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IPS officer Ravi Sinha appointed new RAW chief, to succeed Samant Goel

Ravi sinha has been appointed new research and analysis wing chief..

Ravi Sinha, a senior IPS officer of the Chhattisgarh cadre, has been appointed new chief of India's external intelligence Research and Analysis Wing or R&AW chief on Monday. Sinha will succeed incumbent Samant Goel on completion of his tenure on June 30 and have a two-year tenure, a personnel ministry order said.

Sinha, a 1988 batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer, is currently serving as special secretary, Cabinet Secretariat. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved Sinha's appointment as secretary, R&AW for a tenure of two years, the order said.

“The Appointments Committee of Cabinet (ACC) has approved the appointment of Rajiv Sinha, IPS, special secretary, Cabinet Secretariat, as Secretary, Research and Analysis Wing vice Samant Goel on completion of his tenure on June 30, 2023, for a tenure of two years from the date of assumption of the charge of the post, or until further orders, whichever is earlier,” the order stated.

Have 11 years' experience in print and digital media. Write on politics, defence and world affairs, and have a keen eye for human-interest stories. ...view detail

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Explained: Why RAW shut down its North American bases

I ndian intelligence agency Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) has reportedly closed its stations in North America for the first time since 1968. This comes as criminal charges were brought against an Indian citizen for planning to assassinate Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun in New York. According to federal prosecutors in Manhattan, a man named Nikhil Gupta, aged 52, collaborated with an Indian government employee responsible for security and intelligence to plan the assassination the New York City resident who heads the Sikhs for Justice outfit.

The global attention on RAW has increased, particularly since Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused Indian government agents of being connected to the assassination of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in a Vancouver suburb in June. India strongly rejected the allegations and requested Canada to provide evidence. Canada, which expelled the chief of RAW's station, claimed to have shared evidence with its allies but decided not to release it publicly.

According to a recent report by Reuters, Indian intelligence officials and analysts have expressed concerns about increased global monitoring on RAW in the wake of the Vancouver incident. The report mentioned that it interviewed six Indian security and intelligence officials, both retired and serving, who have knowledge of RAW. These officials revealed that after the devastating Mumbai attacks in 2008 that claimed the lives of 166 individuals, RAW was motivated to take on a more proactive role in international affairs. The officials requested anonymity as they were discussing sensitive subjects.

According to four officials, RAW has gradually expanded its influence in Western nations since 2008. One official, who is currently serving, mentioned that a significant reason behind this shift was India's inability to extradite a US citizen who was convicted for his role in the Mumbai attack. This incident served as a crucial motivation for RAW to strengthen its presence in the Western countries.

Last week, Pakistan expressed worry about the substantial growth of India's undercover operations, which include spying and carrying out assassinations beyond its own territory. Pakistan condemned these actions as clear breaches of international law. According to sources in intelligence, a recent report by ThePrint disclosed that two senior officials from RAW were instructed to leave their positions in important cities in the Western countries during the summer. The names of these officers were not disclosed in the report to protect their identities, as they are still working for the agency.

As per the report, the decision to expel the officers was just one of several actions taken to express discontent with what the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom perceived as violations of the informal agreements that guide the operations of RAW in their respective countries.

According to the sources, the report stated that the officials asked to leave their posts were the chief of RAW's station in San Francisco and the deputy head of its operations in London. The report said that the closure of RAW’s stations in San Francisco and Washington DC, along with the expulsion of its station chief in Ottawa, Pavan Rai, meant that the agency is now without representation in North America for the first time since it was established in 1968 under Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

Prosecutors in the US have stated that Nikhil Gupta, who is suspected of being involved in drug dealing, was allegedly approached by someone claiming to be affiliated with the Indian intelligence services. This individual offered Gupta a sum of money, possibly up to $150,000, to organize the assassination of an unidentified lawyer and activist associated with the Khalistan movement.

According to sources, US officials informed their counterparts in New Delhi that RAW was involved in a plot to assassinate Pannun, a prominent activist and lawyer associated with the Khalistan movement. The report also mentioned that the decision to expel the RAW officer in San Francisco was made because there were concerns that the United States would not cooperate with Indian intelligence if the agency continued to conduct offensive operations in the Western region.

Media sources have reported that British intelligence expressed discontent on multiple occasions regarding RAW's growing participation in Sikh diasporic politics in the country. This was during the tenure of former chief Goel, who was an IPS officer from Punjab and had previously been involved in anti-Khalistan terrorist operations before joining RAW.

The report also includes a statement from an anonymous senior RAW officer who mentioned that if the situation worsens significantly, it could possibly involve the ambassador or high commissioner. However, it is worth noting that things have never reached this level before.

IPS Ravi Sinha to take over as RAW chief as Samant Goel’s extended tenure ends

NEW DELHI: Senior IPS officer Ravi Sinha has been appointed the new chief of the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) India’s external intelligence agency by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet. 

Sinha is currently serving as the special secretary in the Cabinet Secretariat. He will replace Samant Goel.  Goel was appointed RAW chief in June 2019 and received two one-year extensions in 2021 and 2022. He will be completing his tenure on June 30 this year, following which Sinha will take charge for two years.

Sinha is a 1988 IPS officer from the Chhattisgarh cadre and has had an extensive career spanning over two decades in RAW. In his present capacity at the Cabinet Secretariat, he oversees the operations wing of India’s intelligence unit. 

According to an order issued by the Ministry of Personnel, the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the designation of 59-year-old Sinha as the RAW secretary for the next two years.  Considered a specialist on countries in India’s immediate neighbourhood, Sinha’s appointment comes at a time when Pakistan is politically and economically unstable, Sikh extremism is being fanned from abroad and attempts are being made in the northeast to promote violence. 

Sinha has served in Jammu and Kashmir, the northeast, and foreign countries earlier.  His appointment comes at a time when the government is looking to strengthen India’s intelligence infrastructure and maintain a smooth transition amid a change of guard in the set-up.

His deep knowledge of issues related to hostile neighbours and adverse situations in the Indian subcontinent would be critical and useful in the wake of prevailing border tensions with China, issues of transborder terrorism, from Pakistan and efforts to revive Sikh extremism.  Having worked in different positions in the RAW, Sinha has also been credited with modernising the operations of the intelligence wing.

#BREAKING : Ravi Sinha appointed as India’s New RAW Chief. Sinha is 1988 IPS officer from Chhattisgarh. Samant Kumar Goel had a successful tenure as RAW Chief with multiple extensions. His tenure saw Balakot Airstrike in Pakistan, peaceful Article 370 abrogation in Jammu & Kashmir… pic.twitter.com/X61wrC4bcf

— Aditya Raj Kaul (@AdityaRajKaul) June 19, 2023

New chief an expert on neighbouring nations Considered a specialist on countries in India’s immediate neighbourhood, Ravi Sinha’s appointment as the RAW secretary comes at a time when Pakistan is politically and economically unstable, Sikh extremism is being fanned from abroad and attempts are being made in the northeast to promote violence.

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India, due to the changing geopolitics, is perpetually at a war in the shadows; thus, peace here is an illusion. As the soldiers in uniform, guard our borders, on all three fronts: Water, Air and Land; A group of highly trained and motivated soldiers patrol the globe under disguise and code names, to gather information, activate sleeper spies and double agents, set honey traps, and bribe the informants – all for protecting our beloved country, India.

These unseen, unsung heroes are the spies of India’s formidable spy agency: ‘Research and Analysis Wing’ (RAW). Theoretically, RAW is India’s external intelligence agency, placed to uncover sinister plans against the nation and to eliminate the traitors at great personal risk but practically, its operational reach and remit are unlimited, the agency has a massive budget. The RAW was intentionally established as a ‘wing’ to bypass the agency reporting requirements to Parliament and thus is also exempted from the Right to Information Act of 2005.

Working undercover across the globe, the contacts and the chase; Working with India’s premier intelligence agency is such an Adrenaline pumping occupation. Let’s explore this Intelligence unit inside-out, through its genesis, covert operations and see if it’s worth it all.

‘Declassified’ RAW Operations: A truly epic tale to tell

• Operation Smiling Buddha

Smiling Buddha, the code name which was chosen for India’s first nuclear programme designated as Pokhran-1 in May 1974, under the leadership of Indira Gandhi. At a first, RAW was getting involved in a project inside India. The task was to keep the entire operation under wraps from the CIA.

Finally, on May 18th, India successfully tested the 15-kiloton of plutonium device at Pokhran and became a member of the elite group of nuclear-ready nations. With this feat, outside the five permanent United Nations Security Council (UNSC) members, India became the first country to conduct a nuclear test. The operation was carried out without any critical hindrance and with such precision that the intelligence agencies across globe were taken by surprise.

After the test, Dr Raja Ramanna (the then director of India’s premier nuclear research institute Bhabha Atomic Research Centre) called the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and told her, “The Buddha has smiled”.

• Operation Kahuta

RAW got to know about Pakistan’s nuclear programmes at Khan Research Laboratories in a small town called Kahuta, which also is was an emerging centre of its long-range missile development, in the Rawalpindi district.

By analysing the hair samples from the barber shops nearby, RAW figured out the isntallation of gas centrifuge enrichment technology to produce Highly Enriched Uranium (HEU). RAW started operation Kahuta to infiltrate Pakistan’s nuclear energy installations, and this could have been a huge success on intelligence front but it went horribly wrong.

It is said that once during a telephonic conversation, Morarji Desai informed the then Pakistan President, Zia-ul-Haq, that India was aware of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons program. According to reports, acting on this “tip-off”, the Pakistani intelligence managed to track and kill all of RAW’s officers and sources in Kahuta, leaving India in the dark about Pakistan’s nuclear weapons program from then on.

• Curbing the Khalistan Movement

Backed by the ISI, the Khalistani militancy reached its peak in the mid-80s. RAW set up two covert task forces to counter the militants in Punjab. RAW managed to flush out Khalistani militants from the streets of Punjab, and also destabilised several major cities in Pakistan, eventually forcing ISI to retreat.

• Operation Meghdoot

Operation Meghdoot, the code name for the Indian Armed Forces’ operation launched to seize control of the Siachen Glacier in Kashmir. It is a perfect example of how keeping one’s eyes and ears open can save a lot for your nation.

Executed on the morning of 13 April 1984, on the highest battlefield in the world, Operation Meghdoot pre-empted Pakistan’s impending Operation Ababeel (intended to achieve the same objective) and was a success, resulting in Indian forces gaining control of the Siachen Glacier in its entirety. The tip off came to RAW from a London-based garment company that informed them that Pakistan too had bought similar Arctic weather gear which they had earlier supplied to the Indian troops for the Northern Ladakh region.

• Operation Chanakya

During the peak of the Kashmir violence, RAW was assigned the task of infiltrating the Kashmiri separatist groups backed by ISI and restoring peace in the beautiful Kashmir valley.

RAW successfully managed to infiltrate in the area and gather evidence of ISI’s involvement in the funding and training of Kashmiri separatist groups. Operation Chanakya also marked the creation of pro-Indian groups in Kashmir like the Ikhwan-ul-Muslimeen, Muslim Mujahideen etc. which later helped in  infiltrating and neutralising the militancy in the Kashmir valley.

• Operation Cactus

Operation Cactus, the codename given to the intervention of India to defeat the 1988 Maldives coup d’état attempt when around 200 Tamil rebels invaded the Maldives to overthrow the Government. The Indian Armed Forces, at the request of the Maldives’ President, with RAW’s assistance, launched a military campaign to clean out the mercenaries. Paratroopers were lifted from Agra to the Maldives by the Indian Air Force. A precise operation was carried out by all three forces and RAW, and they helped restore the government’s rule in the island nation within hours.

• Operation Leech

One of the most unheard of but also the most controversial intelligence operation put out was Operation Leech. Operation Leech is the name given to an armed operation on the Indo-Burmese border in 1998.

Myanmar has always been a tricky area for Indian intelligence. As per the report, India wanted to establish a stable government. RAW established pro-democracy parties like the Kachin Independence Army (KIA). But, relations with KIA turned sour and RAW initiated Operation Leech. The mission was to assassinate the rebel leaders. In 1998, six top rebel leaders were shot dead and 34 Arakanese guerrillas were arrested on the account of gun-running in the country.

• Snatch Ops for the Intelligence Bureau on Foreign Land

RAW has also been carrying out snatch ops. RAW officers, on input from agencies in India, bypass a lengthy extradition process by catching the suspect in a foreign country and getting them into the country for interrogation in undisclosed locations.

In over a decade, RAW has taken up more than 400 such operations. Some famous terrorists nabbed are Yasin Bhatkal founder leader of the proscribed terrorist organisation Indian Mujahideen; Lashkar militants Tariq Mehmood and Abdul Karim Tunda; Bhupinder Singh of the Khalistan Commando Force; Sheikh Abdul Khwaja, one of the handlers of the 2008 Mumbai attacks among others.

• Amalgamation of Sikkim into India

Sikkim, bordered by the Indian state of West Bengal and India’s neighbours, Tibet, Nepal, and Bhutan in the Eastern Himalayas was a Monarchy. After India’s Independence in 1947, Sikkim became a protectorate under India, which controlled its defence, external affairs, diplomacy and communications.

In 1972, Indira Gandhi authorised RAW to install a pro-Indian democratic government there. RAW did wonders. After widespread demonstration and rioting against the Monarchy in Sikkim, in 1975 a referendum was held in which 97.5% of the electorate (in a nation where 59% of the population could vote) voted to join the Indian Union. And, in less than three years after RAW initiated its operation, on April 26, 1975, Sikkim became the 22nd State of the Indian Union.

• War of 1971 and the birth of Bangladesh

RAW played a crucial role in the creation of Bangladesh. RAW is credited with training, supplying ammunition and intelligence inputs to the Mukti Bahini (Bangladeshi Guerilla Organisation) of Bangladesh. Nearly 10 Million refugees fled to India in the aftermath of Pakistan’s military crackdown in the then East Pakistan. Special Frontier Force (the paramilitary wing of RAW) actively participated in military operations along the Chittagong Hill Tracts.

One failed mission amidst this was preventing the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, which RAW claimed that its input was ignored by the leader and later he was killed along with 40 other members of his family. But, the they successfully thwarted the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur’s daughter, Sheikh Hasina (the current Prime Minister of Bangladesh).

• Operation Sri Lanka

RAW played a double game in Sri Lanka wherein it helped the Sri Lankan Army to destroy the ‘Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam’ (LTTE) while protecting Indian assets against President Rajapaksa’s hitmen and the Tigers.

Later, the Indian govt took a principled decision by supporting the Sri Lankan army’s offensive over LTTE because the entire international community had outrage over the LTTE’s string of suicide bombings. Between 2007 and 2009, when Sri Lanka declared complete victory over the LTTE, it was R&AW which transferred the satellite imagery evidence of all the Tigers’ camps in the eastern and northern provinces to the Sri Lankan military.

• Operation Satori

There is no documented evidence of this Operation, nor do any declassified files exist but RAW did conduct this operation in Sri Lanka with the help of a ‘mysterious’ maid named Sundari, a Sinhalese-speaking Tamil woman who worked to evacuate the RAW officials and secrets from Sri Lanka after they were brought to the notice of president Gotabaya Rajapaksa spies’.

RAW had the confirmed report that the Chinese were secretly providing arms and ammunition to the Sri Lankan army during the civil war and going to invest more than $2 billion in Sri Lanka.

• Operation Hornet

Operation Hornet was launched by RAW in two cities; Paris and London simultaneously, to neutralize the UK-based Abdul Khan, a Pakistani national, who was planning attacks in India with the intervention of ISI and some Indian-Sikh businessmen based in the UK namely, Avtaar Sethi, Harbakhsh Singh, BN Sandhu, and Harpreet Ahuja in the aftermath of Operation Blue Star of 1984.

This one operation had every element of a blockbuster Spy movie; Honey trap, Greediness, Phone tapping, Psy-Ops, Recruiting the Mole, Surveillance, Breaking of the Terror Funding, the Chase and finally Knockout. Sanjeev Jindal, the Indian RAW agent, along with foreign informer and operatives Clarke and Sophie, laid the trap, and Khan was shot dead.

Concluding Remarks and References

RAW, apart from these, took several other intelligence operations to safeguard India’s interests. War in Fiji, and Shadowy War in Washington to hunt traitors are some of the other disclosed operations carried out by RAW, the details of which can be found in the Books;

• ‘RAW: A history of India’s covert operations’ by Yatish Yadav
• ‘India’s External Intelligence: Secrets of R&AW’ by Major General VK Singh
• ‘RN Kao: Gentleman Spymaster’ by Nitin A Gokhale
• ‘The War that made RAW’ by Anushka Nandkumar and Sandeep Saket
• ‘Spy Stories – Inside the secret world of the RAW and ISI’ by Adrian Levy and Cathy Scott-Clark

As the first line of defence against overseas threats, the agency continues to provide intelligence to the prime minister and various security agencies, speaking truth to power. At the same time, the intelligence agency requires a clear political direction with zero interference if it is to maintain its neutrality, speed and efficiency.

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New Delhi: Lack of language expertise among Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) officers, posted overseas as the “eyes and ears” of India, especially in adversarial states, seems to have become a challenge for the agency, ThePrint has learnt.

Most officers sent overseas, especially to crucial postings such as China, do not know the local language, which affects their work that involves raising and developing human intelligence or building a local connection, sources told ThePrint.

Speaking to ThePrint, a source in the agency accepted this challenge as “real”, but added that knowing a language is not the only thing that is taken into account while making these postings and it is not an “overwhelming factor”.

“Language skills definitely play a role. For instance, someone who knows Mandarin Chinese would be preferred to be posted in China-watching stations. But for someone who doesn’t know the language, the agency has language specialists who are in assisting positions. It, of course, may not be the ideal situation,” the source said.

“The officer who is posted in a country should know his desk well. He should be thorough with the country’s affairs, its history, politics and should be able to anticipate developments,” the source said.

“But of course, if the officer knows the language, it is a big plus, which does not happen very often as there are only few people who actually know the language of the country they are posted in,” the source said.

Also read: Mission Majnu glosses over Morarji Desai’s rumoured ‘resentment’ of R&AW & closeness with Pakistan

‘Raising human intelligence requires language skills’

A former senior officer who worked with the agency, however, stressed on the need for officers to gain language expertise.

Raising human intelligence overseas requires language skills and domain knowledge, something the department must ensure, he said to ThePrint.

“The idea of compensating for the lack of language expertise by having a cadre of linguists is not adequate. Posting an officer overseas without a command over the language is a waste of time, effort and money,” he said.

“Officers may say that it is not essential to one’s posting since there is assistance available, but that is only when the posting is in a country with a friendly foreign agency, not in an adversarial state,” the officer explained.

The officer added that the agency should have professionals equipped both with language skills and domain expertise.

The officer further suggested that for this to happen, the induction into the agency has to be done at an early stage when languages can be learnt.

“The average age of inductions into R&AW for any officer is 38 to 40, when they come on deputation after serving five to eight years in service, an age which makes it difficult to learn languages. This is what needs to be addressed,” the officer said.

A second retired officer said to ThePrint that in such assignments, knowing the language plays a crucial role as it requires public dealing and developing sources.

“You cannot take an interpreter for a personal meeting, if you are meeting an important person. Working with interpreters is a slow and cumbersome process. The best way to go about it is to know the language yourself. If you know the language, it is a big advantage and if you do not, it definitely is a challenge, a drawback,” the officer said.

‘Language just a variable’

An intelligence expert who has also served in the agency, however, told ThePrint that language is a variable, but should not become an “overwhelming factor” for these postings.

“When the postings are done abroad, it is an all-encompassing brief. You are supposed to have an idea of what is happening in that country since you are the eyes and ears of India there and you convey it back home through different channels. It is true and even more important for neighbouring countries but there are several other factors that matter in the success or failure of an officer and language has a limited role to play,” the officer said.

“There is much more to it and this is an oversimplification of the issue,” the officer said.

(Edited by Smriti Sinha)

Also read: PLA media villainises India as Xi inspects LAC troops ahead of Chinese New Year

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#CareerBytes: How to join R&AW? Here's everything you should know

The Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW or RAW) is the foreign intelligence agency of the country. Many youngsters dream of joining the premier intelligence agency as it offers prestigious jobs and a chance to serve the nation. R&AW is also considered one of the best intelligence agencies in the world. Here's everything to know about R&AW and different ways to join the agency.

A little about the country's Research and Analysis Wing

The Research and Analysis Wing, which was established in 1968, operates directly under the Prime Minister of India . Its primary objectives are gathering external intelligence, engaging in counter-terrorism activities, and advancing the strategic interests of the country on a global level. The secret intelligence agency also keeps an eye on the political/military developments in adjoining countries that impact India's security and foreign policy formulation.

How is recruitment for R&AW done?

Initially, R&AW used to recruit trained intelligence officers from the Intelligence Bureau 's external wing. However, later, it began hiring personnel from the Indian Armed Forces, police forces, Indian Revenue Service (IRS), or any government institutions. It is also believed that candidates are hired by R&AW directly from universities and colleges. R&AW is a secret agency; one cannot apply to a position in R&AW directly.

Recruitment through the Research and Analysis Services (RAS)

R&AW created its own service cadre, Research and Analysis Services (RAS), in 1983 to recruit talent from other Group A Civil Services , under the Central Staffing Scheme. Direct recruitment of Civil Services officers, who are undergoing the Foundation course at Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration, is also done. So, qualifying the UPSC Civil Services Examination is another option to get into R&AW.

The basic eligibility criteria for getting into R&AW

In order to be eligible for R&AW, the candidates should be Indian citizens with graduation as the minimum educational qualification. They should possess education from good universities or educational institutions; also, they should know at least one foreign language.

Selected candidates are also required to undergo training

Candidates selected for R&AW are required to undergo training, basic and advanced, which lasts for a couple of years. In the basic training, they get to know about espionage, intelligence, information security, space technology, financial/economic/geostrategic analysis, etc. Under the advanced training, they are sent to Field Intelligence Bureau (FIB) and are taught about surviving various conditions, avoiding capture, managing secret operations, facing interrogation, etc.

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Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) of India: History, Purpose & Challenges

From its inception, RAW embraced unconventional methods, often relying on deception, misinformation, and audacious covert operations to achieve its objectives.

Table of Contents

Moto: controversial, multifaceted mandate: safeguarding india’s interests, disintegration of pakistan, ravindra kaushik, afghanistan, controlling kashmir insurgency, challenges and controversy of shadows, future imperatives: adapting to a changing world, conclusion: silent guardian stands watch.

In the realm of international espionage, shrouded in secrecy and whispered legends, operates India’s enigmatic intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW). 

Established in 1968, RAW stands as a sentinel,safeguarding the nation’s security through meticulous intelligence gathering, daring covert operations, and unwavering counter-terrorism efforts. 

To delve into the world of RAW is to embark on a thrilling journey through the shadows, where unseen hands shape global events and national destinies hang in the balance.

Genesis of RAW: Brahmanical Imprint?

Foreign intelligence failure during the 1962 Sino-Indian War led then-Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru to order a dedicated foreign intelligence agency to be established.

However Nehru died in 1964 and later Indira Gandhi (Nehru’s daughter) government decided to create a full-fledged intelligence agency based on the blueprint submitted by Rameshwar Nath Kao, then a deputy director of the Intelligence Bureau. Kao was subsequently also appointed as the first chief of RAW.

RN Kao was born in Varanasi on 10 May 1918 to a Kashmiri Brahmin family who migrated from Srinagar district of Jammu and Kashmir. He was brought up by his uncle Pandit Trilokinath Kao. From 1989, Kao dedicated his time largely to the task of restoring the dignity and honour of the Kashmiri Pandits .

The Motto of RAW is Dharmo Rakshati Rakshitah a Sanskrit phrase from Manusmriti which means “ Dharma protect those who protect it ”. Does it mean that the purpose of RAW is to protect the Dharma (birth based occupational duties determined by the Caste or Varna System) as envisioned in Manusmriti and other Brahmanical scriptures like Bhagavad Gita .

For the unversed, Manusmriti is a controversial Brahmanical book symbolically burnt by BR Ambedkar , the architect of India’s constitution to liberate vast majority of Bahujan classes (OBCs, SCs & STs) from Brahmanical oppressions.

With respect to this Dharma, Bhagavad Gita in chapter 3 verse 35 says that one should rather die discharging their prescribed Dharma (caste determined duties) faultly, than discharging other’s prescribed duties perfectly as it has extremely dangerous consequences.

श्रेयान्स्वधर्मो विगुण: परधर्मात्स्वनुष्ठितात् | स्वधर्मे निधनं श्रेय: परधर्मो भयावह: || 3:35||

It is far better to perform one’s natural prescribed duty, though tinged with faults, than to perform another’s prescribed duty, though perfectly. In fact, it is preferable to die in the discharge of one’s duty, than to discharge other’s prescribed duties as it has extremely dangerous consequences.   3:35

श्रेयान्स्वधर्मो विगुण: परधर्मात्स्वनुष्ठितात् | स्वभावनियतं कर्म कुर्वन्नाप्नोति किल्बिषम् || 18:47||

It is better to do one’s own prescribed occupational duties, even though imperfectly, than to do another’s prescribed occupational duties, even though perfectly. By doing one’s innate duties, a person does not incur sin. 18:47

There are certain other elite Brahminical ideas that makes it extremely dangerous for human fraternity and equality. These include philosophies like-

• Aham Brahmasmi (I am God): Through this elite and Brahmanical classes justify all they do thinking themselves to be God leading to a system devoid of any remorse, responsibility and accountability. Perhaps, this is the reason they never apologised for the caste atrocities.
• Sam Daam Dand Bhed (Lets prevail over others by any hook or crook): Interestingly, mighty empires and dynasts based on this philosophy still crumbled as Holy Quran says “ They plan and plot and God also plans and the God is the best amongst planners ”.
• Advaita Vedanta (Creator and Creation are one and same): This legalizes idol worship , ritualism, etc as a wholesale religious cooperative with Brahmins at the helm; also prevents unity and liberation of masses engulfed in endless religious jargon and superstitions.

All of the above is well reflected in working styles of RAW which since its inception embraced unconventional methods, often relying on deception, misinformation, targeted killings & assassinations and audacious covert operations to achieve its objectives.

According to noted  constitutional  law scholar  Rajeev Bhargava “It [Brahmanism] is a sociopolitical ideology that encodes a memory of an ideal past and a vision of society in the future, one in which Brahmins occupy the highest place not only as exclusive guardians of a higher, spiritual realm but also as sole providers of wisdom on virtually every practical issue of this world. They possess superior knowledge of what a well-ordered society is and how a good state must be run. More importantly, their superior position in society and their superior knowledge stems from birth. This makes them naturally, intrinsically superior to all other humans, so superior that they form a separate species (  jati  ) altogether. Nothing can challenge or alter this fact. No one becomes a Brahmin, but is born so. This sociopolitical ideology makes hierarchy necessary, rigid and irreversible. Brahmanism then is the most perfect form of conservatism, a status-quoist ideology par excellence, entirely suitable to elites who wish to perpetuate their social status, power and privilege. Paradoxically, this is the also the reason why it spread everywhere in India and beyond and why it endures: regardless of your religio-philosphical world view, if you are a privileged elite, you would find this ideology irresistible.”

وَمَكَرُوْا وَمَكَرَ اللّٰهُ ؕ وَاللّٰهُ خَیْرُ الْمٰكِرِیْنَ And they plan. God also has planned and God is the best of planners. Holy Quran 3:54

RAW’s primary functions encompass a vast spectrum. Gathering foreign intelligence on matters concerning national security, thwarting and infiltrating terrorist networks, and safeguarding India’s strategic interests abroad are at the core of its mandate. 

The agency’s tentacles reach far and wide, from monitoring foreign governments and militant groups to conducting covert operations to disrupt potential threats before they materialize.

R&AW maintains active liaison with other agencies and services in various countries. Those agencies include SVR of Russia, Afghanistan’s NDS, Israel’s Mossad, Germany’s BND, the CIA and MI6 have been well-known, a common interest being Pakistan’s nuclear programme

A Legacy of Triumph: RAW’s Pivotal Moments

One of RAW’s most celebrated successes lies in its crucial role during the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971. 

Through covert operations and tactical support to Mukti Bahini rebels, RAW played a pivotal role in dismantling Pakistan’s Eastern wing and paving the way for Bangladesh’s independence. This operation cemented RAW’s reputation as a formidable force in the world of international espionage.

R&AW’s most successful spy Ravindra Kaushik spied in Pakistan in the 1970s. Ravindra Kaushik was born in Sri Ganganagar, Rajasthan on 11 April 1952 in Brahmin family. His father, JM Kaushik, was an Indian Air Force officer.

Kaushik was trained in Delhi for two years to be an undercover Operative in Pakistan. He was also trained to live life as a Muslim and was taught the Urdu language.

Kaushik converted to Islam, underwent circumcision and was given the cover name “Nabi Ahmed Shakir”.

After successfully getting admission in Karachi University, he completed his LL.B. After his graduation, joined Pakistan Army as a commissioned officer and was eventually promoted to the rank of major. He married a local girl named Amaanat and fathered a boy, who died in 2012–2013.

From 1979 to 1983, Kaushik worked as a Pakistani army officer, sending valuable information to India’s R&AW. He was given the title of ‘Black Tiger’ by the Prime Minister of India Indira Gandhi.

However, in September 1983, Kaushik was caught & captured by ISI and tortured for two years at an interrogation center in Sialkot. He was sentenced to death in 1985; his sentence was later commuted to a life term by the Supreme Court of Pakistan.

He managed to secretly send letters to his family in India, which revealed his poor health and the trauma he faced in Pakistani jails. In one of his letters, he wrote:

Kya Bharat jaise bade desh ke liye kurbani dene waalon ko yahi milta hai?” (Is this what people who sacrifice their lives for a big country like India get?)

In November 2001, he died of pulmonary tuberculosis and heart disease in Central Jail Mianwali in Pakistan. According to Ravindra’s family, the Indian government had refused to recognise him and had made no effort to help him.

During the Soviet War in Afghanistan, R&AW had recruited three powerful warlords, including Ahmad Shah Massoud.

In 1996, R&AW had built a 25-bed military hospital at the Farkhor Air Base. This airbase was used by the Aviation Research Centre, the reconnaissance arm of R&AW, to repair and operate the Northern Alliance’s aerial support. This relationship was further cemented in the 2001 Afghan war.

After the September 11, 2001 attacks, R&AW provided the intelligence to western countries that there were over 120 training camps operating in Afghanistan and Pakistan, run by a variety of militant groups .

On 15 June 2023, Avtar Singh Khanda, the UK-based chief of the Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF) was suddenly admitted to the hospital with a case of blood cancer, and later died. His followers in the UK believe that Indian intelligence had him poisoned and are demanding the full medical report.

On 19 June 2023, Hardeep Singh Nijjar , a prominent Khalistani leader and alleged chief of the Khalistan Tiger Force was shot to death outside the parking lot of Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara in Surrey, British Columbia.

This was heavily seen as an R&AW assassination operation by not only followers of Nijjar, but also from Canadian officials.

On 18 September 2023, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau formally accused the Indian government of the killing and acknowledged the expulsion of a prominent Indian diplomat responsible for R&AW activities in the country.

Operation Chanakya also marked the creation of pro-Indian groups in Kashmir like the Ikhwan-ul-Muslimeen, Muslim Mujahideen etc.

These counter-insurgencies consist of ex-militants and relatives of those slain in the conflict. Ikhwan-ul-Muslimeen leader Kokka Parrey was himself assassinated by separatists.

In 1998, Mirza Dilshad Beg, a Nepalese parliamentarian and an ISI informant was assassinated by R&AW.

Assassination of Raju Pargai & Amit Arya was shot in 2011, who was running Mirza Dilshad Beg entire network in Uttarakhand.

In 2015, it was allegedly reported by the Sri Lankan newspaper The Sunday Times, that R&AW had played a role in uniting the opposition, to bring about the defeat of Mahinda Rajapaksa . There had been growing concern in the Indian government, on the increasing influence of economic and military rival China in Sri Lankan affairs.

From its inception R&AW has been criticised for being an agency not answerable to the people of India (R&AW reports to Prime Minister only) . Fears arose that it could turn into the KGB of India.

The main controversy which has plagued R&AW in recent years is over bureaucratisation of the system with allegations about favouritism in promotions, corruption, ego clashes, no financial accountability, inter-departmental rivalry, etc .

Noted security analyst and former Additional Secretary B. Raman has criticised the agency for its asymmetric growth; “ while being strong in its capability for covert action it is weak in its capability for intelligence collection, analysis and assessment. Strong in low and medium-grade intelligence, weak in high-grade intelligence. Strong in technical intelligence, weak in human intelligence . Strong in collation, weak in analysis. Strong in investigation, weak in prevention. Strong in crisis management, weak in crisis prevention. “

Over the years, RAW has faced numerous challenges, navigating the treacherous terrain of Cold War politics, tackling the rise of global terrorism, and countering internal threats. From the hijacking of IC-814 in 1999 to the Mumbai terror attacks of 2008, RAW has been at the forefront of India’s response to these crises, often operating under immense pressure and public scrutiny.

Despite its successes, RAW remains shrouded in an aura of mystery . Its operations are rarely acknowledged, and its agents operate under assumed identities, their sacrifices often unsung . 

The veil of secrecy surrounding the agency is both necessary and controversial. While it allows RAW to operate with impunity and effectiveness, it also fuels speculation and accusations of human rights violations and illegal activities.

However, one aspect of RAW’s operations remains undeniable: its unwavering commitment to India’s national security.

From its role in securing India’s nuclear program to its covert operations against terrorist networks, RAW has played a crucial role in shaping India’s position on the global stage.

Looking ahead, RAW faces new challenges in the form of cyber warfare, rising regional tensions, and the ever-evolving landscape of global terrorism. 

The agency must adapt its methods, embrace technological advancements, and continue to recruit and train the best minds in the country to safeguard India’s future.

The Research and Analysis Wing stands as a testament to India’s resolve and strategic prowess. 

As the world grapples with an increasingly complex geopolitical landscape, RAW’s role as India’s silent guardian becomes even more vital.

While its operations may remain shrouded in secrecy, its impact on India’s national security is undeniable. 

The veiled eye of RAW continues to watch, ensuring that India stands tall amidst the shadows of the international stage.

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• Recently, India’s  Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) completed 53 years in service to the nation.
• Established in 1968, to handle the nation’s international intelligence affairs, RAW came into force after the China-India War in 1962.
• At present, the intelligence arm operates under the aegis of the Prime Minister’s Office.
• RAW provides intelligence support to various significant operations on foreign soil.
• RAW works in cooperation with the Intelligence Bureau or other Indian intelligence agencies.
• After the 1962 China-India war and Indo-Pakistani war in 1965 , India established a separate and distinct external intelligence organization – the Research and Analysis Wing.
•  creation of Bangladesh in 1971, 
• the defeat of Pakistan during the Kargil conflict of 1971, 
• the accession of Sikkim in 1975,
• and the increase of India’s support to Afghanistan.

Working mechanism of RAW  

• RAW collects military, economic, scientific, and political intelligence through covert and overt operations. 
• It also monitors terrorist elements and smuggling rings that transport weapons and ammunition into India.
• It primarily focuses on India’s neighbours. The collected inputs by RAW also help Indian officials, which are further used in national security policy and revise the foreign policy.

Attached Bodies

• The Aerial Reconnaissance Centre (ARC) collects high-quality overhead imagery of activities and installations in neighbouring countries.
• Special Frontier Force:

The inspector general of a paramilitary force of India, the Special Frontier Force reports to the director-general of security for RAW. While the force has functions independent of RAW, it is often fielded to support covert and overt RAW missions.

Source: AIR                                      

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Daily current affairs 13-04-2024, daily current affairs 12-04-2024, daily current affairs 10-04-2024, india’s defence diplomacy.

Recently, the Appointments Committee of Cabinet has approved the appointment of senior IPS officer Ravi Sinha as the chief of India’s external intelligence agency Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) for a period of two years.

About research and analysis wing (r&aw).

• It was established in 1968 to handle the India’s international intelligence affairs.
• It came into force after the China-India War in 1962.
• At present, the intelligence arm operates under the aegis of the Prime Minister’s Office.
• Working mechanism : It collects military, economic, scientific, and political intelligence through covert and overt operations.
• The agency is also charged with monitoring terrorist elements and smuggling rings that transport weapons and ammunition into India.

Genesis of RAW

• Until 1968, the Intelligence Bureau (IB) was responsible for India’s internal intelligence and also handled external intelligence.
• However, after the 1962 China-India war and the Indo-Pakistani war in 1965, India established a separate and distinct external intelligence organization – the Research and Analysis Wing.
• In 1968, then India’s Prime Minister Indira Gandhi appointed R. N. Kao as the first director of RAW.

Q1) What is the role of Intelligence Bureau of India?

The IB is responsible for the collection, analysis, and dissemination of intelligence related to threats to India's internal security. This includes activities such as monitoring terrorist organizations, extremist groups, and other elements posing a threat to law and order within the country.

Source:   RAW’s Ravi Sinha who headed operations is now the agency’s new chief

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The RAW: Understanding India's External Intelligence Agency

• Thread starter Rage
• Start date Sep 29, 2009

More options

• To monitor political and military developments in adjacent countries, including China and Pakistan, which have a direct or indirect bearing upon India's national security and upon the formulation of its foreign policy; Technical and Technological espionage under the auspices of the National Technical Facilities Organisation (NTFO).
• To make the control and limitation of the supply of military hardware to Pakistan, mostly from European countries, the USA and China, a priority.
• To gather intelligence on leadership, capabilities and organization of various insurgency groups operating in adjacent states that pose a national security or integrity threat, and to thwart these using covert operations, assassinations, sabotage, indirect political coercion and exo-agent and interagent collusion where possible.
• To further geopolitical goals, encourage a strategic balance and evince a deterrence of external collusion with domestic insurgency groups by establishing working relationships with secessionist agencies abroad.
• To provide security for India's nuclear program.

[In continuum].... Controversies: The main controversies which have plagued the R&AW in recent years are over bureaucratization of the system, favoritism in promotions, ego clashes and inter-departmental rivalry. R&AW also suffers from ethnic and representative imbalances in the officer level. In 2006, Indian magazine Outlook reported that although India has a Muslim minority numbering around 160 million, not a single high level muslim officer existed in R&AW. Noted security analyst and former Additional Secretary B.Raman has criticised the agency for its asymmetric growth and has sought to summarize its abilities in the following: "while being strong in its capability for covert action it is weak in its capability for intelligence collection, analysis and assessment. Strong in low and medium-grade intelligence, relatively weak in high-grade intelligence. Strong in technical intelligence, weak in human intelligence. Strong in collation, weak in analysis. Strong in investigation, weak in prevention. Strong in crisis management, weak in crisis prevention." In September 2007, R&AW was involved in a controversy due to a high profile Central Bureau of Investigation Task Force raid at the residence of Major General (retired) V K Singh, a retired Joint Secretary of R&AW who has recently written a book on R&AW where it was alleged that political interference and corruption in the intelligence agency has made it vulnerable to defections. A case under the Official Secrets Act has also been filed against V K Singh. Another controversy erupted for the agency when a senior technical officer was arrested by the CBI on graft charges, on February 4, 2009. The scientist, a Director level employee, worked in the division that granted export licenses to companies dealing in “sensitive” items, including defence-related equipment. He was accused of demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs.1 lakh from a Chennai based manufacturer for obtaining an export license. In June 2004, the spy scandal involving former Joint Secretary and head of R&AW's South East Asia department Rabinder Singh's defection to the United States seriously tarnished the image of the organization as an effective agency. The RAW had already become suspicious about his movements and he was put under physical and telephone surveillance following the mistrust. He was confronted by Counter Intelligence officials on 19 April 2004, Despite all precautions, Rabinder Singh managed to defect with 'sensitive files' he had allegedly removed from R&AW's headquarters in south New Delhi. The embarrassing fiasco and major national security failure was attributed to weak surveillance, shoddy investigation and lack of coordination between the Counter-Intelligence and Security (CIS), the IB and the R&AW. Recently in an affidavit submitted to the court, R&AW deposed that Singh has been traced to and put under surveillance in New Jersey. In 2007, a spy scandal involving a Bangladeshi DGFI agent and known by the name of Diwan Chand Mallik was brought to light when he was known to have known posessed some important documents damaging to national security. A case of forgery was filed at the Lodhi Colony police station against the individual on the basis of a complaint by a senior R&AW official, however he was failed to be taken into custody. In Popular Culture Excessive secrecy and rare declassification of activities have ensured that the RAW has remained out of the public imagination. However, films like Mission Istanbul , Asambhav , Dasavathaaram and Veer-Zaara have either made mention of or fictionally predicated themselves upon the agency. Acknowledgments: http://www.fas.org/irp/world/india/...ysis Wing [RAW] - India Intelligence Agencies India Intelligence Organisation Research and Analysis Wing [RAW] - India Intelligence Agencies Research and Analysis Wing - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia RAW: India's External Intelligence Agency - Council on Foreign Relations India, Intelligence and Security ? FREE India, Intelligence and Security information | Encyclopedia.com: Find India, Intelligence and Security research India's External Intelligence: Secrets of Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) http://www.bt.com.bn/en/analysis/2008/01/10/critical_look_at_indias_intelligence_service .  

RAW started with a bang but has over the years become like any other govt organization in India. Just becausebit doesn't havevto report to anyone but the PM and has an accounted funds, it's taken itself for granted. Others like the ISI use such freedom to become a terror, but RAW has gone the other way. Maybe it's recruitment policy has to change. Right now it's mainly recruiting from the police force and we know how the police force is in our country. I think RAW should make spying a career option for those interested. I remember reading the the newspaper as to how the MI6 publishes ads for recruitment.  

Global Defence Moderator

Yusufji the RAW has its onw Civil service cader for recruitment called Today, R&AW has its own service cadre, the Research and Analysis Service (RAS) to absorb talent  

But the majority is from the police. And issues of being unprofessional and not upto scratch need to be addressed.  

this is a problem that has got excabrated with a system of Prement Deputation where by IPS officers are peremently deputated to the RAW  

Isn't there a dedicated course like an Indian spook service that draws the best talent from the country andvthey be recruited? Just on the lines of IAS, IPS, IFS. I'm sure there are many out there wanting to be 007s.  

thats what the the Research and Analysis Service (RAS) is for  

There is a thread on Pakistan's ISI elsewhere, missing is a thread on the main regional power, India. The ISI thread ... This week the Lowy Institute, an Australian think tank had a short review article on its blogsite, by the RUSI (UK) based analyst Shashank Joshi; I thought it was interesting. An Indian "lurker" responded that the article was: Quote: ..a very amateurish attempt...(partly as he relied on)..Srinath Raghavan who knew only in 2013 that Indian intelligence have no legal backing . Raghavan is not a historian but only a young journalist... Click to expand...

VPM's Centre for International Studies Seminar on India as an Emerging Major Power: Foreign Policy Thrust Areas January 27 & 28, 2012 INTELLIGENCE AS FOREIGN POLICY TOOL By V.Balachandran, Former Special Secretary, Cabinet Secretariat, GOI Click to expand...

I really think what we have been doing in Af-PAK, for 12 YEARS (!), is as mad as the impossible to conceive analogy I presented. We know and have known how insane this situation has been for years. The monograph does an excellent job of pulling all the open source evidence together. The problem may be that we may never see official documents confirming how bad the situation has been. Computer files may be a lot easier to 'disappear' than paper. The powers that be have a huge incentive to erase official evidence about how their impregnable personal pride, naivete and arrogance has played right into the hands of the grifters in 'Pindi, and how that has resulted in the deaths of hundreds and hundreds of Americans and thousands and thousands of Afghans. Firn: The thing that interests, and enrages, me is our behavior. The feudal elites/Pak Army/ISI are destroying their country for their own short term benefit and nothing can stop them now. Ironically I think, us being such fools has robbed Pakistan of any chance it may have had. If we had stopped their game 10 years ago they may have been discredited and maybe Pakistan would have had a chance. Not now though. The thing with the game they run on us is they run it on us. It can only work on such titanic fools such as the American elites. Nobody else has the proper combination of narcissistic pride and ignorance. It is no accomplishment besting a fool but they won't remember that and will have very great trouble because the guys in their neighborhood are no fools . But like I said, the thing that interests me is our behavior. It is beyond reason. Click to expand...

When i visualize RAW, i visualize a government office full of scattered files,slow moving fans and paan-ka-dhabbhas in corners. That may not be accurate but RAW is incompetent and this is a fact.  

chase said: When i visualize RAW, i visualize a government office full of scattered files,slow moving fans and paan-ka-dhabbhas in corners. That may not be accurate but RAW is incompetent and this is a fact. Click to expand...

R&AW is not so much incompetent as it is underfunded. The US devotes $52bn USD per year to its 'intelligence community'; another 30-40bn if you include black budget allocations in the DoD that go to covert military ops and C4ISR research. China devotes $110bn per year, in total, to 'domestic security', which, after excluding domestic police functions, leaves 50-60bn for internal CI and external intelligence-gathering. India doesn't even spend that much on its defence budget in total.  

t_co said: R&AW is not so much incompetent as it is underfunded. The US devotes $52bn USD per year to its 'intelligence community'; another 30-40bn if you include black budget allocations in the DoD that go to covert military ops and C4ISR research. China devotes $110bn per year, in total, to 'domestic security', which, after excluding domestic police functions, leaves 50-60bn for internal CI and external intelligence-gathering. India doesn't even spend that much on its defence budget in total. Click to expand...

freethinker777

fake article. nothing like RAW exists.  

freethinker777 said: fake article. nothing like RAW exists. Click to expand...

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How To Join RAW India (Research And Analysis Wing)

• February 28, 2024
• 174 Comments
• 6.5K shares

Have you ever wondered how to join RAW and become part of India’s elite external intelligence agency? The Research and Analysis Wing, commonly referred to by its acronym RAW, stands as the forefront of ensuring national security, engaging in critical operations that safeguard India from external threats. Since its inception in 1968, RAW has evolved to become a pivotal player in India’s strategic interests, handling tasks that range from gathering political and military intelligence to performing anti-terror operations.

For individuals who aspire to serve their country in a capacity that transcends conventional frontiers, understanding the full form of RAW, its significant role in protecting India’s security interests, and the agency’s remarkable history, including its role in the formation of Bangladesh and its strategies during the Kargil War, is an essential first step. Raw India’s exploits resonate not just within our nation’s borders but have echoed across continents, influencing global geopolitical landscapes.

Embarking on a journey to join RAW demands a comprehensive grasp of the agency’s meticulous recruitment and training process. Our article aims to shed light on the eligibility criteria you must meet and the precise steps you need to undertake to be considered for a role as a RAW agent.

As a trusted beacon for defense aspirants, we recognize your ambition to rise above the ordinary and we strive to mentor you on how to become a RAW agent, uncovering details such as the RAW agent salary and career progression within the agency. Joining RAW is not just about harnessing skills; it’s about embodying a sense of purpose that aligns with national pride and duty.

We will navigate through each phase—from the recruitment process to the rigorous training that shapes exceptional RAW agents—ensuring that your pursuit of joining RAW, India’s esteemed intelligence ward, is illuminated with clarity and ambition. Let us inspire and equip you with all you need to realize your potential and embark on a career marked by valor and intelligence, synonymous with RAW’s legacy of excellence.

Understanding RAW and Its Function

As we delve into the essence of RAW, India’s premier intelligence agency, it’s pivotal to comprehend its core functions and the magnitude of its operations. Established in 1968, under the aegis of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, RAW’s inception was a strategic move to bolster India’s intelligence capabilities, particularly in foreign territories. The full form of RAW, which stands for Research and Analysis Wing, encapsulates its mission to conduct research and analysis that is critical to the nation’s safety and strategic interests.

Key Objectives and Functions of RAW:

• Monitoring Developments:  RAW’s primary mandate involves keeping a vigilant eye on political, military, economic, and scientific advancements in countries that could impact India’s security. This surveillance is crucial in preempting any threats and formulating strategic responses.
• Counter-Terrorism:  The agency is at the forefront of tracking terrorist factions and disrupting smuggling networks that funnel illicit arms into the country, thereby fortifying India’s defense against internal and external threats.
• Covert Operations:  RAW agents are trained to execute covert operations with the aim to safeguard India’s national interests. These operations are often shrouded in secrecy but are vital in maintaining the country’s sovereignty and security.

Notable Achievements and Structure:

• Historical Impact:  The agency has been instrumental in several key operations, including the liberation of Bangladesh in 1971 and the integration of Sikkim in 1975, showcasing its pivotal role in shaping India’s geopolitical narrative.
• Direct Reporting:  Unlike other intelligence bodies, RAW maintains a direct reporting line to the Prime Minister, facilitated through the Joint Intelligence Committee, ensuring swift and confidential communication of sensitive information.
• Organizational Hierarchy:  At the structural core, RAW is comprised of the Office of Special Operations, Additional Secretaries, and a dedicated Aviation and Special Services division, all collaborating to fulfill the agency’s expansive mission.

Challenges and Operational Reach:

• Equipment and Manpower:  Despite being ranked among the top five intelligence agencies globally, RAW faces significant challenges, such as a severe staff shortage, with an estimated 40% deficit in personnel as of 2013.
• Strategic Bureaus:  The agency extends its intelligence network through 10 field formations, known as Special Bureaus, strategically positioned in major cities near India’s borders, to gather vital intelligence from neighboring nations.
• Military Hardware Control:  A significant aspect of RAW’s objectives includes monitoring and curtailing the flow of military hardware to Pakistan, predominantly sourced from the United States, China, and Europe, thereby maintaining a balance of power in the region.

In our pursuit of understanding how to join RAW and the full form of RAW, we recognize that aspiring RAW agents must align with the agency’s unwavering commitment to national security. With this knowledge of RAW India, we can appreciate the gravity and prestige associated with becoming a RAW agent. As we continue our exploration, we will uncover the steps on how to become a RAW agent, the raw agent salary, and the profound career paths that lie ahead for those who dare to dream of serving their nation at the highest level of intelligence and valor.

Eligibility Criteria for Joining RAW

Embarking on the esteemed journey to join RAW, India’s premier intelligence agency, necessitates meeting a set of stringent eligibility criteria. These prerequisites are designed to ensure that only the most capable and dedicated individuals are entrusted with the responsibility of safeguarding our nation’s security and interests. As aspirants like you seek to understand how to become a RAW agent, it is imperative to familiarize yourself with the fundamental requirements:

• Must be an Indian citizen.
• Should have a clean record with no criminal background or pending court cases.
• A graduation degree from a recognized university is mandatory.
• Proficiency in at least one foreign language is highly beneficial.
• Candidates often emerge from esteemed positions within the Civil Services, having cleared the rigorous Civil Service Exam, including roles in the IAS, IPS, or IRS.
• Recruitment also extends to meritorious individuals from Indian armed forces such as the Army, Navy, and Air Force.
• Individuals with significant experience, typically more than 20 years in service, are preferred.
• Lateral deputation is another pathway, targeting the Officers Corps of Armed Forces or Group A Civil Service Officers.
• While the exact age limit is not officially specified, candidates are generally expected to be between 25-45 years old.
• Physical fitness is paramount, given the demanding nature of RAW operations.
• Exceptional communication skills are essential for the role of a RAW agent.

As a RAW agent, you will be at the vanguard of defending national security, acquiring critical foreign intelligence, and combating terrorism. You will also play a pivotal role in influencing foreign governments and shaping public opinion globally. The raw agent salary and career trajectory reflect the high stakes and significant responsibilities of the position. With the full form of RAW symbolizing the Research and Analysis Wing, your alignment with the agency’s mission and your adherence to these eligibility criteria will be the first step in your journey towards joining RAW India’s cadre of elite intelligence professionals.

The Recruitment Process

Embarking on the path to join RAW, the Research and Analysis Wing of India, is a journey of meticulous selection and dedication. As we continue to explore how to join RAW, we now focus on the recruitment process, which is as strategic and discerning as the operations of RAW itself.

• Aspirants must first clear the UPSC Civil Services Exam, which is the gateway for various civil services in India, including the IPS and IFS, from which RAW often recruits.
• The full form of RAW stands for precision and excellence, and thus, the agency selects candidates based on stellar performance in the UPSC Exam and their adherence to the eligibility criteria.
• Direct Recruitment at the Class I executive level occurs from civil services officers who are undergoing the Foundation Course at Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA).
• RAW agents, including most secretaries, have historically been officers from the IPS, with other posts being held by officers from the IFS and IRS.
• The selection process for RAW agents intensifies with interviews and psychological assessments conducted at the end of the LBSNAA Foundation Course to identify candidates with the right aptitude for intelligence work.
• Shortlisted candidates are then inducted to work at RAW India for a one-year period, during which their performance and adaptability to the intelligence culture are evaluated.

Eligibility and Preparation :

• Nationality and Legal Standing : Candidates must be unwaveringly loyal Indian citizens, with a clean legal record, free of any criminal background or pending court cases.
• Educational and Age Requirements : A graduation degree from a reputed institution is essential, and candidates must be less than 56 years of age, with a requisite number of years’ experience in government service.
• Language and Skills : Proficiency in at least one foreign language is highly beneficial, reflecting the global operational reach of RAW agents.

By understanding the full form of RAW and aligning with the agency’s mission, you can prepare to navigate the challenging recruitment process. Remember, the raw agent salary is commensurate with the high-stakes and significant responsibilities that come with the role. As you contemplate how to become a RAW agent, keep in mind the dedication and commitment required to serve India’s premier intelligence agency.

Training of RAW Agents

Embarking on the rigorous journey to become a part of RAW, India’s esteemed intelligence agency, involves a meticulously structured training regimen designed to hone a wide array of skills necessary for the multifaceted role of a RAW agent. We aim to provide insights into the comprehensive training process that each aspirant undergoes, reinforcing the commitment to excellence synonymous with the full form of RAW – Research and Analysis Wing.

Basic Training Curriculum

Upon selection, trainees are initiated into the world of intelligence with a robust basic training module that spans various critical areas:

• Espionage Techniques : Trainees are introduced to the art of real-world espionage, learning the nuances of clandestine operations and information gathering.
• Technological Proficiency : Space technology and information security form the backbone of modern intelligence; hence, aspirants are equipped with cutting-edge scientific knowledge.
• Analytical Acumen : A strong emphasis is placed on financial, economic, and geo-strategic analysis to develop the analytical prowess needed for high-stakes decision-making.
• Case Studies : Learning from past successes and failures, trainees study detailed case studies of other intelligence agencies to understand the dynamics of global intelligence work.

Advanced Training: Field Intelligence Bureau (FIB)

After mastering the basics, trainees advance to the Field Intelligence Bureau training, which is an intensive 1-2 year program focusing on:

• Survival Skills : Agents are trained to survive in the most hostile environments, ensuring their readiness for any situation.
• Covert Operations : Mastery in secret operation management, including infiltration and exfiltration techniques, is imparted to handle sensitive missions.
• Interrogation Resistance : Trainees learn to resist and manage interrogation scenarios, a critical skill for maintaining operational integrity.
• Operational Execution : From contact management to mission operation, agents are equipped to execute complex intelligence tasks with precision.

Pathway to Permanent Selection

The journey from trainee to a full-fledged RAW agent is marked by a series of evaluations and choices:

• Initial Induction : Candidates selected through RAS or direct recruitment at the Class 1 Executive Level undergo a year of intensive training, during which their compatibility with intelligence work is assessed.
• Optional Reintegration : At the end of the first year, trainees have the option to return to their parent service, allowing for a reevaluation of their commitment to RAW India’s mission.
• Final Selection : Those who exhibit unwavering dedication and exceptional skill are permanently inducted into the Research and Analysis Service, ready to embark on a career filled with challenges and triumphs.

Throughout the training, the raw agent salary reflects the high stakes and rigorous nature of the work. As you deliberate on how to join RAW and how to become a RAW agent, it’s clear that the path is not easy, but for those who are determined, it’s a journey of transformation into an intelligence professional of the highest caliber. The full form of RAW is a testament to the comprehensive education and preparation that each agent receives, ensuring their readiness to protect and serve with intelligence, valor, and an unwavering sense of duty.

Career Path and Roles in RAW

Embarking on a career with RAW India, the full form of RAW being Research and Analysis Wing, opens up a spectrum of roles that are pivotal to the nation’s security. Here, we outline the career path and roles within RAW, providing a roadmap for aspirants like you, who are seeking to understand how to join RAW and become integral to India’s intelligence framework.

Career Path in RAW

• The journey begins with selection into an elite government job such as IAS or IPS, followed by a national aptitude test in intelligence and psychology, and an interview process.
• Successful candidates are recruited through the Research and Analysis Service (RAS) cadre, part of the Central Staffing Scheme, and undergo a one-year training period to assimilate into RAW’s culture and operations.
• Senior Roles : Secretary/Additional Secretary (R), Joint Secretary
• Mid-level Roles : Director/Deputy Secretary/Attache
• Operational Roles : Senior Field Officer, Field Officer, Deputy Field Officer, Assistant Field Officer
• Advancement through these ranks is contingent on performance, dedication, and the successful execution of missions.
• RAW officials receive the opportunity for international training, equipping them with global intelligence perspectives and operational techniques, which are crucial for RAW agents working in diverse geopolitical landscapes.

Roles and Responsibilities in RAW

• Foreign Intelligence Gathering : As a RAW agent, you will be at the forefront of collecting sensitive information from foreign lands, which is critical for shaping India’s foreign policy and strategic decisions.
• Counter-Terrorism Operations : RAW agents play a decisive role in thwarting terrorism, ensuring the safety of India’s populace and its sovereign interests.
• Policy Advisory : Leveraging the intelligence gathered, RAW agents provide invaluable insights to policymakers, influencing decisions at the highest levels of government.
• Nuclear Security : A RAW agent’s role extends to securing India’s nuclear program, a task of profound national importance.

Maintaining Integrity and Performance

• Performance Review : RAW agents are consistently evaluated for their performance. Those who excel are rewarded with progression, while those who do not meet the standards may face forced retirement.
• Integrity Assurance : The integrity of a RAW agent is paramount. Any doubts regarding an agent’s loyalty or conduct can lead to termination, ensuring the agency remains uncompromised.

As you consider how to join RAW and how to become a RAW agent, it’s clear that the path is demanding yet rewarding. The raw agent salary and benefits are reflective of the high-stakes nature of the work. With RAW India, you are not just choosing a job; you are committing to a lifestyle of vigilance, patriotism, and excellence. Your role within RAW will be instrumental in shaping the security narrative of the nation, and as such, every step of your career will be marked by the pursuit of brilliance and an unwavering dedication to the service of India.

Some of the known activities and operations of RAW are as follows:

• ELINT operations aimed at China
• Bangladesh liberation and aftermath
• Operation Smiling Buddha
• Amalgamation of Sikkim
• Kahuta’s Blueprint
• Operation Lal Dora
• Operation Meghdoot
• Kanishka Bombing case
• Special Operations
• Operation Cactus
• Operations in Sri Lanka
• Anti-Apartheid Movement
• Operation Chanakya
• Overthrowing monarchy in Nepal
• Help to the Northern Alliance
• Operation Leech
• War on Terror
• 2008 Mumbai attacks
• Snatch operations with IB
• 2015 Sri Lankan presidential election

Different Job Roles (Designations )  in RAW

1. What is the process to become an agent in RAW India?

To pursue a career as a RAW agent, candidates must first clear the Combined Graduate Preliminary Exam (CGPE) conducted by the Staff Selection Commission (SSC). Subsequently, they need to qualify for the ‘Group A’ Civil Services exam under the Central Staffing Scheme and excel in all stages of the Civil Service examination.

2. Is it possible to join RAW without taking the UPSC exams?

Direct recruitment into RAW is not available; therefore, candidates must go through the UPSC (Union Public Service Commission) examination process.

3. Where is the headquarters of RAW located in India?

The headquarters of RAW is situated in New Delhi, which serves as the capital of India and is part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is also the administrative hub for all three branches of the Government of India.

4. What is India’s primary secret intelligence agency?

India’s main foreign intelligence agency is the Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW).

5. How challenging is it to work for RAW?

Working as a RAW agent is not an easy task; it demands significant hard work, dedication, and a rigorous training process.

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9 facts about americans and marijuana.

The use and possession of marijuana is illegal under U.S. federal law, but about three-quarters of states have legalized the drug for medical or recreational purposes. The changing legal landscape has coincided with a decades-long rise in public support for legalization, which a majority of Americans now favor.

Here are nine facts about Americans’ views of and experiences with marijuana, based on Pew Research Center surveys and other sources.

As more states legalize marijuana, Pew Research Center looked at Americans’ opinions on legalization and how these views have changed over time.

Data comes from surveys by the Center,  Gallup , and the  2022 National Survey on Drug Use and Health  from the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Information about the jurisdictions where marijuana is legal at the state level comes from the  National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws .

More information about the Center surveys cited in the analysis, including the questions asked and their methodologies, can be found at the links in the text.

Around nine-in-ten Americans say marijuana should be legal for medical or recreational use,  according to a January 2024 Pew Research Center survey . An overwhelming majority of U.S. adults (88%) say either that marijuana should be legal for medical use only (32%) or that it should be legal for medical  and  recreational use (57%). Just 11% say the drug should not be legal in any form. These views have held relatively steady over the past five years.

Views on marijuana legalization differ widely by age, political party, and race and ethnicity, the January survey shows.

While small shares across demographic groups say marijuana should not be legal at all, those least likely to favor it for both medical and recreational use include:

• Older adults: 31% of adults ages 75 and older support marijuana legalization for medical and recreational purposes, compared with half of those ages 65 to 74, the next youngest age category. By contrast, 71% of adults under 30 support legalization for both uses.
• Republicans and GOP-leaning independents: 42% of Republicans favor legalizing marijuana for both uses, compared with 72% of Democrats and Democratic leaners. Ideological differences exist as well: Within both parties, those who are more conservative are less likely to support legalization.
• Hispanic and Asian Americans: 45% in each group support legalizing the drug for medical and recreational use. Larger shares of Black (65%) and White (59%) adults hold this view.

Support for marijuana legalization has increased dramatically over the last two decades. In addition to asking specifically about medical and recreational use of the drug, both the Center and Gallup have asked Americans about legalizing marijuana use in a general way. Gallup asked this question most recently, in 2023. That year, 70% of adults expressed support for legalization, more than double the share who said they favored it in 2000.

Half of U.S. adults (50.3%) say they have ever used marijuana, according to the 2022 National Survey on Drug Use and Health . That is a smaller share than the 84.1% who say they have ever consumed alcohol and the 64.8% who have ever used tobacco products or vaped nicotine.

While many Americans say they have used marijuana in their lifetime, far fewer are current users, according to the same survey. In 2022, 23.0% of adults said they had used the drug in the past year, while 15.9% said they had used it in the past month.

While many Americans say legalizing recreational marijuana has economic and criminal justice benefits, views on these and other impacts vary, the Center’s January survey shows.

• Economic benefits: About half of adults (52%) say that legalizing recreational marijuana is good for local economies, while 17% say it is bad. Another 29% say it has no impact.

• Criminal justice system fairness: 42% of Americans say legalizing marijuana for recreational use makes the criminal justice system fairer, compared with 18% who say it makes the system less fair. About four-in-ten (38%) say it has no impact.
• Use of other drugs: 27% say this policy decreases the use of other drugs like heroin, fentanyl and cocaine, and 29% say it increases it. But the largest share (42%) say it has no effect on other drug use.
• Community safety: 21% say recreational legalization makes communities safer and 34% say it makes them less safe. Another 44% say it doesn’t impact safety.

Democrats and adults under 50 are more likely than Republicans and those in older age groups to say legalizing marijuana has positive impacts in each of these areas.

Most Americans support easing penalties for people with marijuana convictions, an October 2021 Center survey found . Two-thirds of adults say they favor releasing people from prison who are being held for marijuana-related offenses only, including 41% who strongly favor this. And 61% support removing or expunging marijuana-related offenses from people’s criminal records.

Younger adults, Democrats and Black Americans are especially likely to support these changes. For instance, 74% of Black adults  favor releasing people from prison  who are being held only for marijuana-related offenses, and just as many favor removing or expunging marijuana-related offenses from criminal records.

Twenty-four states and the District of Columbia have legalized small amounts of marijuana for both medical and recreational use as of March 2024,  according to the  National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws  (NORML), an advocacy group that tracks state-level legislation on the issue. Another 14 states have legalized the drug for medical use only.

Of the remaining 12 states, all allow limited access to products such as CBD oil that contain little to no THC – the main psychoactive substance in cannabis. And 26 states overall have at least partially  decriminalized recreational marijuana use , as has the District of Columbia.

In addition to 24 states and D.C.,  the U.S. Virgin Islands ,  Guam  and  the Northern Mariana Islands  have legalized marijuana for medical and recreational use.

More than half of Americans (54%) live in a state where both recreational and medical marijuana are legal, and 74% live in a state where it’s legal either for both purposes or medical use only, according to a February Center analysis of data from the Census Bureau and other outside sources. This analysis looked at state-level legislation in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

In 2012, Colorado and Washington became the first states to pass legislation legalizing recreational marijuana.

About eight-in-ten Americans (79%) live in a county with at least one cannabis dispensary, according to the February analysis. There are nearly 15,000 marijuana dispensaries nationwide, and 76% are in states (including D.C.) where recreational use is legal. Another 23% are in medical marijuana-only states, and 1% are in states that have made legal allowances for low-percentage THC or CBD-only products.

The states with the largest number of dispensaries include California, Oklahoma, Florida, Colorado and Michigan.

Note: This is an update of a post originally published April 26, 2021, and updated April 13, 2023.  

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Americans overwhelmingly say marijuana should be legal for medical or recreational use

Religious americans are less likely to endorse legal marijuana for recreational use, four-in-ten u.s. drug arrests in 2018 were for marijuana offenses – mostly possession, two-thirds of americans support marijuana legalization, most popular.

About Pew Research Center Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world. It conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, media content analysis and other empirical social science research. Pew Research Center does not take policy positions. It is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts .

Exploring the Power of Text Analysis with Gale Digital Scholar Lab

by Rahil Virani

In a recent event by Gale for UW-Madison, participants explored investigative journalism and digital humanities using the Gale Digital Scholar Lab . The event titled “Going Hands-on with the Gale Digital Scholar Lab: A Closer Look at the ‘Female Stunt Reporter’ Dataset,” offered a chance to learn new skills and knowledge and to get ready to apply text analysis techniques in their projects/research.

Overview of the Dataset The Female Stunt Reporters Dataset comprises 91 documents sourced from various archives including the Women’s Studies Archive, Nineteenth Century U.S. Newspapers, American Historical Periodicals, and others, covering the period from 1885 to 1925. These documents, compiled using Gale Primary Sources and Gale Digital Scholar Lab, offer a rich resource for exploring the roles and contributions of female journalists during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The dataset represents an array of publications and perspectives, providing insight into the challenges, achievements, and evolving narratives surrounding women in journalism during this period. Researchers utilizing this dataset can delve into the experiences and impacts of female reporters, shedding light on their historical significance within the field.

Getting Started Using  Google or Microsoft Office 365 accounts via NetID, users could easily access the lab and save their research securely on the Gale Digital Scholar Lab. Each project or workspace could be created using different datasets, allowing for organized management. Gale Digital Scholar Lab features 16 preinstalled datasets covering historical events and social movements, providing valuable resources for exploration and research. However, users should be cautious of potential data incompleteness, biases, and the necessity for cleaning before analysis. To learn how to create and set up an account, please click on this link .

Building Your Dataset Building a Content Set in Gale Digital Scholar Lab involves two main steps: searching for documents and curating the results.

• Search : Search Gale Primary Sources, accessible through your institution’s library. Use keywords or terms relevant to your research interests to find documents. You can search based on words within documents or by utilizing metadata fields.
• Review and Curate Results : After searching, review the information of each document to assess its suitability for your Content Set. Consider factors such as relevance to your research questions, quality of content, and metadata associated with the document.

Once you’ve identified and curated the documents you want to analyze, add them to your Content Set for further exploration and analysis in Gale Digital Scholar Lab.

Preparing Your Dataset Preparing your dataset for analysis is crucial in text analysis, and Gale Digital Scholar Lab offers a comprehensive cleaning feature to ensure your documents are formatted appropriately. By creating multiple cleaning configurations, users can tailor the cleaning process to suit specific analysis needs. This involves removing unwanted words or characters that could impact analysis results. The process includes creating a cleaning configuration, testing it on a subset of documents to ensure effectiveness, and then applying it during analysis. This ensures consistency and accuracy in data preparation, allowing researchers to focus on extracting insights rather than dealing with data inconsistencies.

Analyzing Your Dataset This phase empowers you to interrogate hundreds or thousands of documents using digital tools, which would have been too time-consuming without computational algorithms. It guides you through selecting the right tool by asking pertinent questions about your analysis goals. It also covers setting up and running tools effectively to refine results. The available tools include Document Clustering for grouping documents based on similarity, Named Entity Recognition for extracting proper and common nouns, Ngrams for analyzing term frequencies, Parts of Speech for identifying grammatical components, Sentiment Analysis for gauging overall sentiment, and Topic Modeling for grouping frequently co-occurring terms into topics. Each tool offers unique insights, facilitating a comprehensive analysis of your dataset.

Overview – Gale Digital Scholar lab Overall, the event helped in understand how Gale’s platform facilitates research and academic endeavors by integrating its extensive Primary Sources collections with open-source text mining and natural language processing tools. This Single Platform Text and Data Mining Environment streamlines content set creation, cleaning, parsing, and analysis, while optimized cloud-hosted data ensures accessibility and ease of use. To find out about future text analysis related events, please visit UW-Madison Libraries’ Data Services page . 

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Cancer waiting times: Latest updates and analysis

11 April 2024

This article provides information on the latest performance against cancer waiting times targets. We have another piece explaining the recent changes to cancer waiting times in England .

Over the past few years, pressure on NHS cancer services has been mounting.

Cancer waiting times, which show whether the health system is meeting its targets for quickly diagnosing and treating cancer, help show us the extent of this pressure.

Testing for cancer, diagnosing it and starting treatment quickly saves people from stress and anxiety. Not only this, but cancer that’s diagnosed and treated at an early stage, when it isn’t too large and hasn’t spread, is more likely to be treated successfully. Prompt diagnosis and treatment underpin this.

December 2023 was the first month that the reported data on cancer waiting times is reflecting the new updated NHSE targets , as explained in our previous article . 

The standards have been streamlined into 3 key cancer waiting time standards with associated targets that   indicate how well cancer services are doing .  

Here are the latest results in England for February 2024:

The Faster Diagnosis Standard:  Target Met

• 78.1% of people were diagnosed, or had cancer ruled out, within 28 days of an urgent referral in February 2024. The target is 75% and this is the first time the target has been met since its introduction in October 2021.

The 62-day referral to treatment standard: Target Missed

• Only 63.9% of people in England received their diagnosis and started their first treatment within 2 months (or 62 days) of an urgent referral* in February 2024. The target is 85%.

The 31-day decision to treat standard: Target Missed

• 91.1% of people started treatment** within 31 days of doctors deciding a treatment plan in February 2024. The target is 96% . 

The  above  data are specific to England. Scotland,  Wales and Northern Ireland also have their own cancer waiting times targets. 

While it's promising that more people are finding out if they have cancer or not faster, thousands of people in England are still waiting longer than they should to begin treatment every single month. Behind missed targets are patients - friends, family and loved ones who are facing unacceptably long and anxious waits to find out if they have cancer and when they can begin treatment. NHS staff are doing their best, but our health service simply does not have enough equipment or staff to see, test and treat everyone in time. With a general election on the horizon, there's a real opportunity for political parties to turn things around. We urgently need more staff and equipment for the NHS, alongside reform to cancer services. Without this, cancer patients will continue to face even more fear and anxiety, during what is already a stressful time in their lives.

What does this mean for people affected by cancer?

It can be easy to forget that behind these numbers are real people going through an incredibly anxious time.

Quantifying the impact of missing targets and longer waits on patient outcomes is difficult as the research is limited.

The picture is different for different cancer types – some progress quicker than others – but we know the overall impact is likely to be negative. One study estimated that a 4-week delay to cancer surgery  led to a 6-8% increased risk of dying .

People with more aggressive cancers are prioritised for early treatment where possible, but there can be good reasons why someone might experience a long wait for treatment.

For example, it can take longer to plan treatments intending to cure someone’s cancer, and sometimes patients need prehabilitation before starting treatment to give them the best chance of recovering well.

But increases in missed targets mean people who need potentially lifesaving cancer treatments are waiting, and worrying, for longer – and that is a big concern.

Despite delays, people shouldn’t put off coming forward if they are worried about symptoms. It’s always better to be on the waiting list than not at all, and if doctors are concerned, they will push things through as quickly as possible.

Getting back on track

Once again, the cancer waiting times published today represent unacceptable waits for cancer patients. Behind every one of these missed targets are patients, friends, family and loved ones who are facing unacceptably long and anxious waits to find out if they have cancer and when they can begin treatment.  

Whilst it is welcome that the Faster Diagnostic Standard (FDS) of 75% has been met, which is testament to the hard work of NHS staff in responding to growing demands for diagnostic tests, the 75% target is set well below the originally recommended target of 95%. We have not seen all cancer waiting times met since 2015 which represents a long-term failure to plan and invest in the NHS workforce and key facilities and equipment.  

Longer, Better Lives sets out the 5 missions that we want the next Government to adopt and implement to help reduce cancer mortality rates by 15% and prevent 20,000 cancer deaths a year by 2040. It provides the ‘cancer blueprint’ for political parties ahead of a 2024 general election, setting out actions which can be taken to ensure that services are diagnosing more cancers at early stages and so that those who go on to receive a diagnosis have access to optimal treatments.

To build momentum behind this, the next UK Government should commit to consistently meeting all cancer waiting time targets for England by the end of the next Parliament, and address NHS resource gaps by developing a 10-year cancer-specific workforce plan, eliminating the wider NHS maintenance backlog by 2030 and committing to rolling ringfenced capital investment for cancer. This will only be possible through significant investment in NHS staff and equipment, coupled with reform to cancer services.  

Progress in efforts to tackle cancer is possible. Thanks to lifesaving research into cancer prevention, diagnosis and treatment, survival for all cancers combined in the UK has doubled since the early 1970s.  But with cancer cases on the rise and improvements in survival showing signs of slowing , cancer is still a defining health issue in the UK. It’s vital that the Government takes bold action to address these growing challenges. This includes introducing the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, which continues it legislative journey in Parliament next week. With thousands of lives lost to tobacco related cancers each year , the Bill is one of the biggest opportunities we have had to prevent cancer in a generation.  

With a relentless focus, and a long term plan on preventing cancer, diagnosing cancers earlier and reducing inequalities, bringing tests, treatment and innovations to patients more quickly and building a national movement to beat cancer, together – we can elevate UK cancer survival to amongst the best in the world and help everyone lead longer, better lives free from the fear of cancer.  

* Urgent referrals include urgent referrals from a GP for cancer symptoms or breast symptoms, urgent referrals from a cancer screening programme, and referrals upgraded by a consultant.  

It’s important to note that the update to cancer waiting times standards in October 2023 means that more types of referral are now included in the 62-day standard. This means that that the 62-day standard now applies to more people than before.  

** This standa rd i ncludes people starting their first treatment for canc er and a lso people starting a ny subsequ ent treatments. B e fore October 2023, t h e 31 – day standard included first treatments only.  

Husband diagnosed with kidney cancer after a MRI for another reason. Dr referred for urgent review to urology after seeing the MRI he called for another reason. Was told by the urologist that a CT would be needed. This is what has happened next CT scan 20 Feb Results kidney cancer possibly Adrenal as primary and lung nodules so was referred to Endocrine.

Was told all above on the 27 Feb by phone call. Also being referred for a lung biopsy which we have heard nothing yet. March saw Endocrine team was told bloods were needed and urine test all done and results were back on the 20 th March.

21 March was told not Adrenal as the primary as previously thought it is kidney cancer still. Was told we would get a biopsy in two weeks time . I phoned up they said biopsy would be 24 April which is nearly 6/7 weeks after and well over the two week biopsy wait was told it would be. I am still chasing this up. Lung biopsy was told 4 week wait on the 27 Feb still no news. We have been passed from Kidney to Endcrine back to urology again. No treatment Not even seen an oncologist yet. Only had CT MRI Full blood Urine test One Doctor seen at one appointment Shocking really we was told on the the letter its stage 4 not even by a doctor.

I had a fall at work of about 9 feet. Sustained Multiple fractures, my Wrist, Collar bone. etc,. Had C.T Scan followed by M.I.R while in A&E. 5 days later got phone call to say they had found a growth. At Adrenal Gland was told it was on it.(So assumed on outside ) Then on the 6th day since fall got another phone call to go in for what the caller said was for emergency M.I.R and Bloods..In mean time received letter saying growth was inside the Adrenal Gland.? So do not know if on outside or inside and not told size of it..Just told When results of last M.I.R. are in system i would be getting appointment to Endocrinology. That was 3 weeks ago..I have phoned Endocrinology twice once it got to over 2 weeks. Keep being told my results are not yet in the System. And in any case waiting list for Endocrine appt,. is one huge long waiting list. Today weirdly i was told my results are still not in system but then was told She would get my Consultant i have not met yet to phone me..Obviously i cannot work until fractures heal and plaster comes off. So i have too much time to worry and feel in Limbo as to what will,… is to happen next..

Fourteen years of incompetent government.

too informative and thanks for sharing this much knowledge with us.

Husband diagnosed with bladder cancer in August 2023. Awaiting a bladder removal. Aggressive cancer & waiting list is 4-5 months. Due according to the surgeon to strikes. I will be taking legal advice & action. NOT good enough.

I had a PSA test in January that scored 19. The follow up test two weeks later scored 21. I then had an MRI scan followed buy a CT scan & prostate gland biopsy. On 19th May a consultant Urologist at Leicester General Hospital told me I had stage three cancer with a high Gleeson score. He prescribed hormone treatment and referred me to Oncology. On the 22nd Aug I saw an Oncology consultant & was told I needed seven & half weeks of radiotherapy. Owing to the “backlog” treatment wouldn’t start for two & half months and if I hadn’t heard anything by then to “Give them a call” I was advised by Prostaid to “chase this up” Today I called Radiotherapy at Leicester Royal Infirmary and was told I’m number eighty in the queue and the list is being cleared at four per week. Unfortunately, it looks as if I have another five months to wait before any futher treatment will start. I’ll continue with hormone injections.

My daughter was diagnosed with grade 4 bladder cancer on 14th July 2023. She has still not started treatment. Is this because they know she’s going to die so they see no urgency in treating her. They can’t operate and she only saw the oncologist 10 days ago. It’s disgraceful. She is very distressed at the lack of treatment and this can’t be doing her any good physically either.

I am not happy I have not had chemo for 6mths it is very stressful

From my own experience, I cannot fault the care and treatment I have received from Oxford University NHS Trust. I was referred by my GP for tests on 14/02/23, received a phone call from my local hospital, The Horton General in Banbury, on the 15th inviting me for a CT Scan on the 16th, on the 16th I received another phone call this time from the endoscopy unit offering me an appointment on the 18th,…. bad news! On the 1st March I was sat in front of my consultant at the Churchill Hospital in Oxford getting the really bad news. I started palliative chemotherapy and immunotherapy on 29th March and have just completed my sixth and final cycle of chemo with immuno to continue. Perhaps I am lucky (well only sort of, because the outcome is now per-ordained) because of where I live and OUHNHSTrust includes the Churchill Hospital, an acknowledged cancer care unit. Finally, a big shout out to ALL the wonderful and caring staff, from Professor Ramon De Melo, Dr. (Consultant) Paul Miller, all the Macmillan nurses, all the nurses and staff at the Horton GH in Banbury and particularly those at the Brodey Center who administer the chemo/immuno therapies.

I waited 10 weeks for results of my two yearly scan! Consultant said well if it was good news I would have rang you within a couple of weeks! I started palliative chemo 16 weeks after my scan! The stress this has caused for me and my family is unimaginable. My cancer is not curable but it is treatable. At the time of the scan my cancer spread was small but 16 weeks down the line who knows!

These figures showing the many missed targets are absolutely shocking but don’t come as a surprise. As a former experienced RadiationOncologist in the north of England, I kept making awareness of delays in cancer diagnosis and treatment, particularly radiotherapy, in the public domain 30 years ago. The current dreadful missed target figures are a direct result of long term significant underfunding of cancer services by many governments and are extremely worrying.

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