Intelligence Bureau is country`s security agency taking care of the security aspects of the country. In the year 1947, under the Ministry of Home Affairs India`s Intelligence Bureau was renamed and it was called as Central Intelligence Bureau. It is said that the perception of Intelligence Bureau of India came from Major General Sir Charles Macgregor, who was selected as the `Quartermaster General` as well as the head of the `Intelligence Department`. He was appointed the head for British Indian Army at Shimla in the year 1885. The main objective in those days was to monitor Russian troop deployments in Afghanistan to obstruct the Russian invasion of British India through the northwest during the late 19th century.

In the year 1909, Office of Indian Political Intelligence was founded in England in reply to the development of Indian revolutionary activities in England, which was named as the Indian Political Intelligence (IPI) from 1921. This was a state-run monitoring and observation agency. India Office and the Government of India jointly executed the Indian Political Intelligence. They together reported to the Secretary of the Public and Judicial Department and the Director of Intelligence Bureau (DIB) in India. Further, this agency also preserved close contacts with Scotland Yard and MI5. Recently a Private American Intelligence newsgathering STRATFOR has scheduled Intelligence Bureau of India as one of the five Best Intelligence agencies in the whole world.

Responsibilities of Intelligence Bureau
The chief responsibilities of Intelligence Bureau of India include garnering intelligence from within the country and also carry out counter-intelligence and counter-terrorism tasks. The intelligence bureau employs officials from law enforcement agencies mostly Indian Police Service officers as well as from the Indian Army. Other than domestic intelligence responsibilities, the Intelligence Bureau is particularly responsible to maintain the intelligence collection in border areas. This task was particularly stressed after the 1951 proposals of the Himmatsinhji Committee, also acknowledged as `North and North-East Border Committee` that is a task commended to military intelligence organizations before independence of the country in 1947. The Intelligence Bureau also executes other external intelligence responsibilities as of 1951.

Activities of Intelligence Bureau
The Intelligence Bureau activities are highly confidential and no publications other than the internal ones do reveal their arcane workings. Their largely speculative task includes clearance of license to amateur radio professionals. Another major activity of Intelligence comprises passing on intelligence information among other Indian Intelligence agencies as well as the police. The Intelligence Bureau is responsible for granting the basic safety clearances to Indian diplomats and judges before their national oath. On exceptional occasions, Intelligence Bureau officers interact with the media during acute national crisis. Other than inter checking around 6,000 suspicious letters daily, Intelligence Bureau also has email spying software similar to FBI`s carnivore system.

The Intelligence Bureau is also authorized to carry out wiretapping without a warrant. Moreover, the Intelligence Bureau also has numerous authors who are responsible to write letters to various newspapers and magazines and thus supports the government`s viewpoint. The collection mechanisms of the Intelligence Bureau change depending on the region, but the Intelligence Bureau executes its functions both at the state level and the national level. Employees of the Intelligence Bureau carry out the bulk of the intelligence collection strictly internally and only the higher officers execute coordination and higher-level management of the bureau generally. Intelligence Bureau has so far been divided into three categories - namely general, technical and ministerial. This division has different tasks to perform. However, officers from general cadres always get favoured treatment. This is because general cadre with the technical support does most of the intelligence information gathering. The technical cadre and the ministerial cadre provide this information.

Working of Intelligence Bureau
Subsidiary Intelligence Bureau is a subsidiary unit of the Intelligence Bureau at the state level that is headed by officers of the rank of Joint Director or above. But smaller Subsidiary Intelligence Bureaus are sometimes headed by Deputy Directors. The Subsidiary Intelligence Bureaus work through their units at district headquarters under the in-charge of Deputy Central Intelligence Officers. The Intelligence Bureau maintains an array of field units and headquarters, which are under the control of Joint or Deputy Directors. It is through these offices and the complicated process of delegation that a very `organic` connection between the state police agencies and the Intelligence Bureau is maintained. Moreover, Intelligence Bureau at the national level operates through several units, to keep a record of issues like terrorism, counter-intelligence, VIP security and threat assessment in India.

Ranks of Intelligence Bureau
Director Intelligence Bureau (post held by senior most Indian Police Service officer; and the only 4 star rank equivalents to Armed Forces Generals in terms of insignia)
* Special Director/Special Secretary (equivalent to DG)
* Additional. Director (equivalent to ADG)
* Joint Director (equivalent to Inspector General of Police)
* Deputy Director (equivalent to DIG)
* Joint Deputy Director (equivalent to SSP)
* Assistant Director (equivalent to Superintendent of Police/ SP]])
* Deputy Central Intelligence Officer (equivalent to DSP)

Ranks of Non-Gazetted Officers (Group `B`)
* Assistant Central Intelligence Officer (equivalent to Inspector)

Ranks of Non-Gazetted Officers (Group `C`)
* Assistant Central Intelligence Officer Grade II (equivalent to Sub-inspector)
* Junior Intelligence Officer Grade-I (equivalent to Assistant Sub-inspector)
* Junior Intelligence Officer Grade-II (equivalent to Head Constable)
* Security Assistant executive (Constable)

There are diverse ranks of executives which stick on for executing and managing the targets of the administration. Sometimes it so happens that the executives are compared with state police service positions which are of course different than the ranks in the nation`s premier intelligence agency.