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Directorate of Naval Intelligence (India)

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Full article adapted from Wikipedia revision 1368968617 by Wikipedia contributors. Text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Formatting has been adapted; article text and references are retained. Snapshot imported 2026-09-25.
Naval intelligence directorate of the Indian Navy

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Directorate of Naval Intelligence
Insignia of the Indian Navy
Country India
Branch Indian Navy
TypeMilitary intelligence
RoleNaval intelligence
HeadquartersIntegrated Headquarters, Ministry of Defence (Navy), New Delhi
Military unit

The Directorate of Naval Intelligence (DNI) is the naval intelligence directorate of the Indian Navy. It functions at Naval Headquarters within the Integrated Headquarters of the Ministry of Defence (Navy) in New Delhi.[1]

Publicly released Ministry of Defence records identify a number of appointments within the naval-intelligence organisation, including Director Naval Intelligence, Director Naval Intelligence (Operations) and Director Naval Intelligence (Protocol).[2][1][3]

Organisation

The Directorate of Naval Intelligence forms part of the staff organisation of Naval Headquarters. Detailed information concerning its internal organisation, personnel strength and operational procedures is not publicly released.

Official Ministry of Defence biographies nevertheless provide information about some of the appointments associated with the directorate.

Rear Admiral Atul Anand served as Director Naval Intelligence (Operations) during his career at Naval Headquarters. He subsequently served as Assistant Chief of Naval Staff (Foreign Cooperation and Intelligence), Director General Naval Operations and Additional Secretary in the Department of Military Affairs.[4]

Vice Admiral Atul Kumar Jain served as Director Naval Intelligence (Protocol) at Integrated Headquarters, Ministry of Defence (Navy), before later holding senior operational and tri-service appointments.[3]

Vice Admiral H. C. S. Bisht also served as Director Naval Intelligence at Naval Headquarters during his career.[5]

Head of the directorate

The head of the Directorate of Naval Intelligence is a senior naval officer. Public announcements do not consistently identify the incumbent.

In February 2021, the Ministry of Defence stated that Rear Admiral S. Venkat Raman had been heading the Directorate of Naval Intelligence at Naval Headquarters immediately before taking command of the Naval War College, Goa. He was a specialist in communications and electronic warfare.[2]

Foreign cooperation and intelligence

Naval Headquarters also includes the senior flag-rank appointment of Assistant Chief of Naval Staff (Foreign Cooperation and Intelligence) (ACNS (FC&I)).[1]

The post combines responsibilities relating to foreign naval cooperation and intelligence at Integrated Headquarters, Ministry of Defence (Navy). Rear Admiral Atul Anand assumed the appointment in February 2018.[1]

In November 2019, the ACNS (Foreign Cooperation and Intelligence) co-chaired Indian Navy–Russian Federation Navy staff talks in New Delhi. Discussions included operational interaction, training, exchange of best practices and other areas of naval cooperation.[6]

In June 2025, Rear Admiral Nirbhay Bapna, then Assistant Chief of Naval Staff (Foreign Cooperation & Intelligence), addressed the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium Working Group on Maritime Security. The meeting considered information-sharing frameworks, maritime domain awareness and regional maritime-security cooperation.[7]

Intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance

Indian Navy personnel operating mission systems aboard a P-8I maritime patrol aircraft during the search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 in 2014.

The wider intelligence capability of the Indian Navy is supported by maritime intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) platforms and sensor networks. Public sources do not specify which individual operational platforms are controlled directly by the Directorate of Naval Intelligence.

The Navy's P-8I long-range maritime patrol aircraft are equipped for anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions over maritime and littoral areas.[8]

The first P-8I arrived in India in 2013. The Ministry of Defence stated that its sensor suite provided maritime reconnaissance, anti-submarine and electronic-intelligence capabilities.[9]

During a demonstration for Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in May 2022, the Navy demonstrated the P-8I's long-range surveillance, electronic warfare, imagery-intelligence, anti-submarine warfare and search-and-rescue capabilities. The Ministry of Defence stated that the aircraft had significantly increased persistent naval surveillance over the Indian Ocean Region.[10]

An Indian Navy P-8I. The aircraft performs maritime reconnaissance and ISR missions in addition to its anti-submarine and anti-surface roles.

Maritime information sharing

The Indian Navy also operates a wider maritime information and domain-awareness architecture. These organisations and systems are distinct from the Directorate of Naval Intelligence, but contribute to the Navy's broader maritime-information environment.

Information Fusion Centre – Indian Ocean Region

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman inaugurating the Information Fusion Centre – Indian Ocean region in December 2018.

The Information Fusion Centre – Indian Ocean region (IFC-IOR) was established at Gurugram on 22 December 2018 and is hosted by the Indian Navy. Its purpose is to improve collaborative maritime safety, information sharing and maritime-domain awareness across the Indian Ocean Region.[11]

By February 2024, the Government of India stated that IFC-IOR maintained links with 25 partner countries and more than 40 international and multinational organisations for real-time information exchange.[12]

Maritime domain awareness network

In July 2025, the Indian Navy signed a contract with Bharat Electronics for development of the National Maritime Domain Awareness network. The project provides for the upgrade of the existing National Command, Control, Communication and Intelligence (NC3I) Network and incorporates AI-enabled software for data collation, analysis and information sharing among maritime stakeholders.[13]

The Navy further strengthened its maritime-domain-awareness infrastructure with the commissioning of INS Aravali at Gurugram in September 2025. The establishment supports information and communication centres forming part of the Navy's command, control and maritime-domain-awareness framework.[14]

Relationship with defence intelligence

At the tri-service level, coordination of military intelligence among the Indian Army, Indian Navy and Indian Air Force is undertaken through the Defence Intelligence Agency within the Integrated Defence Staff.

The service-specific intelligence organisations include:

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Rear Admiral Atul Anand, VSM takes over as the Assistant Chief of Naval Staff – Foreign Cooperation and Intelligence". Press Information Bureau, Ministry of Defence. 5 February 2018. Retrieved 11 August 2026.
  2. ^ a b "Rear Admiral S Venkat Raman takes charge of Naval War College at Goa". Press Information Bureau, Ministry of Defence. 26 February 2021. Retrieved 11 August 2026.
  3. ^ a b "Vice Admiral Atul Kumar Jain takes over as the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, ENC". Press Information Bureau, Ministry of Defence. 30 May 2019. Retrieved 11 August 2026.
  4. ^ "Vice Admiral Atul Anand takes over as Additional Secretary, DMA". Press Information Bureau, Ministry of Defence. 3 July 2023. Retrieved 11 August 2026.
  5. ^ "Vice Admiral HCS Bisht takes over as the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Naval Command". Press Information Bureau, Ministry of Defence. 29 February 2016. Retrieved 11 August 2026.
  6. ^ "4th Indian Navy - Russian Federation Navy Staff Talks". Press Information Bureau, Ministry of Defence. 1 November 2019. Retrieved 11 August 2026.
  7. ^ "Indian Navy hosts IONS Working Group Meeting on Maritime Security". Press Information Bureau, Ministry of Defence. 26 June 2025. Retrieved 11 August 2026.
  8. ^ "Navy's Long Range Maritime Patrol Aircraft - Boeing P-8I". Press Information Bureau, Ministry of Defence. 13 November 2015. Retrieved 11 August 2026.
  9. ^ "Arrival of First Indian Naval P-8I LRMRASW Aircraft at INS Rajali". Press Information Bureau, Ministry of Defence. 15 May 2013. Retrieved 11 August 2026.
  10. ^ "Hon'ble Raksha Mantri onboard Indian Navy's P8I Aircraft". Press Information Bureau, Ministry of Defence. 18 May 2022. Retrieved 11 August 2026.
  11. ^ "Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR) and Regional Coordination Operations Centre sign MoU". Press Information Bureau, Ministry of Defence. 22 February 2023. Retrieved 11 August 2026.
  12. ^ "Maritime Security". Press Information Bureau, Ministry of Defence. 2 February 2024. Retrieved 11 August 2026.
  13. ^ "Indian Navy signs contract with M/s BEL for National Maritime Domain Awareness Project". Press Information Bureau, Ministry of Defence. 8 July 2025. Retrieved 11 August 2026.
  14. ^ "Indian Navy to strengthen its Maritime Domain Awareness capability with commissioning of INS Aravali at Gurugram". Press Information Bureau, Ministry of Defence. 11 September 2025. Retrieved 11 August 2026.
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