NEW DELHI: Amid the ongoing investigation into the Delhi car blast, the government on Wednesday issued an order assigning additional charge of the post of Secretary (Security) in the Cabinet Secretariat to Parag Jain, a 1989-batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer of the Punjab cadre. Jain currently serves as the Secretary of the Research & Analysis Wing (R&AW).
According to the order issued by the Department of Personnel & Training (DoPT), “The Competent Authority has approved the assignment of additional charge of the post of Secretary (Security), Cabinet Secretariat to Shri Parag Jain, IPS (PB:89), Secretary, Research & Analysis Wing (R&AW) under the Cabinet Secretariat with immediate effect and until the appointment of a regular incumbent or until further orders, whichever is earlier.”
Jain is a seasoned intelligence officer, credited with masterminding the high-stakes Operation Sindoor through a combination of human and technical intelligence.
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) had appointed Jain as the R&AW chief in July this year, succeeding Ravi Sinha following his retirement. He is widely regarded as an expert in both human and signals intelligence.
Before taking charge of R&AW, Jain headed the Aviation Research Centre (ARC), an elite unit known for its work in aerial surveillance, signals intelligence (SIGINT), photographic intelligence (PHOTINT), imagery intelligence (IMINT), and border monitoring.
His operational acumen and leadership were most evident during Operation Sindoor, which targeted nine terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), including the headquarters of Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Taiba, on 7 May.