Appointed head of India's foreign intelligence service the Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) on 1 July, Parag Jain is taking up the job at a time of particularly heightened regional tensions. Pakistan remains a hotbed of instability, China is strengthening its positions in the Himalayas, the Sikh diaspora is fuelling diplomatic crises, and the Indian Ocean is becoming the theatre for increasing rivalry with China. His task is to make Indian intelligence capable of preventing, striking and influencing,