Lt Gen Dinesh Singh Rana, India’s new Defence Intelligence Agency chief

On 31 March 2023, Lieutenant General Dinesh Singh Rana was appointed the new Director General of India’s Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA), also known officially as Deputy Chief of Integrated Defence Staff (Intelligence). He succeeds Lieutenant General GAV Reddy, who held the appointment for just a year. For context, DIA chiefs are usually appointed for two-year terms.

He is a graduate of the National Defence College (India), Centre for National Defence Studies (Spain) and National Defence University (US). As a Young Officer, Rana served in Indian-Occupied Jammu & Kashmir (IOJ&K) when he was awarded the Sena Medal for Gallantry.

On promotion to Brigadier rank, he led the 11 Mountain Brigade in Arunachal Pradesh under the famed 21 Mountain Division (Red Horns Division) of 4 Corps, also known as the Gajraj Corps; this formation is considered a critical combat brigade overlooking China. Later on, Rana was posted in Military Operations (Army Headquarters). He represented the Director General Military Operations in a Ceasefire Review Committee with the National Socialist Council of Nagaland – Isak-Muivah Faction (NSCN(I-M)). The NSCN(I-M) primarily consists of Tangkhul Nagas from Nagaland and Manipur, who aim to establish Greater Nagaland (Side Note: The faction observed 25 years of ceasefire in 2022).

As Major General, Rana was the General Officer Commanding (GOC) of 71 Mountain Division of 4 Corps, also known as Blazing Sword Division. He was later recalled to Army Headquarters as Provost Marshal, where he oversaw the activities of the Military Police. Despite this unusual appointment, he was engaged in parallel by Indian Army’s think tank for lectures on China.

On elevation as Lieutenant General, his first appointment was Director General Staff Duties at the Integrated Headquarters of the Ministry of Defence (Army). He was subsequently sent to Eastern Command once again, as GOC 4 Corps. During this coveted appointment, Rana was observed actively engaging with the local academic, veteran and paramilitary communities to strengthen understanding of the perceived Chinese threat. A few highlights below:

  • Engaging with the Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati to collaborate on research and development (R&D) activities of interest.
  • Engaging scientists at Defence Research Lab in Tezpur to review various R&D activities aimed primarily at enhancing the operational efficiency of troops in North Eastern states.
  • Hosting a seminar on China titled “Demystifying the Dragon” under the broader aegis of Eastern Command. The event witnessed participation by leading China experts in India, including more than 200 officers such as senior military leadership, field commander, veterans, diplomats and also a military member of the National Security Advisory Board. These members of the intelligentsia were interfaced with serving and retired officers to gain an enhanced understanding of Chinese strategic thought and discuss strategies to manage its perceived threat to Indian security interests.
  • Construction of “model posts” for frontline troops in difficult northeastern terrains using state-of-the-art indigenous construction technologies.
  • Initiative to train Assam Police commandos through 4 Corps across seven locations in Assam and Meghalaya in survival tactics, Cordon And Search Operations (CASO), unarmed combat, field engineering and advanced military training. These commandos would be inducted in five new commando battalions of the Assam Police.

Apart from the above engagements, Rana directly experienced tense standoffs against his People’s Liberation Army (PLA) counterparts. During skirmishes involving Indian and Chinese troops, he visited Tawang to hail the “high morale” of troops under his command.

Scholarly Activities

Understanding Rana’s profile would be amiss without highlighting his scholarly work on China and its military-strategic thought. As a participant in the 56th National Defence College (India) Course, the then Brigadier Rana wrote his M.Phil thesis on “The Chinese Proposed Defence Restructuring and its Impact on India”. The major contents of this paper were republished by an Indian Army’s think tank. In it, Rana discusses President Xi Jinping’s reorganisation and restructuring of the PLA in great depth and the implications for the Indian Army’s command and control structure. He acknowledges the strategic partnership between India and Japan. However, he asks policymakers to decide if India should be a “regional balancer”, “swing state”, or “strategic hedge” in the context of Indo-US relations. He emphasises the need for India to develop “effective hard power” to dissuade China, especially in the context of feared collusion with Pakistan.

In the rank of Major General, Rana wrote a paper titled “China’s Military-Civil Fusion Strategy and Implications for India”. In it, he discussed the evolution of the Communist Party of China’s (CPC’s) Military-Civil Fusion in detail, beginning with Mao Zedong and strengthening under Xi. He recommends India build up its Non-Contact Warfare capabilities against the backdrop of PLA’s intelligent warfare.

Rana’s most recent publication, as Lieutenant General, is a paper titled “China’s Military Diplomacy in New Era and Implications for India”. In it, he discusses the contours and elements of CPC’s military diplomacy and recommends policy measures on how India can try to match the same. He lays particular emphasis on networking with foreign officers through training in Indian defence institutions and enhanced cooperation between India’s Defence Attaches and the Indian Foreign Service. The gist of his argument is that India’s conventional policy of military cooperation should be transformed into proactive diplomacy to secure long-term gains, especially around the Indian Ocean neighbourhood.

Professional Networking

At the 56th National Defence College Course, Rana was joined by several coursemates, including those from foreign militaries. Some retired (including one deceased), while many continue to serve in senior leadership positions. The table below lists identifiable coursemates, with highlighted sections for those with whom camaraderie is perceived as particularly interesting and resourceful. Names are listed in descending ranks, not necessarily in the order of actual seniority.

DIA’s Mandate

The DIA was set up at the turn of the second millennium and is the only nodal military intelligence agency that coordinates between tri-services intelligence bodies but also deals in aspects of information warfare and diplomacy.

A recent report disclosed that the Directorate of Signals Intelligence under DIA, which is responsible for code-breaking enemy communications, purchased spyware from Cognyte, an Israeli company and rival to the controversial NSO Group. The DIA also processes, analyses and disseminates sensitive imagery intelligence through a constellation of satellites via its Defence Image Processing and Analysis Centre (DIPAC). The Defence Information Assurance and Research Agency (DIARA), known previously as Defence Information Warfare Agency (DIWA), is responsible for psychological, electromagnetic and cyber operations, which it routinely disseminates to the National Security Council for policymaking and discussions by the Cabinet.

As the nodal armed forces intelligence agency, DIA is expectedly also involved in diplomacy by coordinating with liaison officers and military/defence attaches of foreign countries. There have been events during which DG DIA/DCIDS (Int) delivered lectures to trainee officers in India’s defence institutions.

Conclusive Assessment

A detailed examination of Rana’s career and military social network reveals the following:

  • Extensive leadership training from foreign defence institutions, including NDU Washington.
  • Overwhelming China-focused career and scholarly experiences, including recurring appointments to 4 Corps/Eastern Command and developing intellectual linkages between field commanders in the North East and China study experts in the academia, diplomatic and veteran communities.
  • Coursemates include senior incumbent leaders of operational formations overlooking Pakistan and China, particularly in Northern Command and also chiefs of Sri Lanka Navy and Tanzania Defence Forces (Side Note: The author recalls information shared earlier this year by a mid-ranking Pakistani naval officer that Tanzania excused itself from participation in multinational peace exercise AMAN 2023 because of “India’s influence”).

It is worth reiterating that Rana’s predecessor was moved out a year earlier than he was supposed to. Apparently, the Government of India wanted an experienced “China hand” to coordinate between tri-services, and provide overall strategic guidance to operational commanders. Moreover, the DG DIA also interfaces with India’s Ministry of External Affairs viz defence diplomacy, so the network of unique contacts held by Rana will prove helpful.

In the recent past, the US disclosed that it shared real-time satellite imagery intelligence with India during the latter’s standoff with China. It was also reported that the American DIA intend to expand one of its international information networks, Stone Ghost, to include more countries in 2024. It will not be farfetched to believe that India will be included in this network. If Washington authorises the American DIA to include India in Stone Ghost, Rana will be their focal person.

Given his impressive profile and intellectual acumen, the Government of India has taken a leap of faith by entrusting Rana to improve intelligence sharing, primarily concerning the PLA’s perceived regional expansion. His predecessors, Reddy and, before that, Lieutenant General (Retd) Kanwal Jeet Singh Dhillon, had mostly served in formations dealing with Pakistan/IOJ&K.

The PLA will view Rana’s appointment with great intrigue, but Pakistan needs to be equally mindful. While the Pakistan Armed Forces will be busy securing themselves during vicious internal political chaos and economic crisis coupled with stated plans for reinvigorated intelligence-based operations against terrorist groups, Rana’s operators will find ample opportunities to attempt code-breaking of sensitive Pakistani communication channels.

Zaki Khalid

The author is an Intelligence Analyst, Trainer and Consultant with management-level experience in Pakistan's national security sector. He writes for CSCR as an External Contributor and can be reached on Twitter: @misterzedpk

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