Punjab Cadre IPS Parag Jain Appointed R&AW Chief

Jain will replace Ravi Sinha, a 1988-batch IPS officer of the Chhattisgarh cadre, who will complete his tenure in the R&AW on June 30. Jain will take over on July 1. 

Jain is currently heading the Aviation Research Centre, which played a vital role during Operation Sindoor by collecting intelligence about Pakistan's armed forces and terror camp locations. 

Jain is credited with playing a key operational role during the days of terrorism in Punjab. He had served in Bhatinda, Mansa, Hoshiarpur districts of Punjab as SP, and was the SSP of Chandigarh and DIG of Ludhiana thereafter. 

He has also handled the Pakistan desk in India’s external intelligence agency, with tenures in Jammu and Kashmir during the abrogation of Article 370 and Operation Balakot.

Known as an unassuming officer, Jain has served as a representative in India's missions in Canada and Sri Lanka. During his Canada posting, he had also taken on the Khalistan ecosystem there and had repeatedly warned Delhi that it was morphing into something dangerous.

With Jain taking over from Sinha next Monday, R&AW will look for an overhaul, after it was found wanting during the recent crises in the Maldives and Bangladesh. 

The agency’s role becomes very important considering that cross-border terrorism is once again high on the government’s agenda. 

Given that India has suspended the Indus Water Treaty, it is anticipated that Pakistan will continue to use terrorism to strike back, against which, R&AW needs to improve its ground intelligence rather than rely only on technical intelligence.