Who is Parag Jain, the new RAW chief and what did he contribute to Operation Sindoor?

The central government announced on Saturday that it has appointed senior IPS officer Parag Jain as the new head of the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW).

He will assume office on July 1, succeeding Ravi Sinha whose term concludes on June 30. The position has a fixed two-year tenure. Jain is the second senior-most officer in RAW after Sinha.

Jain is a 1989 batch IPS officer of the Punjab cadre and has over two decades of experience. Jain is currently the head of Aviation research centre (ARC). The ARC is known to have played an important role in Operation Sindoor, having offered intelligence inputs that facilitated precise missile strikes in terrorist hideouts in Pakistan. The ARC played a role in monitoring Pakistani aircraft and airspace during the operation enabling the IAF to carry out major strikes.

He also had significant contributions when Punjab faced a terrorism crisis, serving as SSP and Deputy Inspector general in different parts of the state.

Jain handled the Pakistan desk within Raw and had tenures in Jammu and Kashmir during the abrogation of Article 370. He served in Sri Lanka and Canada, monitoring Khalistani terror modules operating there. He also held various sensitive positions related to national security and foreign intelligence.

His appointment as chief has come at a time when India’s dynamics with its neighbours have gained complex new developments in the aftermath of Operation Sindoor.

India