ISI raises India espionage budget to ₹1,300 crore post-Operation Sindoor, targets Navy and IAF
Synopsis
Pakistan's ISI has quietly raised its India-espionage war chest to ₹1,300 crore after Operation Sindoor — a 44–62% jump — and the October 2026 Visakhapatnam arrests, which netted 13 serving Navy personnel, show the network is already operational. Officials warn this is the most serious penetration attempt since Operation Dolphin Nose in 2019, and this time Islamabad is playing the long game.
Key Takeaways
ISI's espionage budget targeting India has been raised to ₹1,300 crore , up from ₹800–₹900 crore before Operation Sindoor .
18 persons — including 13 Indian Navy personnel — were arrested in Visakhapatnam in October 2026 for allegedly leaking Naval Dockyard secrets to Pakistani operatives.
High-value defence targets are now reportedly offered ₹15–₹25 lakh , up from ₹10–₹15 lakh pre-Operation Sindoor.
Pakistan is also funding operations through narcotics, arms smuggling, and counterfeiting to avoid scrutiny of its official PKR 3 trillion defence budget .
The Indian Air Force is the second primary target after the Navy, with a similar HUMINT recruitment strategy in play.
Past major busts — Operation Dolphin Nose (2019) , 2016 crackdown, and 2001 arrests — show a recurring pattern, but officials say the current effort is the most intensive yet.
Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) has reportedly raised its annual espionage budget targeting India to ₹1,300 crore — up sharply from ₹800–₹900 crore before Operation Sindoor — with the bulk of fresh funds directed at building a Human Intelligence (HUMINT) network inside the Indian Navy and the Indian Air Force (IAF), according to intelligence officials. The disclosure comes in the wake of coordinated arrests in Visakhapatnam in October 2026, in which 18 persons — including 13 Indian Navy personnel — were detained for allegedly passing sensitive dockyard information to Pakistani intelligence operatives.
Budget hike and what drives it
An Intelligence Bureau official confirmed the scale of the increase, saying the ISI's India-focused espionage spend has climbed to ₹1,300 crore following Operation Sindoor. 'The reason why the budget has been hiked is that Pakistan wants to trap high-value targets within India's defence forces,' the official said. Officials attribute the surge to Islamabad's desire to recover intelligence ground lost — and avenge perceived losses — during Operation Sindoor, following which a series of high-level meetings inside Pakistan reportedly led to formal decisions on expanded espionage allocations.
To sidestep growing domestic scrutiny of Pakistan's PKR 3 trillion defence budget — which has drawn public and political criticism — the ISI and the Pakistani army have reportedly decided to supplement official espionage funds through narcotics, arms smuggling, and counterfeiting operations, according to officials.
How the HUMINT network operates
According to officials, the ISI is specifically targeting offices that handle sensitive information, using honey-traps and exploiting security vulnerabilities. The cost of recruiting individual assets has risen steeply: high-value targets in India's defence forces are now reportedly being offered between ₹15 lakh and ₹25 lakh, compared with ₹10 lakh to ₹15 lakh before Operation Sindoor. The cost of running and operating network agents ranges up to ₹40,000 per person depending on the operation.
Beyond individual payments, funding has also been set aside for logistics infrastructure — including SIM card networks, CCTV surveillance modules, and digital and media propaganda operations. Officials note that the aim is not to extract a single piece of intelligence but to sustain a long-term, day-to-day information flow from embedded sources.
Visakhapatnam arrests: the most alarming case yet
Coordinated operations by the Andhra Pradesh Police in Visakhapatnam, the National Investigation Agency (NIA), and central intelligence agencies resulted in the arrest of 18 persons in October 2026. They are accused of sharing secrets and sensitive information about the Visakhapatnam Naval Dockyard with Pakistani Intelligence Operatives (PIOs). Of those arrested, 13 are serving Indian Navy personnel, which officials describe as the most worrying development in recent memory.
An official said the current intensity of ISI efforts is 'significantly higher than in 2015, 2019 and 2021, when major espionage cases were busted in the Indian Navy.' The October 2026 cases are described by officials as the most concerning to date.
A pattern with deep roots
This is not the first time Pakistani intelligence has sought to penetrate India's Eastern Naval Command. In December 2019, agencies launched Operation Dolphin Nose, dismantling a Pakistan-linked honey-trap network operating across the Eastern Naval Command in Visakhapatnam, the Western Naval Command in Mumbai, and Karwar. Before that, in 2016, a major ISI honey-trap crackdown exposed junior-level naval personnel who had passed on sensitive information. In 2001, four naval personnel were arrested on similar charges. The October 2026 arrests, however, represent the largest number of serving Navy personnel caught in a single sweep.
The IAF in the crosshairs
While the Indian Navy remains the ISI's primary focus, officials confirm that the Indian Air Force is a close second target. Pakistan's stated objective, according to intelligence officials, is to gain operational intelligence on the capabilities of both services — giving its own armed forces an informational advantage in any future confrontation. The modus operandi for the IAF mirrors the Navy playbook: sustained recruitment of insiders who provide a steady stream of operational data.
As counter-intelligence agencies step up scrutiny, officials warn that the combination of a dramatically enlarged budget, a professionalised HUMINT operation, and supplementary financing through illicit networks makes the current threat qualitatively different from earlier cycles.
Point of View
Not the disease — the real story is structural: Pakistan has professionalised and dramatically scaled its HUMINT operation against India's defence forces, and it is partly self-financing through illicit trade to stay off the official budget radar. Thirteen serving Navy personnel in a single sweep is not a rogue-employee problem; it points to systemic gaps in counter-intelligence vetting and monitoring. What is missing from the official narrative is accountability — how did these operatives remain undetected long enough to be worth ₹25 lakh each to Islamabad? India's counter-intelligence architecture needs as much examination as the ISI's offensive budget.
NationPress
16 Oct 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Why has the ISI raised its espionage budget targeting India?
According to intelligence officials, the ISI raised its India-espionage budget to ₹1,300 crore — up from ₹800–₹900 crore — following Operation Sindoor, driven by Pakistan's intent to avenge losses and establish a sustained HUMINT network inside India's defence forces. High-level meetings in Pakistan reportedly formalised the increased allocations.
Who was arrested in the Visakhapatnam espionage case in October 2026?
A total of 18 persons were arrested in coordinated operations by the Andhra Pradesh Police, the NIA, and central intelligence agencies in Visakhapatnam. Of those arrested, 13 are serving Indian Navy personnel, accused of sharing sensitive information about the Visakhapatnam Naval Dockyard with Pakistani Intelligence Operatives.
How does the ISI recruit agents inside the Indian armed forces?
Officials say the ISI primarily uses honey-traps and exploits security vulnerabilities to target personnel in offices handling sensitive information. Recruited agents are reportedly paid between ₹15 lakh and ₹25 lakh, with additional operational expenses running up to ₹40,000 per person, and the strategy is designed for long-term, day-to-day intelligence extraction rather than a single theft.
How does the 2026 espionage case compare with past incidents?
Officials describe the October 2026 arrests as the most serious since at least 2015, surpassing the scale of Operation Dolphin Nose in December 2019, a 2016 honey-trap crackdown, and 2001 arrests of four naval personnel. The October 2026 sweep is notable for the sheer number of serving Navy personnel implicated in a single operation.
How is Pakistan financing the expanded espionage campaign?
To avoid domestic scrutiny of its official PKR 3 trillion defence budget, the ISI and Pakistani army have reportedly decided to fund a portion of espionage activities through narcotics, arms and ammunition smuggling, and counterfeiting operations, according to intelligence officials.
