The Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) is an

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

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 th ...

. 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 state ...

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. 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 referre ...

and recommended a comprehensive reform of Indian intelligence agencies. 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 ...

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 Lieutenant General Kamal Davar is a retired Indian military officer and security expert who served as the first director general of the Defense Intelligence Agency and deputy chief of the Integrated Defense Staff. Early life and education Dav ...

, former director of the mechanised forces of the

Indian Army The Indian Army is the Land warfare, land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Arm ...

. 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 The Indian Air Force (IAF) is the air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its complement of personnel and aircraft assets ranks third amongst the air forces of the world. Its primary mission ...

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, ...

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 and the Directorate of Naval Intelligence.

References