The Centre-led Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday, June 29, appointed Parag Jain, an IPS officer from the 1989 batch of the Punjab cadre, as the new Secretary of the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) for a term of two years. He succeeds Ravi Sinha, who will complete his tenure on June 30, 2025.
Parag is currently the head of the Aviation Research Centre, which participated majorly during 'Operation Sindoor', which was India's retaliation after the Pahalgam deadly terror attack by collecting secrets of the Pakistani armed forces and terror locations across Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK). The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet cleared his evaluation on June 28.
Who Is Parag Jain?
Parag served as Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) and Deputy Inspector General of Police of Chandigarh and Ludhiana. He also participated in the government's counter-terrorism operations after the abolition of Article 370 and the restructuring of the Union Territory. He is currently the second-most senior officer in R&AW, directly reporting to the chief, and oversees several high-stakes operational and intelligence divisions.
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Parag Jain has been with R&AW for the past 15 years and is an expert in counterterrorism operations, Punjab’s internal security, Sikh extremism, Khalistan-linked movements, and Cross-border and diaspora surveillance.
Parag handled international operations, which included a critical posting in Ottawa, Canada, where he monitored radical Sikh diaspora groups and worked to infiltrate separatist networks. He also went to Sri Lanka during the economic crisis in 2022, witnessing regime change.