In a move that reflects both continuity and a bold new direction, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi government has appointed Parag Jain as the new Chief of the Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW), the country’s premier foreign intelligence agency. This announcement, made on June 28, 2025, is not just about the succession of leadership at R&AW but a defining moment for our strategic intelligence landscape. Jain is no stranger to the complex corridors of covert operations and high-stakes diplomacy. He has served in some of the most challenging and volatile theatres of intelligence — from counterterrorism operations in South Asia to deep surveillance in the Indian Ocean region. However, it was his pivotal role in the execution of the highly classified Operation Sindoor that has etched his name into the annals of our intelligence history. Operation Sindoor, though still cloaked in official secrecy, is widely understood to have involved the extraction of high-value assets from hostile territory, neutralisation of cross-border threats, and the safeguarding of our strategic interests in a geopolitically sensitive terrain. Jain’s planning and leadership were reportedly instrumental in its precision and success — showcasing his hallmark traits: analytical depth, operational foresight, and a steely calm under pressure. With Jain at the helm, R&AW is poised to strengthen its technological and human intelligence capabilities in an increasingly volatile global order. The modern battlefield has extended into cyberspace, information warfare, and psychological operations — domains that Jain is reputed to understand well. His tenure is expected to fast-track the integration of AI-driven surveillance tools, cyber threat analysis units, and multilingual intelligence cells capable of interpreting regional nuances from East Africa to Southeast Asia. Equally crucial is his belief in inter-agency synergy. Jain has been a vocal advocate for tighter coordination between R&AW, the Intelligence Bureau, and the National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO). In an age where threats are multidimensional and transnational — from state-sponsored cyberattacks to hybrid warfare tactics — such cooperation is not just desirable, but essential. Critically, Jain’s leadership arrives at a time when India is reasserting its presence on the global stage — from the Indo-Pacific to West Asia. The country needs an intelligence apparatus that is agile, anticipatory, and proactive. With Parag Jain steering R&AW, one can expect a more assertive posture in foreign intelligence gathering, better threat anticipation, and a more resilient national security framework. His appointment is both a tribute to decades of unsung service and a signal of what lies ahead — a sharper, smarter, and more self-reliant intelligence ecosystem. In Parag Jain, we may have found not just a spymaster, but a visionary architect of our strategic future.