Lt Gen GAV Reddy succeeds Lt Gen KJS Dhillon as Defence Intelligence Agency head

Lieutenant General GAV Reddy, SC, has been appointed as the new head of the Defence Intelligence Agency. General Reddy would be succeeding Lt Gen KJS Dhillon. The Director-General of the Defence Intelligence Agency is the head of the organisation and is among the principal advisors on intelligence to the Minister of Defence and the Chief of Defence Staff.

The post of the director general is held on a rotation basis between the three Armed services. The first Director-General of the DIA was Lt Gen Kamal Davar, former director-general of the Indian Army's Mechanised Forces.

Know more about Lieutenant General GAV Reddy

Lieutenant General GAV Reddy who is all set to take charge as the head of the Defence Intelligence Agency was previously serving as the ninth Commandant of the prestigious Officers Training Academy (OTA), Gaya.

Lt Gen Reddy attended the Defence Services Staff College at Wellington and also held a vast number of important Command and Staff appointments. An alumnus of the Officers Training Academy, Chennai, Lt Gen Reddy was commissioned into the 9th Battalion of the Jat Regiment on 8 March 1986. 

What is the DIA and how does it operate?

The Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) is an intelligence agency responsible for providing and coordinating defence and military intelligence to the Indian Armed Forces. It was formed in March 2002 and is administered within and directly under the due guidance of the Ministry of Defence.

The DIA falls among one of the most quintessential and nodal agencies for all defence-related intelligence in India, thus distinguishing it from the other Indian intelligence internal and external agencies. DIA controls the Indian Armed Forces' technical intelligence assets the Directorate of Signals Intelligence, a Tri-service agency, and the Defence Image Processing and Analysis Centre (DIPAC).

While the Signals Directorate is responsible for acquiring and decrypting enemy communications, the DIPAC controls India's satellite-based image acquisition capabilities. The DIA also coordinates the Defence Information Warfare Agency (DIWA) which handles all elements of the information warfare repertoire, including psychological operations, cyber-war, electronic intercepts, and the monitoring of sound waves. Its operations are highly classified and have several successes to its credit which will remain a secret.

(Image: ANI)