure.

Note: In addition to their basic pay, R&AW officers are entitled to a Special Security Allowance, amounting to approximately 20% of the basic pay and other allowances like DA, TA and HRA, while posted within India. When assigned to postings abroad, they receive a Foreign Allowance in addition to their basic pay.

{| class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible" style="width:100%; text-align:center;"

|+Zonal Structure and Equivalent Ranks

! Zone

! Headquarters

! Rank of Zonal Head

! Equivalent Rank in R&AW

| Northern Zone

| Jammu

| Additional Secretary

| Eastern Zone

| Kolkata

| Commissioner

| Joint Secretary

| South-Western Zone

| Mumbai

| Commissioner

| Joint Secretary

| North-Eastern Zone

| Shillong

| Commissioner

| Joint Secretary

| Southern Zone

| Chennai

| Additional Commissioner

| Director

| Central Zone

| Lucknow

| Additional Commissioner

| Director

| Western Zone

| Jodhpur

| Deputy Commissioner

| Deputy Secretary

Stations abroad

R&AW has been active in obtaining information and operating through third countries. It does not monitor the activities of criminal elements abroad, which are mainly confined to normal smuggling without any links to terrorist elements.

A task force report prepared by a New Delhi-based security think tank highlighted that R&AW operatives have inadequate number of non-official cover for overseas operations which 'limits access to spot real targets' and causes issues on handling 'high-value assets'. in 1983 R&AW created its own service cadre, the Research and Analysis Service (RAS), to absorb talent from other Group A Civil Services, under the Central Staffing Scheme.

Current Scenario

There is no direct recruitment in the Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW). Individuals who wish to join R&AW must first qualify through one of the following competitive examinations to become academically eligible for Group A and Group B posts: UPSC CSE, UPSC ESE, GATE, RBI Grade B, UPSC IES, SSB Interview, CAPF Examination. After successfully clearing any of the aforementioned examinations, officers are required to join the corresponding Central Government service. Following a period of approximately four to five years, their Annual Confidential Reports (ACRs) are reviewed by the Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW). Based on this assessment, R&AW initiates the enrollment process for eligible officers into its specific organizational divisions. Then the candidates are required to undergo a separate selection process conducted by R&AW, which includes a specialized test and interview. Only those who successfully clear this process are appointed to the Research and Analysis Service (RAS). Delhi-based security think tank Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses noted in one of its reports that R&AW suffered from the 'tail-end syndrome' where the 'bottom of the entrance lists' of those qualifying the UPSC examinations were offered jobs. Additionally, recruitment is also by lateral deputation from the Officer corps of Armed Forces or Group A Civil Service Officers. The Civil and Defence Service Officers permanently resign their cadre and join the RAS. However, according to recent reports, officers can return to their parent cadre after serving a specific period in the agency if they wish to.

Most of the secretaries have been officers from the IPS, IRS and IFS officers. R&AW also employs a number of linguists and other experts in various fields. The service conditions of R&AW officers are governed by the Research and Analysis Wing (Recruitment, Cadre and Service) Rules, 1975.

Difference between Officer and Agent

A common misconception exists that an agent (Spy) and an officer (Spymaster) are the same. This is not the case. Officers of the Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) are formally appointed members of the Government of India, whereas agents are not enlisted or employed directly by the government. Recruitment is conducted exclusively for officers; agents are never formally inducted into government service.

Furthermore, when an R&AW officer is posted to a foreign embassy or assignment, they are provided official cover and the protections of diplomatic immunity. Agents, however, do not receive such privileges. If an officer’s activities are discovered, they may be declared a persona non grata; in contrast, an agent apprehended while conducting espionage may face prosecution and, in extreme cases, capital punishment.

Training

Basic Training

Basic training consists of motivational talks and an introduction to the 'real' world of intelligence and espionage, as opposed to fiction. Common usages, tradecraft techniques and classification of information are taught. A multi-disciplinary school of economic intelligence is also being set up in Mumbai to train intelligence officers in investigating economic crimes like money laundering for terror purposes. They are also sent to top-tier institutions such as Jawaharlal Nehru University.

Field Training

After completing basic training the recruit is given field training. and the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF). They are also drilled in various administrative disciplines so that they could take their place in foreign missions without arousing suspicion.

In public view

Oversight

Formally, R&AW does not have a written statute, rather, it is a creation of executive order, which has allowed the agency to operate without answerability to Parliament. This nature is also shared by the Intelligence Bureau (IB), which also has its origin in executive order, and thus also lacks a written statute.

Calls for accountability for India's intelligence apparatus were made in the aftermath of The Emergency of 1975–77, when institutional abuses under the then-Indira Gandhi government were widespread. In 1978, then-prime minister Morarji Desai appointed a committee headed by former Home Secretary L. P. Singh to investigate the functioning and misuse of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the IB for political ends; it subsequently recommended the creation of “a comprehensive central legislation to remove the deficiency of not having a central investigative agency with a self-sufficient statutory charter of duties and functions”. However, Gandhi's return to power in 1980 prevented the implementation of the recommendations. In 2011, 2019 and 2024 Congress MP Manish Tewari attempted to introduce private member's bill to initiate oversight, called The Intelligence Services (Powers And Regulation) Bill; however, none of his attempts succeeded. His 2011 attempt to pass the bill was criticized by former R&AW chiefs C. D. Sahay and Anand Verma as being too micromangerial towards R&AW operations; the bill was never passed.

Nevertheless, there have been some arguments in support of no oversight; it has been opined that a foreign intelligence agency does not operate within a permissible area – while they may be working in the interests of one's own country, they are certainly not operating in the interest of the host country, and are thus not liable to legal accountability. Another argument in favor is that in multi-party systems or coalition politics, the efficient functioning of the agency may be hindered due to political interference, thus necessitating a nature of functioning independent from oversight.

Provisionally, the vast majority of India's intelligence apparatus – including R&AW, are listed in the Second Schedule of the Right to Information Act, 2005, which in conjunction of Section 24 of the Act, is exempted from the public disclosure of sensitive information, unless the information that is requested pertains to allegations of corruption and human rights violations. However, the information related to such allegations may also be withheld, if it is found to be in contravention to Section 8 of the Act, which specifies that "information, disclosure of which would prejudicially affect the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security, strategic, scientific or economic interests of the State".

History

Background (1923–69)

Prior to the inception of the Research and Analysis Wing, overseas intelligence collection was primarily the responsibility of the Intelligence Bureau (IB), In 1933, sensing the political turmoil in the world which eventually led to the Second World War, the Intelligence Bureau's responsibilities were increased to include the collection of intelligence along India's borders. B. N. Mullik took over in 1950 until 1965.

In 1968 the Indira Gandhi administration decided that a full-fledged second security service was needed. submitted a blueprint for the new agency. Frontmen included Sankaran Nair, MBK Nair, IS Hassanwalia and PN Banerjee. The R&AW was given the responsibility for strategic external intelligence, human as well as technical, plus concurrent responsibility with the Directorate-General of Military Intelligence for tactical trans-border military intelligence up to a certain depth across the Line of control (LOC) and the international border.

From its inception R&AW has been criticised for being an agency not answerable to the people of India (R&AW reports to Prime Minister only). Fears arose that it could turn into the KGB of India. Such fears were kept at bay by the R&AW's able leadership (although detractors of R&AW and especially the Janata Party have accused the agency of letting itself be used for terrorising and intimidating opposition during the 1975–1977 Emergency). The main controversy which has plagued R&AW in recent years is over bureaucratisation of the system with allegations about favouritism in promotions, corruption, ego clashes, no financial accountability, Noted security analyst and former Additional Secretary B. Raman has criticised the agency for its asymmetric growth; "while being strong in its capability for covert action it is weak in its capability for intelligence collection, analysis and assessment. Strong in low and medium-grade intelligence, weak in high-grade intelligence. Strong in technical intelligence, weak in human intelligence. Strong in collation, weak in analysis. Strong in investigation, weak in prevention. Strong in crisis management, weak in crisis prevention."

R&AW started as a wing of the Intelligence Bureau with 250 employees and an annual budget of 2 crore.

International Operations

The known activities and international operations of R&AW, by country:

Africa

South Africa and Namibia

R&AW trained the intelligence officers of many independent African countries and assisted the anti-apartheid struggles in South Africa and Namibia. Retired R&AW officers were deputed to work in training institutes of intelligence agencies of some African states.

Senegal

R&AW was one of the primary agencies that provided the information about Ravi Pujari being located in Senegal. This information was provided to Senegalese authorities, who arrested Pujari and deported him to India. He was formally arrested at Kempegowda International Airport by Karnataka Police.

Asia

Afghanistan

During the Soviet War in Afghanistan, R&AW had recruited three powerful warlords, including Ahmad Shah Massoud.

In 1996, R&AW had built a 25-bed military hospital at the Farkhor Air Base.