If you want to start out as an Intelligence Bureau officer, then be prepared to earn Rs 5500 a month (basic) and expect an annual increment of Rs 175 until your salary touches Rs 9000. No wonder there is such a massive vacancy in the Intelligence Bureau which very often our politicians have accused of not providing the required alerts ahead of a terror strike.
While the salary aspect to the job has only ensured that there ware 5000 vacancies in the Intelligence Bureau, the other complaint is that it is a thankless job. The Intelligence Bureau last week went on a drive to recruit more persons into the bureau and even conducted an entrance examination for the post of Assistant Central Intelligence Officer. The turn out was quite disheartening and only 40 per cent of those had been shortlisted turned up to write the examination.
The required strength of the intelligence bureau should be at least 50000 considering the threat perception the country has today. However there are over 6000 vacancies in the bureau which they are finding hard to fill up.
There are two problems attached the job. The salary is the first part and the fact that one needs to remain anonymous is another since it turns out to be a thankless job at the end of the day. There is an urgent need for the IB to increase the strength in the wake of a growing terror threat. Although there are around 50000 officers, not all are on the field to handle terrorism. There are cyber experts, financial IB officers, political IB officers. The problem area is the intelligence gathering wing concerned with national security, IB officials point out. What makes matters worse is the majority of the vacancies are in the lower posts which in fact are the most important. It is these officers in the rank of Assistant Central Intelligence Officer who are on the field and need to gather and share information.
Many a time, it is our officers who carry out a heroic act such as the nabbing of Yasin Bhatkal, but never get the credit. It is always the police who take the credit since they are allowed to speak on record to the media while we are not. It does demoralise officers to some extent, but the biggest problem is the salary, the officer also points out.
The other issue is that those already who are part of the police force opt not to join the Intelligence Bureau. Many of the field level officers whom we find in the IB are either forcibly transferred out of the police force either as a suspension from the force or punishment. These are officers who are already demoralised and one cannot expect the best of work from them, the IB officer says.
The problems get worse. Firstly none of the recommendations made after the Kargil war or the 26/11 attack have been introduced. Post Kargil the nation found it important to have more IB officials on the borders and even recommended hiring 3000 personnel for the job. However just 1400 are in operation today. After the 26/11 attack, the recommendation was to recruit 6000 more officers for effective intelligence. It has been five years now and only 2000 out of the 6000 have been recruited.
The officers are not sanctioned a house, where as a constable in the police force gets this benefit. The mobile reimbursements at time are as low as Rs 1000 a month and very often this is never sufficient.
The IB due to the very bad perks offered by the government has also seen a major drop out rate. Many officers quit the IB after serving 3 to 5 years never to return. The first postings are always in the border areas and after a tough assignment several of them are demoralised due to the paltry salary and lack of perks. When the officers go up to the government to discuss the matter, they always speak about a cash crunch. Last time around it was suggested that some officers should be deputed, but the IB is averse to this idea. We cannot depute people on such an important job. The training itself takes three years and we want the person to stay back. In the case of a deputation, there is no guarantee that the officer will continue to remain in the IB.
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