The CIA's Directorate of Intelligence (DI) created an Office of Near Eastern and South Asian Analysis around 1975. This regional nomenclature persisted through subsequent departmental reorganizations.

Source: Mart Lidy, “Appendix K: Areas of Responsibilities of U.S. Government Departments and Agencies,” K4-K14, retrieved from http://www.ndu.edu/itea/storage/528/Lidy_Interagency_Boundaries.pdf