Intelligence Bureau (IB)
Overview:
| Intelligence Bureau Established: | 23rd December 1887. |
| Intelligence Bureau Headquarters: | New delhi, India. |
| Number of Employee: | About 25,000. |
| Intelligence Bureau Parent Organization: | Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. |
What is Intelligence Bureau?
The Intelligence Bureau is an Indian internal security and counter-intelligence agency. It is responsible for mitigating domestic threats. IB technically works under the Ministry of Home Affairs, however, the IB director is part of the Strategic Policy Group and the Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC) of the National Security Council and can report directly to the Prime Minister of India.
IB is one of the oldest intelligence agencies in the world. Until 1968, IB handled both domestic and foreign intelligence however a separate organization, the Research and Analysis Wing was formed specifically for foreign intelligence, and IB was primarily assigned the role of domestic intelligence and internal security.
Establishment of Intelligence Bureau:
IB was founded on December 23, 1887, as the “Central Special Branch” by the Secretary of State for India in London. After Indian independence in 1947, it was renamed as the Intelligence Bureau under the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Objectives of Intelligence Bureau:
The main objectives of the organization are counterterrorism, counterintelligence, intelligence collection in border areas, infrastructure protection, and anti-secession activities.
There are a few tasks of IB that are known such as clearing licences to amateur radio enthusiasts. The IB also passes intelligence between other Indian intelligence agencies and the police. The bureau also grants the necessary security clearances to Indian diplomats and judges. It is said that IB also has an email spying system, and it is authorised to conduct wiretapping without a warrant.
Headquarters of Intelligence Bureau:
The headquarters of IB is situated in New Delhi, India.
Employees:
There is no exact information on the number of employees who work in IB, however estimation is that there must be about 20,000 to 25,000 employees who work in IB.
The Bureau comprises employees from different departments and mostly from law enforcement agencies such as the Indian Police Service (IPS), the Indian Revenue Service (IRS), and the Indian armed forces.
Intelligence Bureau Operations:
The exact details of IB operations are unknown. However, it is said that IB operated a counterintelligence programme to prevent the CIA from gathering information about the preparations and activities related to the Indian Nuclear weapons project before the Pokhran-II nuclear tests.
It also alerted the police before the Hyderabad blasts and gave repeated warnings of a possible attack on Mumbai before the November 2008 Mumbai attack.