The Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) is an

intelligence agency An intelligence agency is a government agency responsible for the collection, Intelligence analysis, analysis, and exploitation of information in support of law enforcement, national security, military, public safety, and foreign policy objective ...

responsible for providing and coordinating defence and

military intelligence Military intelligence is a military discipline that uses information collection and analysis approaches to provide guidance and direction to assist commanders in their decisions. This aim is achieved by providing an assessment of data from a ...

to the

Indian Armed Forces The Indian Armed Forces are the military forces of the Republic of India. It consists of three professional uniformed services: the Indian Army, Indian Navy, and Indian Air Force.—— Additionally, the Indian Armed Forces are supported by ...

. It was created in March 2002 and is administered within the

Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...

History

The creation of an intelligence agency coordinating the intelligence arms of the three military services had long been called for by senior Indian military officers. It was formally recommended by the Cabinet Group of Ministers, headed by the then

Deputy Prime Minister of India The deputy prime minister of India ( IAST: ''Bhārat Ke Upapradhānamantri'') is the second highest ranking minister of the Union in the executive branch of the Government of India and is a senior member of the Union Council of Ministers. The off ...

Lal Krishna Advani Lal Krishna Advani (born 8 November 1927) is an Indian politician who served as the 7th Deputy Prime Minister of India from 2002 to 2004. Advani is one of the co-founders and a senior leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party. He is a longtime memb ...

. The Group of Ministers investigated intelligence lapses that occurred during the

Kargil War The Kargil War, also known as the Kargil conflict, was fought between India and Pakistan from May to July 1999 in the Kargil district of Jammu and Kashmir and elsewhere along the Line of Control (LoC). In India, the conflict is also referr ...

and recommended a comprehensive reform of

Indian intelligence agencies Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asi ...

. The Defence Intelligence Agency was created and became operational in March, 2002. As part of expanding bilateral cooperation on gathering intelligence and fighting terrorism, the

United States military The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is the ...

also provided advice to Indian military officers on the creation of the DIA.

Organisation

Director General

The Director General of the Defence Intelligence Agency is the head of the entire organisation. The director general is the principal advisor on intelligence to the Minister of Defence and the Chief of Defence Staff. The post of the director general will be held in rotation between the three armed services. The first Director General of the DIA was Lt. Gen. Kamal Davar, former director of the mechanised forces of the

Indian Army The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...

. The Director General of the Agency is assisted by the Deputy Director General, held first by Air Marshal

S. C. Malhan Air Marshal S. C. Malhan is an Indian air force commander who served as the first Deputy Director General of the Defence Intelligence Agency (India), Defence Intelligence Agency. References

Indian Air Force air marshals Living people Yea ...

Nodal agency

DIA is the nodal agency for all defence related intelligence, thus distinguishing it from the other Indian intelligence internal and external agencies. DIA controls the

' technical intelligence assets – the Directorate of Signals Intelligence, a tri-service agency, and the Defence Image Processing and Analysis Centre (DIPAC). While the Signals Directorate is responsible for acquiring and decrypting enemy communications, the DIPAC controls India's satellite-based image acquisition capabilities. The DIA also coordinates the Defence Information Warfare Agency (DIWA) which handles all elements of the information warfare repertoire, including psychological operations, cyber-war, electronic intercepts and the monitoring of sound waves. Its operations are highly classified and has several successes to its credit which will remain a secret.

Functions

Before the creation of the Defence Intelligence Agency, the military intelligence capability of India's armed forces was limited to Field Intelligence Units (FIU) and separate intelligence arms of the services. These distinct services were not able to effectively coordinate intelligence operations and sharing of information. The armed forces also heavily relied on civilian intelligence agencies such as the

Research and Analysis Wing The Research and Analysis Wing (abbreviated R&AW; hi, ) is the foreign intelligence agency of India. The agency's primary function is gathering foreign intelligence, counter-terrorism, counter-proliferation, advising Indian policymakers, an ...

and the Intelligence Bureau. With wide-ranging resources and functions, the DIA will be superior to and coordinate the Directorate of Military Intelligence,

Directorate of Air Intelligence The Directorate of Air Intelligence is the intelligence arm of the Indian Air Force. It provides timely, accurate and synchronized intelligence support for tactical, operational needs of the Air force. History DAI was set up in 1942 as part of t ...

and the Directorate of Naval Intelligence.

References