Intelligence Bureau (IB): Meaning, Role, Work, Importance & Facts

India’s Intelligence Bureau (IB) of Investigation is a reputed and established intelligence agency, which is governed by the Ministry of Home Affairs. It serves as India’s internal security agency responsible for mitigating domestic threats. IB technically falls under the authority of the Ministry of Home Affairs. Though, the IB director is part of the Strategic Policy Group as well as the Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC) of the National Security Council and can report directly to the prime minister. Although the specific functions of the agency remain unidentified, it is known that the agency is responsible for counterterrorism, counterintelligence, intelligence collection in border areas, infrastructure protection, and anti-secession activities.

Intelligence Bureau (IB) works with other Indian intelligence and law enforcement organizations, especially RAW (Research and Analysis Wing, India’s external intelligence agency) and the newly created Defense Intelligence Agency. The agency also manages partnerships with foreign agencies, including security agencies in the U.K., U.S., and Israel.

Importance of Intelligence Bureau (IB)

Below are some importance of the intelligence bureau:

• Undertaking security-related tasks assigned by the supervisor
• Training and supervising subordinates
• Dealing with an emergency in an orderly manner
• Deal with paperwork related to breach of security
• Maintaining records
• Visiting other office locations to deliver information
• Assisting the ACIO when and as needed
• Interacting with the locals to gather as much information

Responsibilities of the Intelligence Bureau (IB)

Check below the main responsibilities of the intelligence bureau:

• The IB is used to garner intelligence from within India and also execute counter-intelligence and counter-terrorism tasks, Shrouded in secrecy.
• The Bureau includes employees from law enforcement agencies, mostly from the Indian Police Service (IPS) or the Indian Revenue Service (IRS) and the military. Though, the Director of the Intelligence Bureau has always been an IPS officer. 
• Domestic intelligence responsibilities, the IB is especially tasked with intelligence collection in border areas, following the 1951 recommendations of the Himmat Singh Ji Committee (also known as the North and North-East Border Committee), a task trusted to the military intelligence organizations before independence in 1947. 
• All spheres of human activity in India and in the neighbourhood are allocated to the charter of duties of the Intelligence Bureau. The IB also worked with other external intelligence responsibilities from 1951 until 1968 when the Research and Analysis Wing was formed.

Workings of the Intelligence Bureau (IB)

• The Gazetted officers carry out coordination and higher-level management of the IB. 
• Subsidiary Intelligence Bureaus (SIBs) are headed by officers of the rank of Joint Director or above, although smaller SIBs are also sometimes headed by Deputy Directors.
• The SIBs have their units at district headquarters headed by Deputy Central Intelligence Officers (DCIO) or Assistant Directors (AD). 
• The IB manages a large number of field units and headquarters (which are under the control of Joint or Deputy Directors). It is by these offices and the intricate process of the deputation that a very organic linkage between the state police agencies and the IB is maintained. 
• In addition to these, at the national level, the IB has various units (in some cases SIBs) to keep track of issues like terrorism, threat assessment, counter-intelligence, VIP security, and sensitive areas (i.e. Jammu and Kashmir and such). 
• IB officers (like their counterparts in RAW) get monthly special pay and an extra one-month salary every year, as well as better promotions. 
• IB Officers are either directly recruited or are deputed from Armed Forces and CAPFs.

Interesting Facts About Intelligence Bureau (IB)

• The Indian IB is the oldest intelligence agency in the world.
• IB was formerly in charge of internal and external intelligence, but later on, was divided into Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) and Intelligence Bureau (IB).
• IB officers were trained by the world’s most effective intelligence agency, the Russian KGB.
• We don’t exactly know what an IB officer does, and the agency is so secretive that even the family members of an agent are unaware of their whereabouts or their job.
• But we do know that IB spies gather daily secret information on possible terror threats, riots, and internal strife in a community, or that posed by a union or a group, or an individual that can be dangerous for the safety of the country.
• Becoming a spy is an extremely difficult and challenging task. IB agents are taught to penetrate a community, raise sources and contacts, use secret methods of surveillance, maintain a disguise, use foot surveillance, track a suspect without being caught, and most importantly, how to do counterintelligence and even defuse tensions before they escalate in a particular area.
• Unfortunately, the quality of the Intel being gathered has been falling, and the funding is so deplorable that reports suggest that Pakistani ISI agents have better resources.
• Things are changing fast, however. Better facilities are being provided with much better payouts than before.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1. Does IB recruit every year?
Ans. It is a national-level examination held once a year. The application process is conducted online mode. 

Q2. Why is IB so hard?
Ans. The intensity of IB is one of the factors which makes it appear ‘difficult’. Students, to a large extent, have to do as all-rounders. With the aid of CAS, IB ensures that students’ education is not only limited to their classrooms. This can be both a good and a bad thing.

Q3. Can IB officers join raw?
Ans. Generally, RAW (Research and Analysis Wing) does not recruit candidates directly; They recruit candidates from other government departments in India (Armed forces, Intelligence Agencies, Police Services, Administrative Services, etc.). Most of the personnel are from IB (Intelligence Bureau).

Q4. Do IB officers carry guns?
Ans. An IB officer can have unlimited opportunities for jobs in other organizations as the deputation, you can be deputed to CRPF, RAW, Airport protection, or SPG. Some of them are basic like officers of the Intelligence Bureau who do not carry guns all time, they have guns while on deputation in CRPF or SPG.

Q5. Is the IB exam tough?
Ans. Difficulty levels for the exams are similar. One can expect some direct questions. Also, the questions in the IB ACIO exam direct to be more tricky than lengthy. Hence, it is a good idea to understand the basics first and then move on to keeping short tricks handy.