How to Join RAW in India: Step by Step Guide

Most people may have heard of the CIA, KGB, and Mossad. For the Indian government, RAW is synonymous with these agencies. Yes, RAW is India’s foreign intelligence service working behind the scenes to ensure our country’s security. Although most RAW operations focus on external threats, they can also address internal threats.

The Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) is not as large as the CIA or the KGB, but it is efficient and secretive. As you can see, the term RAW has only been in the media for a few years. One has to ask whether most Indians knew such an organization existed. However, knowing the importance and nature of the work, there is an Indian crowd dreaming of finding a job at RAW. Compared to CBI, NIAs, police forces, etc. Getting a job at RAW isn’t easy. Simply put: That’s impossible.

You can only dream of a job in RAW, there is no absolute solution. After all, the RAJ recruits candidates itself and there is no system to register and join the RAJ directly.

However, we do have a number of options that can help you get your work in RAW. Before we explain how to get a job at RAW, we’ll explore the entire agency. How does it work? What is its purpose? What is the difference with other Indian agencies? Et cetera.

What is RAW or R&AW?

The Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) is one of India’s leading foreign intelligence agencies. Most people do not know that the RAW was established only because the Indian government was unable to discover whether the Chinese army was ready to attack India in 1962 because until then intelligence and external operations had been carried out. However, the failure of the intelligence services in 1962 led the Indian government to recognize the shortcomings of the current system and to consider setting up a new foreign intelligence agency.

As a result, RAW was established as an external intelligence service to monitor the actions of China and Pakistan against India. But RAV, as we know it now, is different. Today RAW is present all over the world and is not limited to China or Pakistan. RAW’s performance has also increased over the years.

RAW’s first director, Nat Kao, is the one who has made RAW as diverse and effective as we know it today. Most of RAW’s systems and their known success are the result of the skill and experience of Rameshwar Nath Kao. Few Indians are aware of these facts.

What is the role and purpose of RAW?

As said, the role and purpose of RAW are very secret, that’s the only thing we know for sure.

1. Observation of military and political developments in other countries in relation to India. In other words, regardless of the country, if it takes military or political action against India, the RAO must monitor it and take steps to block these military and political developments.
2. RAW also has the task of controlling the supply of arms and financial support to terrorists and, if possible, blocking or preventing it altogether.
3. RAV also plays an important role in limiting the availability of military equipment for Pakistan and other neighboring countries from other Western countries or China.

Various details of RAW have been shown in the media in recent years, there is no guarantee that these details and facts presented in the media are true. The secret nature of RAW remains an obstacle to learning.

Read Also: Personality Tests for Jobs

How does RAW differ from CBI and NIA?

Yeah, these three agencies are all different, and there are a lot of other details we don’t know about today. That’s all we know so far.

1. The CBI and the CIA are central investigative services that can operate without first-line confidentiality. But when it comes to RAW, they always work in secret.
2. Most of the business and activities of the NIA and CBI are located in India, while RAW carries out most of its work outside India.
3. CBI and NIA work more closely with the state government and use police equipment for some of their preparatory work, but when it comes to RAW they usually work with the Indian army, navy, or air force.
4. The CBI and the CIA are internal investigations and the RAO is an external intelligence service.
5. The CBI and the NIA have been politicized for some time because they are under the direct control of the central government. As far as we know, however, the central government cannot politicize RAW.

What are the titles of the positions in RAW?

There are only a few places we know that deal with RAW, the amount of detail available to most people on these subjects is limited. As far as we know, however, these are some of the job titles that are known today.

1. the secretary –
2. Special Secretary/Assistant Secretary
3. Only one secretary
4. Director or Deputy Director
5. senior member
6. Representative in the field
7. deputy representative
8. Representative in the field

Of these 8 job titles, the first 4 are classified in group A. As a rule these are IPS, IFS, IRS, owner. The other four job titles, on the other hand, are group B or group C officials.

With regard to RAW, there are no sub-inspectors or inspector positions such as at CBI and NIA. This is one of the things that distinguishes RAW from other central facilities.

Now you know everything there is to know about RAW, but these details are incomplete, but it’s nobody’s fault because the agency itself is by nature very secretive. Let’s see how we can get a job at RAW.

Before you get to the heart of the matter, this is what you need to know about RAW agents and their roles.

1. The work of a RAW employee can be demanding and very complex.
2. Although most RAW field or ground agents travel around the world, they must know a different language and have different skills.
3. The RAW employee must always be ready for action and willing to learn new things based on his experience and reports.
4. If you are an active RAW agent, you will not be publicly recognized for your work.
5. Everything that happens to a RAW agent is tracked and there is no privacy.

If you can’t do any of these things, don’t look at this career. Compared to the CBI and the NIA, the life of an RAO agent is at risk and there is no guarantee where that life can lead. They can be abandoned by the government if they are arrested or murdered outside India.

Criteria for becoming a RAW agent –

• must be an Indian citizen
• must be a patriot
• Must be available at all times
• Preference is given to candidates with a broad and varied background.
• The candidate must have followed a UG course at a university or college recognised by the CGU.

How do I become a RAW agent?

We have already mentioned above that there is no direct access to the RAO as in other Indian central agencies. To be honest, you can’t just search a website, find a vacancy and apply. No, this is not possible with RAW. RAW does not issue a similar notification and has no similar numbering program. However, here are the 8 steps and the process required to become a RAW agent.

To get a public service job or an elite job with the Indian government –

The executive position of RAW is usually held by holders of IAS, IPS or IRS. This has been the case for a long time and the situation will not change in the future. If you want a Group A job, you need to join the public service and then show off your skills and talents. This could be an incentive for RAW to recruit you for their agency. Nowadays, RAW officers are mostly recruited by central or state intelligence and investigation services in India. These candidates already have a basis for investigative and intelligence work.

The Armed Forces

Most of the RAW officers are from the Indian Armed Forces. It could be the Army, the Navy, or some other branch. There is no clear indication as to which industry sector prefers RAW. Some of the experts noted that military officers are eligible for secondment to the RAO.

Direct admission to universities –

Please note that you cannot get direct access to RAW. RAW has to come to you and recruit you, there’s no other way. Even in the case of direct admission of universities, the RAW agency must intervene and select the candidates. However, this is a new recruitment strategy that has been criticised at the highest level. So don’t expect this strategy to last forever. If RAW wants to recruit you for an agency, you have to show strong determination, physical demands and patriotism. Some unknown sources mention the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Management as one of the universities.

The national aptitude test and interview

Even if the candidate is selected by a university or other institution, he or she must pass and pass a national intelligence test and a personality psychology test. If they pass all these tests, they will have to attend a personal interview that will determine your future.

As far as we know there are only these 3 ways to join RAW, there may be other options, but they are not made public.

To regulate –

The applicant must resign from a current employment relationship when hired by RAW. Once you have been recruited, you must complete the training and other parts.

The basic training –

As a first step, a ten-day training is organized in Delhi, where the candidate gets an overview of the work and information collection. Then the next stage of the training starts with learning different languages, techniques, scientific knowledge, dealing with weapons, etc. In addition, candidates are asked to uncover several cases of inactive intelligence services such as ISI, MOSSAD, KGB, CIA, ASIS, etc.

Full training –

Upon completion of the basic training, the candidate is sent to the Indian Military Academy in Dehradun for further training. A full training usually takes 1 to 2 years. In this training almost all physical skills, real-time skills and tactics are taught.

Control and shipment –

At the end of the intensive training, a follow-up is carried out to assess the candidate’s development and skills. Only after passing this exam could the candidate be appointed to the right position within RAW.

None of the above steps is easy when it comes to in-depth training. Some experts note that more than half of the candidates withdraw from in-depth training because they are unable to cope with the pressures and challenges.

As mentioned above, there are three types of positions within the RAO : Group A, Group B and Group C. Candidates in Group A are recruited only from existing civilian or intelligence services in India, usually the IAS, IPS, Revenue Service, RFC and Armed Forces officers.

Instead of trying to reach the RAO directly, we recommend that candidates consider a career at the Bureau of Intelligence and then move on to the RAO.