New Delhi, August 5
India’s first-ever defence intelligence chief is likely to be announced within the next fortnight, marking a watershed in the Indian strategic scenario.

The Centre is said to be seized of the issue of setting up a defence intelligence agency (DIA) and work is under way in giving final touches to the composition of the DIA, its area of responsibility and its charter of duties.

Well-placed sources told The Tribune here today that the DIA will be headed by a Lieutenant-General. An important point in the context of the proposed DIA chief was whether he would be in charge of command and control of Cartosat, a remote sensing satellite scheduled to be launched in the next few months, which sources believed, would be serving as a military satellite.

Cartosat would be equipped with a sophisticated, powerful camera having a metre resolution, thus enabling the Indian security apparatus to have point-specific intelligence about the targeted area. The remote sensing satellites currently in use in the country did not have such high-resolution cameras as the Cartosat was tipped to have. The current remote sensing satellites in use were equipped with five-metre resolution cameras.

It is understood that the DIA chief would be the operational boss of the Cartosat as and when it is launched.

The Group of Ministers headed by Union Home Minister L.K. Advani, which examined the recommendations of the Kargil Review Committee report, had mooted the idea of setting up the DIA. The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) had at its May 11 meeting decided to set up the DIA within three months.

The chiefs of all intelligence bodies like the Intelligence Bureau, the Research and Analysis Wing, the Military Intelligence, the Air Intelligence and the Naval Intelligence would be answerable to the DIA chief. The DIA will have access to intelligence inputs from all agencies.

There is another view, however, in the strategic circles on the very rationale behind having yet another intelligence agency. According to this school of thought, what the country needs is not the multiplicity of agencies but the agencies which are existing should have a vibrant and effective intelligence-gathering apparatus.

Besides, there should be an effective coordination among various agencies. Rivalries among them came to the fore during the Kargil conflict as has been documented by the Kargil Review Committee report also. There is an unhealthy rivalry between the two civilian intelligence agencies and also between the civilian and military agencies.

The Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC), which was set up in the wake of the Chinese aggression to serve as a secretariat of intelligence agencies could never come with flying colours as the agencies did not share information with the JIC.