Very few want intelligence job

With the need for a more formidable intelligence system in the country growing after every terror attack, very few people are interested in joining the Intelligence Bureau (IB), the premier agency for gathering information inputs within the country. This is highly surprising that young aspirants are not interested at all in vying for intelligence as career option. Hence, the IB’s quest for more men and women for the organisation is not getting equal response.

This is revealed as the number of examinees who turned for an entrance exam for the post of assistant central intelligence officer (ACIO), held by the IB. In the said exam, only 45 per cent of those short listed turned up. This is worrying for the IB officer and the country as a whole everybody talks of security but few are opting for this job.

Going by the statistics, IB has current staff strength of about 25,000, including technical and cyber experts, with over 4,000 vacancies are to be filled urgently. Also, there is a need to increase its manpower to widen its intelligence-gathering network to prevent terror strikes like the one in Mumbai last month. At present, IB needs at least 40,000 personnel to carry out its operations throughout the country. In October, Shivraj Patil, the then Home Minister, asked the IB to complete the recruitment process of 6,000 additional personnel by 2009.

One reason for low turn out is that the vacancies are mostly from the lower ranks such as ACIO. Poor remuneration and career prospects are some of other reasons that few aspirants are choosing intelligence as a career option. Promotion is also very slow in IB, for example, “a sub-inspector (ACIO) in IB takes 15 years to become an inspector and only 5 per cent of the cadre finally retire as SP or DIG. So, upward mobility is very slow, whereas the job requires more hard work than policing.”

Recognition is another big factor, as most of the successful accomplishments done by IB men remain unknown to the people. On the salary count, an ACIO joins at a basic monthly salary of Rs 5,500 with an increment of Rs 175 every year till the salary reaches Rs 9,000. This is too low a pay package for job of securing this country.

With so few field agents, how can we guarantee intelligence? The government expects IB men to work 20 hours a day, with hardly any helping hand and no perks. Besides, there is a huge hue and cry about intelligence failure these days.

Intelligence gathering is a tough and responsible job that needs specialised training. It is a duty to save the country from all sorts of threats, and for which young aspirants need to be motivated to work in IB.