INSTA MAINS 2023

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INTERNAL SECURITY
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Table of Contents
Cyber Security .............................................................................................................. 3

Money Laundering ........................................................................................................ 9

Security Forces ........................................................................................................... 13

Separatist Movements and Insurgency in North-East .................................................. 24

Naxalism .................................................................................................................... 26

Linkages of Organized Crime with Terrorism ............................................................... 32

Maritime Security ....................................................................................................... 41

Border Disputes .......................................................................................................... 46

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Miscellaneous............................................................................................................. 49

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Cyber Security
Cybersecurity Challenges in India
The DSCI released a study called ‘Bridging the Gap: Identifying Challenges in Cybersecurity
Skilling and Bridging the Divide.’

Data Security Council of India (DSCI):

● It is a not-for-profit, industry body on data protection setup by NASSCOM in 2008.
● It is committed to making cyberspace safe, secure, and trusted by establishing best practices,
standards and initiatives in cyber security and privacy.

The cybersecurity landscape in India:

● Cybersecurity refers to every aspect of protecting an organisation and its employees and
assets against cyber threats.
● India, as a nation undergoing rapid digitisation across various sectors, is prone to increasing
number and severity of cyber threats.
● To address these challenges, stakeholders in the ecosystem have implemented several
initiatives to promote Cybersecurity in the country.
● These include -
○ The Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In), set up to provide
guidance and support in the event of cyber incidents;
○ Programs like Cyber Shikshaa, implemented by Microsoft and DSCI, to skilled
professionals in the Cybersecurity domain and to generate awareness among people.
● Though the cybersecurity industry has gained significant importance and is expected to grow
rapidly in India, there is still a deficit of skilled workforce to cater to the demands of the
sector.

About the study: It aims to

● Analyse the demand and supply of skilled cybersecurity professionals in India,
● Identify technical and social factors contributing to the shortage of skilled professionals, and
● Explore solutions to address these gaps through CSR and a multi-stakeholder approach.

Findings of the study:

The top three attacks:
● Phishing, smishing, and vishing attacks expected to see substantial rise in near future.
● Phishing scams trick users into divulging sensitive data, downloading malware, and exposing
themselves or their organisations to cybercrime.
● Smishing often involves sending bogus text messages - have a sense of urgency and request
the recipient click on a link or reply with personal information.
● Vishing (voice or VoIP phishing) uses voice and telephony technologies to trick targeted
individuals into revealing sensitive data to unauthorised entities.
● Zero-day attacks take place when hackers exploit the flaw before developers have a chance
to address it.

Three major trends: That will catalyse the demand for Cybersecurity are -
● Use of AI, ML and IoT by hackers resulting in increasing Cybersecurity attacks,
● Growing regulatory liabilities and
● Excessive usage of digital platforms resulting in exchange of large amounts of data.

Cybersecurity professionals:
● Cybersecurity Risk Analyst, Cybersecurity Analyst, and Penetration Tester are the most
prevalent job roles at present.
● They constitute less than 5% of their company’s overall workforce.

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● 43% of corporations have women participation between 21%-40% of the overall
Cybersecurity workforce.

Steps taken by the Government to spread awareness about cyber crimes:

1. The Government of India took the first formalized step towards cyber security in 2013, vide
the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology, Department of Electronics and
Information Technology’s National Cyber Security Policy, 2013.
2. Online cybercrime reporting portal has been launched to enable complainants to report
complaints pertaining to Child Pornography/Child Sexual Abuse Material, rape/gang rape
imageries or sexually explicit content.
3. A scheme for establishment of Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) has been
established to handle issues related to cybercrime in the country in a comprehensive and
coordinated manner.
4. Establishment of National Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Centre (NCIIPC) for
protection of critical information infrastructure in the country.
5. All organizations providing digital services have been mandated to report cyber security
incidents to CERT-In expeditiously.
6. Cyber Swachhta Kendra (Botnet Cleaning and Malware Analysis Centre) has been launched
for providing detection of malicious programmes and free tools to remove such programmes.
7. Formulation of Crisis Management Plan for countering cyber attacks and cyber terrorism.

Recommendations:
● Need for organisations to perform risk assessments at regular intervals and have robust
security measures.
● There is a need for -
○ Multi-stakeholder collaboration to map industry-relevant skills, and design and
deliver skilling programs as per industry standards.
○ Training providers/NGOs to promote the inclusion of diverse groups and formulate
strong inclusive programs that can specifically cater for the needs of PwDs.
● Corporates can play a pivotal role through their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

Finally, ‘Police’ and ‘Public Order’ are State subjects as per the Constitution of India. States/UTs
are primarily responsible for prevention, detection, investigation and prosecution of crimes
through their law enforcement machinery.

India Ransomware Report 2022

The Computer Emergency Response Team of India (CERT-In) has reported that ransomware
attacks are not only motivated by money but also by geopolitical conflicts.

What is Ransomware?
Ransomware is a type of malicious software or malware that is designed to block access to a
computer system, network, or data until a ransom is paid. E.g., WannaCry (2017),
Petya/NotPetya (2017); GandCrab (2018)

Major findings of the Report:

Findings Descriptions
Ransomware The number of reported ransomware attacks in India in 2022 was 53%
incidents higher than in 2021
Target Ransomware attacks targeted critical infrastructure organizations to
disrupt services and extract ransom payments
Sector most The IT/ITeS sector in India was the most impacted by ransomware
impacted attacks, followed by the finance and manufacturing sectors

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Most prevalent Lockbit was the most prevalent ransomware variant in India, followed
variants by Makop and DJVU/Stop, Makop and Phobos; Vice Society and
BlueSky were new variants
RaaS ecosystem The RaaS (Ransomware-as-a-service) ecosystem is becoming more
prominent, allowing even non-technical individuals to launch
ransomware attacks
Restoration time On average, the restoration time is about 10 days for infections in
reasonably large infrastructure networks
Recommendations Organizations should regularly update their contingency plan; have
higher cyber awareness among their employees

Various initiatives for cybersecurity

Global India
Budapest Convention • Policies: National Cyber Security Policy 2013; National Cyber
on Cybercrime (2004, Security Strategy 2020
the first international • Schemes: Cyber Surakshit Bharat Yojana (2018, MeITY+ NeGD+
treaty that seeks to Industry)—to create awareness programs on cyber security;
address Internet and Cyber Swachhta Kendra (free Botnet Cleaning and Malware
cybercrime by Analysis tools)
harmonizing national • Institutions: Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre(I4C) (est. in
laws)—India is not a 2018; under Home Ministry)—to combat cybercrime in India in
signatory. a comprehensive and coordinated manner; National Critical
Information Infrastructure Protection Centre (NCIIPC); National
Cyber Coordination Centre (NCCC) (under CERT-In)

Conclusion:
Continuous efforts are needed to Secure (National Cyberspace), Strengthen (Structures, People,
Processes, and Capabilities), and Synergise (Resources including Cooperation and Collaboration) in
the field of cyberspace in India.

The cyber threat to mobile banking

Global cybersecurity firm Kaspersky warns of an increase in cyberattacks on Android and iOS
devices in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region

Mobile banking Trojans are dangerous malware that can steal money from mobile users’ bank
accounts by disguising the malicious application as a legitimate app to lure unsuspecting people
into installing the malware.
• The perpetrators infect the device through legitimate-looking and high-ranking
malicious apps on Google Play, smishing (phishing messages sent through SMS)

Examples of threats:
• Anubis mobile banking trojan virus: It has been targeting Android users since 2017.
• Roaming Mantis is another prolific malware targeting mobile banking users.
• BianLian Malware

Issues in regulation:
• The lack of adequate cybersecurity and the dearth of talent in banking (technology,
engineering, data and security experts) could potentially lead to a further rise in cyberattacks
on user devices.
• Interoperability compounds problems: Countries are trying to make payments from one
platform to other interoperable:

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▪ China, for instance, has ordered its internet companies to offer their rival firms
link and payment services on their platforms.
▪ India, a new law demands all licensed mobile payment platforms to be capable of
providing interoperability between wallets.

Conclusion and way forward:

It helps to be careful and extremely cautious when using a mobile device to make payments.
Apart from the usual digital hygiene practices like keeping the phone up-to-date and rebooting
regularly, consumers can ensure they use their phones for banking only when the device is
connected to a secure VPN. iOS 16 users can turn on the Lockdown Mode as it limits the device’s
functionality and protects it from any potential malware.

Data gathering by public agencies picks up even as the law hangs fire
Experts have raised concerns about the trend of increasing the government’s efforts in data
collection and monetisation in the absence of a basic data protection regime.

Instances of increasing data collection:

• Customs department mandating airlines to share personal details of international flyers,
• Civil Aviation Ministry’s facial recognition system DigiYatra
• MeitY’s proposal to share non-personal data collected by the government with start-ups and
researchers
• CERT-In’s mandate asks virtual private network (VPN) service providers to store data of their
users
• Department of Telecommunications (DoT) (2021): Telecom operators and internet service
providers to maintain commercial and call detail records for at least two years (instead of 1
year currently)
• Contact tracing app Aarogya Setu —and collected data like their names, phone numbers and
location.
o Karnataka High Court in October 2020 ordered that the app cannot be made
mandatory.

Instances of increasing efforts for Data Monetisation:

• IRCTC released a tender detailing its plans to monetise its bank of passenger data (including
sensitive data such as mobile numbers, email, and passwords) for doing business with
government and private entities. (now withdrawn)
• MeitY had floated a draft India Data Accessibility and Use Policy which proposed that data
collected by the Centre that has “undergone value addition” can be sold in the open market
for an “appropriate price”. (now withdrawn)
• The Ministry of Road Transport (2020): Bulk Data Sharing Policy, under which the ministry
used to sell vehicle registration data (Vahan) and driving licence data (Sarathi) to private and
public entities. (Now Scrapped)

Fundamental issue in treating citizens’ data as a “wealth resource”:

• The 2018-2019 Economic Survey of India referred to data as a ‘public good’. By definition,
that means it should be treated as a ‘non-excludable and non-rivalrous public good’ and not
traded as if it were a commodity.
• Data is not a ‘sovereign wealth resource’: Treating it as such will lead to attempts to
accumulate, and subsequently monetise large volumes of data, without data protection law.
• Violating SC order (Puttaswamy Judgement 2017): ‘Right to Privacy’ as a fundamental right.

Conclusion:

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The government’s primary concern should be service delivery and safeguarding the information
it gathers from citizens towards this end. Its key objective should not be to monetise this data for
profit.

Fake News
Fake news is news, stories or hoaxes created to deliberately misinform or deceive readers.
Usually, these stories are created to either influence people’s views, push a political agenda or
cause confusion and can often be a profitable business for online publishers. Ex: Muzaffarnagar
riots of 2013: fake video fueled communal passions.

Consequences of fake news

• Social media has led to a degradation of our political discourse where serious engagement
has been supplanted by “hot takes” and memes.
• Misinformation and disinformation spread in media is becoming a serious social
challenge. It is leading to the poisonous atmosphere on the web and causing riots and
lynching on the road.
• Platforms for harmful conspiracy theories and hate speech
• In the age of the internet (WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter,) it is a serious problem as
rumours, morphed images, click-baits, motivated stories, unverified information, planted
stories for various interests spread easily among crores of internet users in India.
• There have been many instances of online rumours leading to killings of innocent people.
In some cases, ministers have deleted tweets after realizing the fake news which they
shared earlier.
• Fake news has also been used to deceive illiterate people financially. Example- Chit fund
schemes introduced the concept of online fraud through spam emails.
• Fake news has reduced people’s belief in social, print and electronic media = affect the
benefits of these media.

Laws and Regulation to Curb Fake News in India:

• Press Council of India: It is a regulatory body which can warn, admonish or censure
the newspaper, the news agency, the editor or the journalist or disapprove the conduct of
the editor or the journalist if it finds that a newspaper or a news agency has violated
journalistic ethics.
• Indian Penal Code: Section 153 (wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riot) and
Section 295 (injuring or defiling a place of worship with intent to insult the religion of any
class) can be invoked to guard against fake news.
• Information Technology Act 2000: According to the Section 66 of the act, if any person,
dishonestly or fraudulently, does any act referred to in Section 43 (damage to computer,
computer system), shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to
three years or with fine which may extend to five lakh rupees or with both.
• Civil or Criminal Case for Defamation: It is another resort against fake news for individuals
and groups hurt by the fake news. IPC Section 499 (defamation) and Section 500 (whoever
defames another shall be punished with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend
to two years, or with fine, or with both) provide for a defamation suit.
• Fake news has existed since the dawn of the printing press but in the age of the internet and
social media, it has found a tremendous application. Manipulation of algorithms of social
media and search engines is a global trend now.
• Misinformation and disinformation spread in the media is becoming a serious social
challenge. It is leading to the poisonous atmosphere on the web and causing riots and
lynching on the road.

Measures Needed:

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• The current response to fake news primarily revolves around three prongs — rebuttal,
removal of the fake news item and educating the public.
o Rebuttal: It is a form of fact-checking wherein the fake news is debunked by
pointing out errors like mismatch, malicious editing and misattribution.
o Removal of Fake news: Technical companies like Facebook and YouTube uses
o algorithms to proactively remove fake news from their platforms.
o Also, WhatsApp has put a limit on forwarding messages, so as to limit the spread to
fake news.
• Education and Awareness: The government must take the initiative to make all sections of
the population aware of the realities of this information war and evolve a consensus to fight
this war. It must also take strict action against the fake news providers.
o Ex: Italy has experimentally added ‘recognizing fake news’ in school syllabus. India
should also seriously emphasize cybersecurity, internet education, fake news
education in the academic curriculum at all levels.
• Strict Regulation: News being spread using chatbots and other automated pieces of
software should automatically be selected for special screening.
• Bring out policy-: The government should bring out a draft seeking opinion from
stakeholders regarding issues of controlling fake news. Any future guidelines on ‘fake news’
should target ‘fake news’ and not try to regulate media in the name of ‘fake news’.
• Regulatory mechanism: The PCI needs to be reformed and empowered in a way so as to
enable it to strike a balance between the freedom of media and speech on the one hand, and
right to know on the other.
• Government should have independent agency: to verify the data being circulated in social
and other media. The agency should be tasked with presenting real facts and figures.
• An ombudsman Institution: To receive complaints on fake news and initiate immediate
action.
• Accountability of Social Media: Social media websites should be made accountable of such
activities so that it becomes their responsibility to have better control over the spread of
fake news.
• Using Artificial Intelligence: The artificial intelligence technologies, particularly machine
learning and natural language processing, might be leveraged to combat the fake news
problem. AI technologies hold promise for significantly automating parts of the procedure
human fact checkers use today to determine if a story is real or a hoax.

Conclusion
Fake news affects free speech and informed choices of citizens of the country, leading to the
hijacking of democracy. Hence it is extremely important that there is a collective effort from all
the stake holders involved to tackle this menace comprehensively.

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Money Laundering
Impact of Money Laundering on economic development
Money laundering is the process of creating the appearance that large amounts of money
obtained from criminal activity, such as drug trafficking or terrorist activity, originated from a
legitimate source. The money from the illicit activity is considered dirty, and the process
“launders” the money to make it look clean.

Impact of Money laundering on economic development

• Money laundering harms financial sector institutions critical to economic growth. Money
laundering promotes crime and corruption that slows economic growth and decreases
productivity in the real sector economy.
• Money laundering can damage a country’s financial sector’s soundness and financial
institutions’ stability, such as banks.
• As it becomes difficult for the government to generate income from the related
transactions, which are frequent in the informal economy, it decreases tax revenues,
which causes a serious negative impact on the economy.
• Money laundering criminals use shell companies because shell companies are commercial
companies that appear legitimate but are actually controlled by criminals.
• This increases the potential for monetary instability due to improper allocation of
resources from artificial distortions in asset prices.
• Seeing a country as a money-laundering haven is likely to attract criminals and encourage
corruption.
• Foreign financial institutions can limit their transactions with institutions from money
laundering heavens, stop their investments, make transactions more expensive, and be
subject to extra scrutiny.

Evolving threats of Money laundering:

• Criminals open online accounts with digital currency exchanges, which accept fiat
currency from traditional bank accounts. Then, they start a ‘cleansing’ process (mixing
and layering), i.e., moving money into the cryptocurrency system by using mixers,
tumblers, and chain hopping (also called cross-currency). Money is moved from one

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cryptocurrency into another, across digital currency exchanges — the less-regulated the
better — to create a money trail that is almost impossible to track.
• According to the “Cryptocurrency Anti-Money Laundering Report,”criminals also use
theft and gambling to launder cryptocurrencies.
• Since it doesn’t have regulatory authority, it is easy to trade between countries and can
cause money laundering in disguise of trading.
• Cryptocurrency is highly encrypted and cannot be traced easily.
• Creation of Dark Web or Dark Market which cause it to exploit users through hacking.
• Increasing proliferation of new non-cash payment methods such as prepaid cards,
internet payments, and mobile payments has opened up new gateways for money
launderers.
• The rapid speed of transactions, coupled with minimal face-to-face interaction between
the person initiating the transaction and the service provider, makes these new payment
modes vulnerable to money laundering activities.

Efforts of Government of India to address money laundering:

Statutory framework:
In India, before the enactment of Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA) the major
statutes that incorporated measures to address the problem of money laundering were:
• PMLA Act:
o It prescribes obligation of banking companies, financial institutions and intermediaries
for verification and maintenance of records of the identity of all its clients and also of
all transactions and for furnishing information of such
transactions in prescribed form to the Financial Intelligence Unit-India (FIU-IND).
o It empowers the Director of FIU-IND to impose fine on banking company, financial
institution or intermediary if they or any of its officers fails to comply with the
provisions of the Act as indicated above.
• The Black money (undisclosed foreign income and assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015:
o To deal with the menace of the black money existing in the form of undisclosed
foreign income and assets by setting out the procedure for dealing with such income
and assets.

Institutional framework:
• Enforcement directorate:
o PMLA empowers certain officers of the Directorate of Enforcement to carry out
investigations in cases involving offence of money laundering and also to attach
the property involved in money laundering.
• Financial Intelligence Unit:
o It was established in India in 2004 as the central national agency responsible for
receiving, processing, analyzing and disseminating information relating to suspect
financial transactions.
o FIU-IND is also responsible for coordinating and strengthening efforts of national
and international intelligence, investigation and enforcement agencies in pursuing
the global efforts against money laundering and related crimes.

Way forward
• Adhering to FATF guidelines regarding cryptocurrency.
• Need to expand capabilities on ways to probe virtual assets and regulate virtual asset
provides to prevent money laundering.
• A multi-agency or multi-disciplinary agency to work with public and private partnership is
key in tackling criminal finances.
• Strengthening information exchange to dismantle networks.
• Enforcing new technologies in criminal finance networks.

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• Enacting Data Protection Laws, hiring ‘’White Caps’’ and enabling web audits of money
transfer by banks.
• Financial stability board: Global watchdog that runs financial regulation for G-20
economies for regulating digital currencies.

Conclusion
The evolving threats of money laundering supported by the emerging technologies need to be
addressed with the equally advanced Anti-Money Laundering mechanisms like big data and
artificial intelligence. Both international and domestic stakeholders need to come together by
strengthening data sharing mechanisms amongst them to effectively eliminate the problem of
money laundering.

Menace of Black Money

There is no official definition of black money in economic theory, with several different terms
such as parallel economy, black money, black incomes, unaccounted economy, illegal economy
and irregular economy all being used more or less synonymously.
The simplest definition of black money could possibly be money that is hidden from tax
authorities.

Black money: Unsolvable problem

• Funds parked by Indian individuals and firms in Swiss banks, including through India-based
branches and other financial institutions, jumped to a 14-year-high of 3.83 billion Swiss
francs (over ₹30,500 crore) in 2021 on a sharp surge in holdings via securities and similar
instruments while customer deposits rose as well, revealed a report on annual data from
Switzerland’s central bank.
• The rise in aggregate funds of Indian clients with Swiss banks, from 2.55 billion Swiss francs
(₹20,700 crore) at the end of 2020, marks the second consecutive year of increase.
• Besides, the money held in Indian customers’ savings or deposit accounts rose to a seven year
high of about ₹4,800 crore, reversing a two-year declining trend.

Impact of black money

• Loss of Revenue: Black money eats up a part of the tax and, thus, the government’s deficit
increases.
o The government has to balance this deficit by increasing taxes, decreasing subsidies
and increasing borrowings.
o Borrowing leads to a further increase in the government’s debt due to interest
burden. If the government is unable to balance the deficit, it has to decrease
spending, which affects development.
• Money Circulation: People generally tend to keep black money in the form of gold,
immovable property and other secret manners.
o Such money does not become part of the main economy and, therefore, remains
generally out of circulation.
o The black money keeps circulating among the wealthy and creates more
opportunities for them.
• Higher Inflation: The infusion of unaccounted black money in the economy leads to higher
inflation, which obviously hits the poor the most.
o It also increases the disparity between the rich and the poor.

Measures needed to curb black money

• Amendment to Benami properties transaction act: To provide with a wider definition to
Benami properties and to provide with robust structural mechanism to deal with black
money.

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• Promoting Cashless Economy: So as to ensure better control over money flow in the
economy and prevent the creation of black money.
• Special Investigation team under Justice Shah: To unearth the black money stacked in the
country.
• Transparency in political funding: By limiting the anonymous cash donations to Rs 2000 and
introduction electoral bonds to prevent entry of black money in politics.
• Legislation: Enactment of the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and
Imposition of Tax Act, 2015 to more effectively tackle the cases involving black money stashed
abroad.
• International Cooperation: India joined a group of 48 countries as early adopters to new
global standards for automatically exchanging information from 2017. India-Mauritius and
India-Singapore tax treaties amended to adopt source-based taxation of capital gains with a
view to help curb tax evasion and tax avoidance.
• Project Insight: To curb the circulation of black money.

Conclusion and way forward

• Appropriate legislative framework related to: Public Procurement, Prevention of Bribery of
foreign officials, citizens grievance redressal, whistle-blower protection, UID Aadhar.
• Setting up and strengthening institutions dealing with illicit money: Directorate of Criminal
Investigation Cell for Exchange of Information, Income Tax Overseas Units- ITOUs at
Mauritius and Singapore have been very useful, Strengthening the Foreign TAX, Tax Research
and Investigation Division of the CBDT.
• Electoral Reforms: Elections are one of the biggest channels to utilize the black money.
Appropriate reforms to reduce money power in elections.
• Imparting skills to personnel for effective action: Both domestic and international training
pertaining to the concerned area. For instance, the Financial Intelligence Unit-India makes
proactive efforts to regularly upgrade the skills of its employees by providing them
opportunities for training on anti-money laundering, terrorist financing, and related economic
issues.

Amendments to PMLA rules and its impact

Context: The Finance Ministry has amended the Prevention of Money Laundering Act
(PMLA) and rules in line with the recommendations of the FATF - the global
money laundering and terrorist financing watchdog.
Background: ● The government has been struggling to deal with the pandemic-era
upsurge in advertisements soliciting investment in virtual assets.
● A 2021 report estimated India with the highest number of ‘crypto
owners’ (10.07 crore), more than threefold than the 2nd-ranked U.S.
● ED was investigating several cases related to cryptocurrency frauds
wherein crypto exchanges were involved in money laundering.
Why these ● To incorporate more disclosures for NGOs by reporting entities like
amendments? financial institutions (FIs), banking companies, or intermediaries.
● To define “politically exposed persons” (PEPs).
Amendments Significance
Defines PEPs: As individuals who have been entrusted with The move brings legal
prominent public functions by a foreign country, including the uniformity and removes
● Heads of State/Governments, ambiguities (in line with
● Senior politicians, FATF norms) before India’s
● Senior government/judicial/military officers, proposed FATF assessment.
● Senior executives of state-owned corporations and This will help India tackle
● Important political party officials illicit financial flows (that
fuel crime and terrorism)

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The amendment is in relation to foreign PEPs and not
domestic ones

● ‘Beneficial Owners’: Lowered the threshold for identifying In line with the Companies
beneficial owners by reporting entities, where the client is Act (2013) and Income-tax
acting on behalf of its beneficial owner. Act (1961). Bringing more
● The term ‘beneficial owners’ are those with the indirect participants within
entitlement of more than 25% of shares or capital or profit the reporting net
of the company, which has now been reduced to 10%.
● NPOs: Reporting entities are now required to register
details of the client if it’s a non-profit organization (NPO)
on the DARPAN portal of NITI Aayog.
● The definition of an NPO includes any entity or
organization, constituted for religious or charitable
purposes under I-T Act
Due diligence documentation requirements: It now includes Until now limited to
the submission of details such as names of persons holding obtaining the basic KYCs of
senior management positions, names of partners, etc. clients such as registration
certificates, PAN copies, etc.
For Cryptocurrencies: Virtual digital assets (VDA) trade has It will prevent the misuse of
been brought under PMLA. New rules mandate crypto crypto, and NFTs through
exchanges and intermediaries dealing in virtual assets to money laundering and other
maintain the KYCs of their clients and report suspicious illegal activities.
transactions to financial intelligence units.

Security Forces
Border Security Force (BSF)
Union government had enhanced the operational limits of the Border Security Force (BSF) in
Punjab, West Bengal and Assam.

● BSF said the increased territorial jurisdiction helped them plan operations better and also
curtailed the ability of criminal elements to organise closer to the border areas.

About BSF:
● The BSF was raised in 1965, after the India-Pakistan war.
● It is one of the seven Central Armed Police Forces of the Union of India under the
administrative control of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).

Jurisdiction:
● Earlier, the BSF’s limit was fixed up to 80 km from the International Boundary in Gujarat and
15 km in Rajasthan, Punjab, West Bengal and Assam.

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● MHA through a notification in the Gazette
of India, enhanced the “arrest, search and
seize” powers of the BSF up to 50 km from
the International Boundary in Punjab,
West Bengal and Assam.
● In Gujarat, the limit was reduced from the
existing 80 km to 50 km and in Rajasthan,
the 50–km limit has remained unchanged.
● These powers pertain to specific crimes
such as seizure of narcotics, cattle
smuggling, prevention of trans–border crimes, illegal entry of foreigners among others.
● All cases and suspects are to be handed over to local police within 24 hours.

Criticisms:
● Law & Order is a state subject and powers of search, seizure and arrest typically lies with state
police officials.
● Hence, the affected states have questioned the step as an encroachment upon their powers
and against the federal structure.
● It is being termed as an attempt to “interfere through Central agencies”.

How does the centre defend its move on enhanced powers?

The enhanced powers of the BSF have been opposed by the State governments of Punjab and
West Bengal.
● However, the Centre said that this in no way impinges on the rights of the local police as all
suspects are handed over to them within 24 hours.

Need for and Significance:

This step is meant to improve operational efficiency and crack down on smuggling rackets.
● Punjab has the problem of drugs and arms smuggling.
● Similarly, Assam and West Bengal face the issue of cattle and fake currency smuggling.
● These borders are also prone to illegal migration.
● BSF regularly gets inputs about illegal activity deep in the hinterland but their hands were tied
beyond 15 km.

Assam Rifles
Assam Rifles is one of the six central armed police forces (CAPFs) under the administrative
control of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). The other forces being the Central Reserve Police
Force (CRPF), the Border Security Force (BSF), the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), the Central
Industrial Security Force (CISF) and the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB).
● It is tasked with the maintenance of law and order in the North East along with the Indian
Army and also guards the Indo-Myanmar border in the region.

How is it unique?
It is the only paramilitary force with a dual control structure. While the administrative control of
the force is with the MHA, its operational control is with the Indian Army, which is under the
Ministry of Defence (MoD).
● This means that salaries and infrastructure for the force is provided by the MHA, but the
deployment, posting, transfer and deputation of the personnel is decided by the Army.
● All its senior ranks, from DG to IG and sector headquarters are manned by officers from the
Army. The force is commanded by Lieutenant General from the Indian Army.

What's the issue now?

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The force is the only central paramilitary force (CPMF) in real sense as its operational duties and
regimentation are on the lines of the Indian Army. However, being a Central Armed Police force
under MHA, its recruitment, perks, promotion of its personnel and retirement policies are
governed according to the rules framed by the MHA for CAPFs.
● This has created two sets of demands from both within the Assam Rifles and by MoD and
MHA for singular control over the force by one ministry.

Why there is a demand for Assam Rifles to be placed under the MoD?
A large section within the force wants to be under the administrative control of the MoD, as that
would mean better perks and retirement benefits which are far higher compared to CAPFs under
MHA. However, Army personnel also retire early, at 35, while the retirement age in CAPF is 60
years.
● Also, CAPF officers have recently been granted non-functional financial upgradation (NFFU)
to at least financially address the issue of stagnation in their careers due to lack of avenues for
promotion. But Army personnel also get one rank one pension which is not available to
CAPFs.

Why do both MHA and MoD want full control?

MHA's arguments:
● MHA has argued that all the border guarding forces are under the operational control of the
ministry and so Assam Rifles coming under MHA will give border guarding a comprehensive
and integrated approach.
● MHA sources also say that Assam Rifles continues to function on the pattern set during the
1960s and the ministry would want to make guarding of the Indo-Myanmar border on the
lines of other CAPFs.

Army's arguments:
● The Army is of the opinion that the Assam Rifles has worked well in coordination with Army
and frees up the armed forces from many of its responsibilities to focus on its core strengths.
● It has also argued that Assam Rifles was always a military force and not a police force and has
been built like that. It has argued that giving the control of the force to MHA or merging it
with any other CAPF will confuse the force and jeopardise national security.

Theatre commands
India is moving ahead to establish theatre commands, aiming to build integrated war-fighting
machinery in a cost-effective manner.

What are Theatre Commands?

A theatre command in the military refers to a specific geographical area where military
operations are planned, coordinated, and executed under a single command. It is a way of
organizing and managing military forces within a particular region or theatre of operations.
● The idea behind the Theatre Command System is to enhance coordination and synergy
among the Army, Navy, and Air Force.
● Currently, almost all major countries like China, Russia, the US, the UK, and France work on a
theatre command concept.

Case of China:
● China reorganised its 2.3-million People's Liberation Army into five theatre commands in
2016 to enhance offensive capabilities and establish improved command-and-control
structures.
● Its Western Theatre Command looks after the entire border with India.

Case of India:

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Why does India need theatre commands?

● India currently has 19 military commands.
○ 17 of them are service-oriented - 7 each for the Army and the Air Force and the Navy
has 3.
○ A Tri-Service Command - Andaman and Nicobar Command, and the Strategic Forces
Command (SFC looks after the country’s nuclear stockpile).
● The aim is to bring all the individual commands into four or five unified or theatre commands
to streamline military operations and enhance coordination and efficiency in a rapidly
evolving security landscape.
● This will aid in better planning, military response, and a unified approach to fighting future
wars while also lowering costs.

Case study - Acquisition of Apache attack helicopters from the US:

● While the Indian Air Force got 22 Apaches, the Army has also placed orders for six of these
choppers.
● The end result is a loss of at least Rs 2,500 crore and haphazard operational planning.

Steps taken towards theaterisation in India:

● The Inter-Services Organisations (Command, Control and Discipline) Bill 2023 includes a
provision regarding a joint services command.
● The cross-staffing initiatives are aimed at areas of commonality, such as equipment like UAVs
and the BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles.
● Steps are being taken to introduce "common annual confidential reports" for all two and
three-star generals across the armed forces to synergise the appraisal system for tri-Service
appointments.

Progress in India’s theatre commands plans:

● A consensus has been reached among the Indian Army, Navy, and Air Force regarding the
plan.
● The revised proposal entails the establishment of 3 integrated theatre commands, each led
by a senior 3-star general (Lieutenant Generals, Air Marshals, or Vice Admirals).
● These commands will be responsible for managing -
○ The northern borders with China,
○ The western front with Pakistan, and
○ The maritime command in peninsular India.
● The original proposal for an Air Defence Command (ADC) has been discarded since ‘air
defence’ and ‘offensive air’ missions are interdependent and cannot be carried out in isolation
during conflicts.
○ Therefore, air assets will not be owned by a theatre command but will shift from one
to another based on the contingency faced.

Way ahead:

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● To get the most out of the theatre commands, a national security strategy and the right tri-
service structures must be in place.
● The theatre commands should be future-ready to deal with the emerging forms of warfare in
the space and cyber domains and should not increase the decision-making chains.

Police Reforms
Need of the hour:
• A progressive, modern India must have a
police force which meets the democratic
aspirations of the people.
• There is a need to upgrade the skills of our
policemen to effectively tackle 21st century
crimes such as cybercrimes and economic
offences.

National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) core advisory group on criminal justice system
reforms has made the following recommendations to the Ministry of Home Affairs:
1. The Union Home Ministry and the State Governments should set up police complaints
authorities as per the judgment in the Prakash Singh vs Union of India, 2006, case.
2. the status of compliance should be displayed on the websites of the Ministry and the State
Home Departments.
3. The MHA and the Law Ministry should consider implementing the recommendations of the
113th report of the Law Commission to add Section 114 B to the Indian Evidence Act. This
would ensure that if a person sustains injuries in custody, it is presumed that the injuries were
inflicted by the police.
4. Make the legal framework technology-friendly to speed up the criminal justice system.
5. The Supreme Court’s December 2020 order to install CCTV cameras with night vision in all
police stations should be “implemented immediately” to ensure accountability.
6. Involve trained social workers and law students with police stations as part of community
policing and incorporate community policing in police manuals, laws and advisories.

What is the SC’s Prakash Singh judgment on police reforms?

Prakash Singh, who served as DGP of UP Police and Assam Police besides other postings, filed a
PIL in the Supreme Court post retirement, in 1996, seeking police reforms.
• In a landmark judgment, the Supreme Court in September 2006 had directed all states and
Union Territories to bring in police reforms.

What measures were suggested by the Supreme Court?

• Fixing the tenure and selection of the DGP to avoid situations where officers about to retire
in a few months are given the post.
• In order to ensure no political interference, a minimum tenure was sought for the Inspector
General of Police so that they are not transferred mid-term by politicians.
• Postings of officers should be done by Police Establishment Boards (PEB) comprising police
officers and senior bureaucrats to insulate powers of postings and transfers from political
leaders.
• Set up State Police Complaints Authority (SPCA) to give a platform where common people
aggrieved by police action could approach.
• Separate investigation and law and order functions to better improve policing.
• Set up of State Security Commissions (SSC) that would have members from civil society.
• Form a National Security Commission.

How did states respond to these directives?

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So far almost all states have complied with the seven directives of the Supreme Court issued in
Prakash Singh Case.

Model Police Act:

The Central Government has also reviewed the Model Police Act, 2006. Accordingly, a draft Model
Police Bill, 2015 has been prepared and placed on the website of BPR&D.

Various committees in this regard:

• There have been the National Police Commission, the Ribeiro and Padmanabhaiah
committees, and other commissions which directly alluded to police reforms.
• In addition, the Malimath Committee and the Second Administrative Reforms Commission
indirectly expressed requirements for police reforms.

Issues present:
• Colonial Law: The Police Act of 1861.
• Huge vacancies.
• Poor infrastructure.
• Accountability and operational freedom issues.
• Psychological Pressure.

Indian Air Force’s revised doctrine

AeroIndia 2023 is not just the biggest exhibition of India’s air power push for Indian defence
manufacturing, it also displays IAF’s revised doctrine.

Background:
● Despite the commitment of the IAF to national security, the history of India’s use of air power
is one of restraint (except during the 1971 war).
● This is because -
○ The lack of understanding of the rapid technological changes in the features of air
power on a global scale.
○ India’s traditional surface-dominant security outlook and viewing air power as a
support service.

Need for a revised doctrine:

● Addressing India's security concerns will require a multidisciplinary approach (rather two-
dimensional) due to the fact that -
○ Asia is the focal point of the geopolitical turmoil and
○ India's two adversaries have capable air forces.
● External (terrorism, border stand-offs) and internal security, Sovereignty protection,
deterrence, air diplomacy and nation-building remain peace-time imperatives.
● To ensure SAGAR, as well as the Indo-Pacific construct.

The IAF’s revised doctrine:

● Focus on the criticality of controlling the skies to
○ Provides a clearer understanding of the redefined characteristics of aerospace
power and its expanded capabilities.

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○ Address contemporary and future warfare.
● Acknowledges that future aerospace and defence capabilities are national force multipliers.
● Offensive air operations and air defence.
● Holistic application of combat power, comprising the IAF’s coordinated operations along with
army-naval operations, civil aviation, and space agencies.
○ The recent test landing of the naval variant of the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) on
board INS Vikrant is a good example.

Way ahead:
● A novel air strategy covers the entire spectrum from peace and war to the unique no-war-no-
peace condition confronting the country.
● Concepts of human resources, training and operational testing and evaluation remains a
priority.
● The expansion of battle spaces (cyber and electronic warfare, information warfare), the
necessity of India’s future joint military strategy, constitute the foundation of IAF’s future air
strategy.

Conclusion: Since national security is every citizen’s concern and given the efforts underway to
evolve national defence and security strategies, the doctrine credibly conveys what aerospace
power can and will do for the nation.

CDS must proceed with caution

What is CDS?
• He is the single-point military adviser to the government as suggested by the Kargil Review
Committee in 1999.
• CDS oversees and coordinates the working of the three Services.
• Upper age limit for the CDS has been fixed at 65 years.
• He will function as the Principal Military Adviser to the defence minister and also as the
Permanent Chairman of, the Chiefs of Staff Committee (COSC).
• The CDS will be a member of the Defence Acquisition Council and Defence Planning
Committee.

Challenges before India’s CDS:

• Management of two live borders, force-modernisation, competing budgetary claims and
new personnel policies, and pressure to expedite the creation of new joint command
structures.

What is integrated theatre command?

• An integrated theatre command envisages a unified command of the three Services, under a
single commander, for geographical areas that are of strategic and security concern.
• The commander of such a force will be able to bear all resources at his disposal — from the
Army, the Indian Air Force, and the Navy — with seamless efficacy.
• The integrated theatre commander will not be answerable to individual Services.

What are joint commands?

• It is a unified command in which the resources of all the services are unified under a single
commander looking at a geographical theatre.

Why the new CDS must move with caution?

• The threat of China: Any conflict with China will demand forces/resources from 4-6 of India’s
14 single-service, and two tri-service commands (none of them co-located), as well the space
and cyber agencies and the Special Forces division.

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• Inter-service rivalry: there exists inter-service rivalry among the forces which is delaying
the establishment of joint commands.
• Operational guidance issue: while the component commanders may retain a linkage with
their chiefs, the question of who will provide operational guidance to the theatre
commanders still remains open.
• Air power: the indivisibility of air power has been a bone of contention among the
officials of defence forces.

What needs to be done?

• Integrating the service command: into 4-5 geographic or threat-based theatres and placing
necessary forces under a single commander charged with the conduct of operations.
• Reconciling service rivalry: the service chiefs have to reconcile themselves to the reality that
once theatre commanders assume the “war fighter” role,
o they will be divested of operational responsibilities, and
o assume the “raise-train-sustain” functions, involving recruitment and training of
personnel as well as the acquisition of combat wherewithal.
• Nudging IAF: The IAF’s reluctance to share assets must be tempered by the fact that the
theatre air assets will be deployed on the advice of and by the IAF component commanders.
• Recasting of present staff colleges: as a “Joint Services Staff College” with changes in its
curriculum to produce “joint staff officers,” ready to serve in sister-service HQs, learning in
the process to function as future component commanders and theatre commanders.

'Disturbed areas' tag under AFSPA

About AFSPA Description
Definition Areas declared as “disturbed’’ under Section 3 of AFSPA due to a
“dangerous” or “disturbed” situation.
What are When a part or whole state/UT is in such a condition that the use of
“Disturbed areas”? armed forces in aid of civil power is necessary.
Who can declare a It can be declared by the Governor of state or administrator of Union
“disturbed area”? Territory or by the Central government.
Purpose It grants special powers to armed forces to maintain public order in
“disturbed areas.
Powers Armed forces can use force, arrest without a warrant, search without a
warrant, and shoot to kill
AFSPA completely Meghalaya (2018), Tripura (2015) and Mizoram (1980s)
withdrawn in
AFSPA in effect Nagaland (8 out of 9 districts), Assam (8 districts), Manipur (except a
few areas), the whole of Jammu and Kashmir and parts of Arunachal
Pradesh

Need for AFSPA in Protection of members of armed forces; To handle involvement of

North-east proxy groups; dissuade advancement of terrorist activities; To handle
insurgency and militancy-affected areas

Issues with the use of AFSPA

Issue Explanation
Violation of • It has been dubbed as a ‘license to kill’;
human rights • Justice Verma committee (on offences against women in conflict
areas) said “AFSPA legitimizes impunity for sexual violence”;
• Justice Santosh Hegde Committee described it as a “symbol of
oppression”.

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Cases of fake For instance, the Extrajudicial Execution Victim Families Association of
encounters Manipur filed a case in the Supreme Court alleging 1,528 fake
encounters between 1979 and 2012.
Opposition by the States like Nagaland, Tripura, and Manipur have constantly opposed its
state government imposition.
Poor checks and The Act gives powers to security forces to open fire but only after a
balance prior warning is given to the suspect. There is a lack of accountability.
Poor investigation In Manipur, with the Supreme Court taking up the extra-judicial killings,
the CBI has investigated only 39 cases (94 killings).
Fuels the cycle of People's disillusionment with the democratic setup is exploited by
violence secessionists and terror sympathizers, leading to more violence and
counter-violence

Reforms Needed in AFSPA: Proposed Measures

Ensure compliance with human rights while maintaining operational effectiveness
Ensure provisions for robust safeguards within the parameters of the law
Thorough inquiry for every death caused by armed forces
No absolute immunity for Army personnel who commits a crime
Clearly define terms like "disturbed", "dangerous", and "land forces" to ensure greater
clarity
Set up committees at the district level with representatives of the army, administrators, and
the public to report, assess and track complaints in that area
Justice Jeevan Reddy Committee Recommendations: Repeal AFSPA and insert appropriate
provisions in the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967
2nd ARC: It recommended the repeal of AFSPA

Conclusion: With the improvement in the situation in the Northeast, AFSPA should be gradually
removed. To reduce the possibility of its misuse, AFSPA should be made more comprehensive,
with elaborate rules concerning the method of investigations of alleged human rights violations

National Security Act (NSA)

Former civil servants have demanded an end to the misuse of the National Security Act terming it
a draconian preventive detention law.

About the National Security Act (NSA):

The NSA is a preventive detention law.
● Preventive Detention involves the detainment (containment) of a person in order to keep
him/her from committing future crimes and/or from escaping future prosecution.
Article 22 (3) (b) of the Constitution allows for preventive detention and restriction on personal
liberty for reasons of state security and public order.

Article 22(4) states that:

No law providing for preventive detention shall authorise the detention of a person for a longer
period than three months unless:
● An Advisory Board reports sufficient cause for extended detention.
The 44th Amendment Act of 1978 has reduced the period of detention without obtaining the
opinion of an advisory board from three to two months. However, this provision has not yet been
brought into force, hence, the original period of three months still continues.

Period of Confinement:
● The maximum period for which one may be detained is 12 months. But the term can be
extended if the government finds fresh evidence.

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● A person can be held for 10 days without being told the charges against them. The person can
appeal before a high court advisory board but will not be allowed a lawyer during the trial.

Concerns associated with the misuse of this law:

● Article 22 (1) of the Indian Constitution says an arrested person cannot be denied the right to
consult, and to be defended by, a legal practitioner of his choice.
● According to Section 50 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CRPC), any person arrested has to
be informed of the grounds of arrest and has the right to bail.
However, under National Security Act, none of these rights are available to the person detained.
The government holds the right to conceal information which it considers to be against public
interest to disclose.

India’s ‘No first use’ policy

No First Use (NFU) is a pledge by a nuclear power not to use nuclear weapons unless it is attacked
by an adversary with the use of nuclear weapons. India has always held its commitment to NFU
policy as proof of it being a responsible nuclear power. No first use is a reflection of our cultural
inheritance.
An unarmed Indian missile was accidentally fired into Pakistan. Expressing deep regret, India’s
government ascribed it to a technical malfunction during routine maintenance. India’s stated
stance of ‘no first use’ has proven itself valuable, as seen in Pakistan’s response.

Pros of a Non-First Use policy

• A ‘no first use’ nuclear weapons policy suits India’s interest. Shifting to a first-use policy
would mark a shift from deterrence towards nuclear war fighting
• These weapons are enormously destructive and should not be used.
• Since there is no first use alert requirement, the chances of reacting to a false alarm are
• nullified
• A first use would result in international dishonour and weigh heavily on a country with a
first use posture.
• NFU doctrine is cheaper to implement; for India, which has many economic targets to
achieve, this is a very important factor.
• NFU policy is just right for India as it ensures security for the nation and does not detract
it from its march towards better prosperity for its people.
• India’s NFU policy which has kept the nuclear arsenal in both India and Pakistan in a
demated posture, which means that the nuclear warheads are not mated with the
delivery systems.

Challenges posed due to NFU

• The conventional criticism against a ‘no first use’ policy is that India would have to suffer a
first strike before it retaliated.
• Critics of the NFU policy argue that the increasing stockpile of Pakistani nuclear weapons
and China’s expansionist designs in the region warrant a change in the doctrine.
• A major worry for India is a two-front war when both China and Pakistan collude and
simultaneously launch offensives. In case India faces severe adversity, its traditional
nuclear doctrine of NFU may not be ideal.

India’s Nuclear Doctrine

• Building and maintaining a credible minimum deterrent
• Posture of ‘No First Use’, nuclear weapons will only be used in retaliation against a
nuclear attack on Indian Territory or on Indian forces anywhere
• Nuclear retaliation to a first strike will be massive and designed to inflict unacceptable
damage
• Non-use of nuclear weapons against non-nuclear weapon states
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• In the event of a major attack against India, or Indian forces anywhere, by biological or
chemical weapons, India will retain the option of retaliating with nuclear weapons

Way forward
• India must ensure that deterrence does not fail, and that there is a clear communication
to the adversary of the certainty of punitive nuclear retaliation.
• India’s nuclear doctrine should be periodically reviewed and updated, possibly every
decade or so, taking into account technological developments and changes in the security
environment.
• Instead of focusing on adopting a first strike policy, India must work towards
strengthening its counter strike and second-strike capability.
• India’s third leg, its sea based nuclear deterrence, must be strengthened at the earliest.

Conclusion
Mature nations always pursue a NFU policy. In the present strategic context, there is no necessity
for India to change its existing nuclear doctrine. As India seeks to establish its credentials in the
international comity as a responsible nation and a growing economic power, it should also project
the same by means of its nuclear doctrine. New Delhi must take the effort of making its
neighbours believe in its nuclear doctrine through effective confidence building measures.

Atmanirbharta’ in defence
Defence indigenisation has remained the inner calling of a nation, which has the third largest
Army, is the eighth largest military spender and has emerged as the largest importer of weapon
systems and platforms in the world.
As India inches to achieve its rightful strategic autonomy, it needs to do much more in planting
the seeds for a commercially viable and technologically robust indigenous defence industrial base.
According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), in 2019, India became
the third-largest defence spender in the world.

Challenges which prevent India from achieving ‘Aatmanirbharta’ in defence

• Lack of Defence Manufacturing base in India
• Primarily driven by Government ordnance factories and poor private participation
• The public sector (DPSUs/OFs) by far has enjoyed the preferred categorization,
particularly for big ticket purchases, when considering the Indian route, despite its poor
track record as regards time and cost overruns, inefficiencies and poor financial
performance.
• The defence industry per-se being a capital intensive industry with high risks on
investments leaves very few private players in the arena. DPSUs, on the other hand, have
not done much to promote proficient business practices by involving the industry and
Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).
• The report of the 33rd Standing Committee on Defence – Indigenization of Defence
Production: Public Private Partnership was highly critical of the steps taken by the
government to promote indigenization
• High costs and involved and lack of assured market
• Poor technological transfer by foreign companies
• Lack of Data
• Assessment of Degree of Indigenisation: As of today, no scientific system is in place to
assess the extent/ level of indigenisation achieved by defence production entities in the
country.
• Bureaucratic delay and licensing issues: there is still no ease of doing business in defence
industry: Investment in the defence sector is subject to compliance with the licensing
requirements stipulated by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP).

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Measures needed to be Aatmanirbhar in Defence sector
• To boost indigenization, DRDO needs to be given more autonomy like space and atomic
energy departments
• With opening up of 100% FDI in defence sector, giving private players an opportunity
would bring in the money as well as competition to the Defence PSUs.
• Setting up of the planned defence industrial corridors.
• Robust Defence Diplomacy, for which a cadre of defence diplomats should be created so
that new co-ordination with world can bring new idea and innovations.
• Setting up of a Defence Export Organization to promote export of defence equipments.
• Instituting an Independent Audit addressing issues of inefficiency and accountability, this
shall help in keeping the flow of ideas and innovation.
• Setting up an aerospace university, can help in bringing new ideas and innovations.

Way Forward
• Defence offset policies need better monitoring, removing unnecessary restrictions and
linking defence offsets with offset in civil sector. That should be encouraged.
• To boost indigenization, the Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO)
needs to be given more autonomy like space and atomic energy departments.
• Even playing field should be created between the Defence Public Sector Undertakings
(DPSUs) and the private sector companies.
• Indian defence PSUs and ordnance factories have a lot of potential, they need to be
“revived, revitalised and made a lot more dynamic”.
• Establishing courses on defence production across universities and creating job
opportunities for the graduates.
• The government needs to expedite the setting up a professional defence procurement
agency.
• Meeting the objectives of defence exports, encouraging innovation, streaming lining
procurements will require robust defence diplomacy. A cadre of defence diplomats should be
created to address these issues.

Conclusion
Self-reliance is a major corner-stone on which the military capability of any nation rests.
Indigenous defence production is an essential capability to provide strategic independence to a
nation, thus making exponential additions to national security through round-the-clock defence
preparedness.

Separatist Movements and Insurgency in North-East

Insurgency in North East India (NEI)
North East India (NEI) has been witnessing insurgency since 1950s and there is no end in sight.
Even though some states in the NEI have remained peaceful after ending insurgencies, overall, the
situation in the region is not conducive to peaceful living and corresponding prosperity.

Historical background and genesis

• The British had generally followed a policy of non-interference in the NEI. However, the newly
independent India in 1947 had the formidable task of uniting various princely states not only
of NEI but of the country as a whole.
• The integration of these distinct cultures of NEI into the “mainstream” was generally met
with resentment. The insurgencies started with Naga Hills. Under the leadership of Phizo, the
Naga National Council (NNC) declared independence from India on 14 Aug 1947.

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• Despite efforts at political settlement by various leaders of that time, the unrest did not die.
As a result, Indian Army (IA) was ordered to undertake Counter-Insurgency (CI)
operations in Jan 1956, after the Government of India (GoI) declared Naga Hills as a
disturbed area.
• Thereafter, various regions proactively voiced their demands for freedom/independence, and
initiating insurgencies in the region.
• Major outfits fuelling insurgency in the northeast were United Liberation Front of Assam
(U.L.F.A.), National Democratic Front of Bodoland (N.D.F.B.) who laid down their arms after
Bodo peace accord in 2020, Garo National Liberation Army (GNLA) etc.

Change in India’s anti-insurgency operation needed

• The use of necessary military force to counter the aggressiveness of insurgents.
• While military operations are being enforced, the government must have ideas and initiatives
ready, with plans for infrastructure upgrades that would address the basic grievances
of the alienated people, who took to arms in the first place.
• Finally, when military operations are reduced to a minimum and the ground situation is under
control with the implementation of such initiatives, then ‘talks’ must be initiated to address
the political demands of the locals, with fixed timelines for political deliverables.
• Above all, to successfully battle an insurgency, all major governmental agencies must be on
the same wavelength.
• A wise mix of socio-economic development and political settlement are the pillars of an
everlasting peace in the NEI. Winning the hearts and minds should be the cornerstone for
achieving conflict resolution in NEI.

Way forward
• Enhance communication and connectivity, infrastructure improvement for better
integration of the region with the mainland.
• Stringent law and fast criminal justice system for quick disposal of insurgent’s attack cases.
• Greater coordination between central forces and state forces for better tactical response.
• Greater cultural interaction with the rest of the country and socio-economic
development that includes a holistic inclusive development.
• Decentralization with alertness, improving administrative efficiency, pro-people governance
and coping up with regional aspirations must be the immediate need of the hour.
• Strengthening of local self-government with additional financial and decision-making
power would promote development by making them stakeholders in development.
• Apart from this, discrimination related to residence, food, clothing, marriage and
employment must be removed.
• Roping in more NGOs and other groups that work with these tribals to help them get
more skills and opening new vistas of employment based on their skills can help nip alienating
feeling among them.

Conclusion
The insurgencies of NEI have continued for the past seven decades despite various efforts by GoI
for a permanent solution. However, with the older generation passing away and the new
generation having little interest in insurgencies, the time is ripe to hammer out a long-term
strategy for elimination of residual insurgencies.

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Naxalism
Maoist challenge
The efficacy of the Maoist movement needs to be gauged in terms of their declining social base,
not on the basis of how many violent incidents occur.
Maoist movement in India
Current approach Expected outcome Issues
Use of Force The use of force The use of more force only helped the Maoists
(including specially- recruit from the local tribal population.
trained forces such
as the Greyhounds) The Maoist movement moved from the
has led to a decline leadership of outsiders (mostly from Telangana)
in Maoist presence to that of local tribals.
and the use of
more force will Such internal changes led to local support for
end its remaining the movement from tribals in Chhattisgarh and
influence. Jharkhand.

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Development Welfare and The D Bandyopadhyay Committee (2006) stated
development as that land alienation and poverty among STs and
part of the Dalits, and lack of access to basic forest
“strategy” to calm resources contributed to the growth of Naxalism.
down and make
the Maoists The state’s model of development has resulted
irrelevant. in the displacement of tribals → leading to the
peaceful Pathalgarhi movement in Jharkhand

What led to the failure of the above approaches:

● Declining Maoist presence/violence could well be a political strategy of the Maoists to go
silent/underground and wait for lapses on the part of the security forces.
● Eminent Domain doctrine, argues that all resources belong to the nation and can be
extracted in the “national interest”.
● Development is seen as a zero-sum game by either side leads.
● A single conception of development to address the various, occasionally incompatible
demands of oppressed groups.
● The securitisation paradigm is also insufficient to comprehend social exclusion.

Conclusion:
● Both Ambedkar and Gandhi were of the view that social exclusion and caste cannot be
addressed through violence.
● To end the social exclusion of tribals there is the need to understand that development is a
multi-faceted process.

Maoist insurgent more than just ideological problem

• The Maoist insurgency is more of a law-and-order problem than an ideological one. It is
always so in areas in the throes of insurgency of any kind.
• One shouldn’t overstate the tribal support for Maoists being ideological rather than being a
largely forced one or one that has to do with their daily struggles of life during which the state
hardly plays an assuaging role.
• On the contrary, the state inflicts or tends to inflict what many non-Maoist and even anti-
Maoist activists call state violence.
• The tribals still feel unsafe when the police enter their villages during ANOs.
• Clearly, support for the Maoists, forced or voluntary, is a product of state’s failure to reach
out to them rather than being one born out of some commitment to the Maoist ideology.
• Interviews by journalists, including this writer, with several former high-ranking Maoist cadres
have underscored their naive understanding about the basic tenets of Communist or Maoist
thought.

Conclusion
There is only one way out and it is that the government of India and the Maoists should sit
across the table and sort out their differences. The harsh truth is that the tribals are today
sandwiched between the two warring groups of State Police and Central Armed Police Forces on
the one hand and the Maoist guerrillas on the other. The government of India is today in a
position for reconciliation. Such a gesture would not be an admission of weakness. The
government today holds the upper hand and, therefore, any such move would be considered
magnanimous. There has been much blood-letting. It is time to heal the Naxal wounds, time to
usher in a new dawn.

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Left Wing Extremism (LWE)
The left-wing extremism (LWE)
or Naxal insurgency in India:
● It originated in a 1967
uprising in Naxalbari (West
Bengal) by the Communist
Party of India (Marxist).
● Naxals are a group of people
who believe in the political
theory derived from the
teachings of the Chinese
political leader Mao Zedong.

Causes: Inequitable
development, Displacement of
people (eviction from lands
traditionally used by tribals), etc.

Strategy: They believe that the

solution to social and economic
discrimination is to overthrow
(by force) the existing political
system.

Govt. measures to solve LWE:

● The Home Ministry came up with the -
○ The strategy of Samadhan.
○ The LWE Division to implement security-related schemes aimed at capacity building
in the LWE-affected States.
● Modernising the police force (SMART, CCTNS, NATGRID)
● Social Integration (surrender and rehabilitation policy, skill development)
● Development (Infrastructure - mobile towers)
● The state governments have also launched several counter-insurgency measures. For
example, Andhra Pradesh established an elite force called Greyhounds to successfully crack
down on Naxal leaders.

Current situation:
● The influence of Maoists and associated violence has been falling consistently (gone down by
77% since 2010 and resultant deaths by 90% to 98 in 2022) in the country.
● A general disenchantment with the Maoist ideology among the youth has deprived the
insurgent movement of new leadership.
● The government has cut the number of districts declared to be Naxal-affected from over 200
in the early 2000s to just 90 now.
● The presence of Naxals is said to be minimal to zero in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Odisha,
Jharkhand, and Bihar.

A widely accepted principle in counter-Maoist strategy:

● The war against Left Wing Extremism can only be won by the state police and not central
forces.
● This is because the state police have local knowledge, understand the language, and have
local networks that are essential for the generation of intelligence.

Situation in Chhattisgarh:

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● It is the only state in the country where Maoists continue to have a significant presence.
● In the last five years (2018-22), 1,132 violent incidents, in which 168 security forces personnel
and 335 civilians lost their lives, accounted for over a third of all Maoist-related violence.

Why did the Maoists attack in Chhattisgarh at this time?

● The onset of the monsoon makes it difficult to conduct offensive operations in the jungles.
● Almost all major attacks by Maoists on security forces have taken place during the Tactical
Counter Offensive Campaigns (TCOCs) period in the summer.
● The TCOC period this year has been characterised by increasing improvised explosive device
(IED) attacks.

Why does Chhattisgarh continue to remain troubled?

● The counter-insurgency measures started late in Chhattisgarh.
● By this time, the police of neighbouring states had pushed Maoists from their states to
Chhattisgarh, making it a concentrated zone of Maoist influence.
● The special unit of the Chhattisgarh Police, the DRG, was raised from the local tribal
population and trained to fight Maoists and has become active relatively recently.
● The absence of roads and minimal presence of the administration in the interiors of Bastar
has stymied the operations of security forces and ensured Maoists' influence through a mix
of fear and goodwill.

How has the Centre responded?

● Apart from supporting LWE states through Security Related Expenditure (SRE), the Special
Infrastructure Scheme (SIS) aims to strengthen local police and intelligence setups.
● Through the Special Central Assistance for building infrastructure (roads), the Centre has
maintained a massive presence of the CRPF in the affected states.
● The Centre has also unleashed the Counter-terrorism National Investigation Agency (NIA)
and the Enforcement Directorate on CPI(Maoist) cadres.

Conclusion: The Chhattisgarh experience demands an urgent revisiting of the existing counter-
insurgency strategy → a security-centric approach. The most appropriate thing at this juncture
would be to open the channels for political dialogues with Maoists.

Extremism
Without development processes, there is no organic end to the causes of discontent, unrest and
extremism. Development and security together lay the foundations for sustainable peace. It is a
truism that underdevelopment often creates the conditions for insurgency and spread of
extremist ideologies among the people, who perceive that their needs are not being taken care of
by the government.

While it has been the policy of governments around the world today to emphasise on “inclusive
development”, there are always groups in every state who feel alienated because they perceive
that they are left out of the developmental efforts. Such perceptions coupled with inefficient and
corrupt governance create an ideal condition for extremism and militancy. More than lack of
development, it is the perception of injustice, mis-governance and inability of the system to
engage the disaffected lot that lead people to violence and extremism.

Extremism hindrance to development

As security is the primary infrastructure of economic activities and social stability and certainty
about future are the essential prerequisite of investment, the persistent insurgency atmosphere
has been the most important contributor to economic stagnation of the region.
• The first casualty of insurgency has been its already weak infrastructure especially, its
transport sector.

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• The subversive activities of the insurgents’ damage rail tracks, cause accidents leading to loss
of life and property, create terror among the travellers and throw the entire system out of
gear.
• The next important target of the insurgents is the resource-based industries like petroleum
and tea which form the core of the modern organised sector in the region.
• Oil pipelines are often blown up by the insurgents, tea gardens are targeted for extortion
and sometimes, tea garden executives are abducted.
• The attack of the insurgents on tea and petroleum is bound to convey negative signal to the
prospective investors. The potential of using gas reserve of the region will also be seriously
hampered because of insurgency situation.
• The third, but first from long term point of view, victim of insurgency in the region is
environment. On the one hand, insurgents damage forests by taking shelter there and on the
other, anti-insurgency operations also lead to denudation of forests.
• The insurgency has aggravated the problem to such an extent that development workers of
both the Government and NGOs are utterly discouraged from going to the hilly and rural
areas as they face constant extortions and threats of abduction or death.
• It is extremely difficult to build up rural infrastructure like roads and communication links,
power grid, irrigation arrangements etc. It is also equally difficult to build up and administer
schools, hospitals, agricultural extension centres etc in such a condition.
• Consequently, insurgency is pushing the backward areas of the region to the darkness of
greater underdevelopment and is acting as a retarding force rendering disservice to rural
poor especially the indigenous people whose causes, they are supposed to uphold.

Developmental issues related to rise and spread of extremism:

Developmental issues which pertain to the spread of extremism are linked to lack of access to
basic resources to sustain livelihood.
• Forest policy:
o In the name of development, habitat of principal adivasi communities were
declared reserve forests & in accordance with Forest conservation Act 1980, no
forest land can be diverted to non-forest use without permission.
o Rights of primitive forest dwellers were restricted resulting in losing access to
land.
o Mass resentment leading to extremist activities.
• Land alienation:
o 40% of rural households have no land or less than half an acre of land, increased
marginal landholdings, no land reforms, insecurity and exploitation of tenants and
unrest leading to extremism.
o Land acquisition for Special Economic Zone (SEZ) again deprived the poor of their
lands. Loss of food production as a huge block of productive lands acquired for
SEZ; major impact in livelihood resource, leading to conflict.
• Displacement & rehabilitation:
o Displacement/ forced eviction of people occurs due to developmental projects
such as irrigation, industrial projects, mining projects, power plants etc. It can be
physical, emotional or cultural.
o Tribal people are most prone to displacement because tribal areas are rich in
mineral resources such as Orissa, Jharkhand. This impacts multidimensional
trauma on them leading to serious consequences.
• Labour, unemployment and wages:
o Unemployment and insecurity of livelihood are growing source of dissatisfaction and
anger among youth, both in urban and rural areas.
o Minimum wages for agriculture work are not implemented, increased share of
unorganized workers in unorganized sector, no effective coverage of labour welfare
laws.

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o Hence this multifaceted form of exploitation in the absence of any developmental
propaganda forms the major cause of spread of extremism.
• Moreover, tourism industry in this development scenario is posing a great threat to the
existing tribal life which is interwoven with ecology. The introduction of foreign influence and
commercialisation is triggering the process of disintegration of tribal society leading to
extremist activities.
Thus, the above causes show that underdevelopment and socio-economic lacunae lead to
extremism.

Way Forward:
• Effective implementation of legislation:
o PESA, MGNREGA, Scheduled tribes and other traditional forest dwellers acts must be
implemented effectively.
• Land Related Measures:
o A serious effort must be made to continuously implement the land ceiling issues for
distribution amongst the most vulnerable section of the landless poor.
o Land should be acquired by government for SEZ by paying proper compensation to
the farmers.
o Land tribunals or fast track courts must be set up for speedy disposal of land ceiling
cases. The loopholes in the respective state ceiling laws must be corrected.
• Basic amenities and Infrastructure:
o Failure to provide infrastructure and services as per national norms is one of the
much discriminatory manifestations of governance in extremism affected areas. Basic
services to standards among the people in these areas to be given top priority.
• Governance Issues:
o Areas in central India where unrest is prevailing covers several states like Andhra
Pradesh, Orissa, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and parts of Maharashtra.
o State interventions both for development and for law and order are fairly low. Local
populations present in the tribal areas are being exploited by the rich people.
Government should take necessary action in protecting these people.
o The basic steps required in the direction include establishment of credibility and
confidence of government, keeping a continuous vigil for fulfilment of people’s vision,
effective protection, peace and good governance; sustainable development with
equity in tribal areas will make extremism low in tribal areas.
• Livelihood Security:
o should strengthen the subsidiary and supportive activities in horticulture, poultry,
fisheries, animal husbandry under the strict guidelines of ministry of agriculture
through establishment of quality infrastructure & efficient market linkages at the
village level.
o Universalize basic social services to standards amongst the people of extremist
affected areas so that the discriminatory manifestations of governance can be
removed.
• Institutional arrangements for centre-state cooperation:
o Since problems in formulating a counter-Extremist policy as well as in dealing with the
issue on a day-to-day basis are sourced to the lack of centre-state cooperation, a
permanent institutional mechanism in the form of a coordination centre can be
established to thrash out emerging differences.
o A coordination centre does currently exist within the Ministry of Home Affairs, but
requires the active participation of state representatives to ensure smoother
coordination

Conclusion:

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NOTES
Inequalities between classes have increased over the years which act as source of unrest. Indian
Constitution in article 39 mandates states to prevent concentration of wealth in few hands but
policy makers often ignore this resulting into two dimensions: BHARAT and INDIA. Only when
adivasis and marginalized groups are taken care of both these worlds won’t merge. Structural
violence causes much of violence. While not condoning radical violence, an honest response to
extremism therefore must begin by ameliorating the structural violence in the society.

Linkages of Organized Crime with Terrorism

The issue of narcotics trade
The issue of narcotics trade has kept security agencies and law enforcement agencies on the
tenterhooks.

Background:
● The narcotics trade, which is assuming dangerous proportions all over the world, is a social
problem that harms youth and families.
● The money it generates is diverted for disruptive activities that have bearings on national
security.

India is no exception:

● As India has been sandwiched between the Death (Golden) Crescent and Death (Golden)
Triangle, it is being flooded with drugs, especially heroin and methamphetamine.
● Nearly 90% of the world’s demand for these drugs is being met from these two regions and
India is both a big market and a transit route for other countries.

Challenges for India:

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● National security challenges:
○ The connection of drug traffickers from across borders with terrorist organisations
→ illegal money is used for terror activities.
○ India has emerged as a hot destination for cocaine, the supply of which is
controlled by South American drug cartels, which have links with local drug lords,
gangsters and Khalistani terrorists.
● Porous borders: These are under the control of terrorist/rebel groups, indirectly
supported by Pakistan and China.
● The maritime route: Has also become very active.
● The use of drones: To supply drugs and weapons across the border in Punjab is a new
phenomenon and law enforcement agencies are working to neutralise this.
● Anonymity: 62% of the darknet is being used for illicit drug trafficking. Cryptocurrency
payments and doorstep deliveries have made darknet transactions attractive.
Measures taken by the government:
● Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB): It was constituted in 1986 under the NDPS Act 1985 with
the prime responsibility of fighting drug trafficking and drug abuse.
● Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan (NMBA)
● National Action Plan for Drug Demand Reduction (NAPDDR) for 2018-2025.
● The government constituted the Narco-Coordination Centre (NCORD) in 2016.
● National Fund for Control of Drug Abuse
Achievements of Indian agencies:
● The Indian Coast Guard (ICG), in conjunction with the intelligence agencies, has been
making big seizures frequently.
● The Narcotics Control Bureau busted an organised racket of darknet vendors and arrested
several Indian nationals and their international counterparts were exposed for the first
time.
● Operation "Gear Box" was started by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) to
combat the smuggling of heroin by detecting the hidden drugs in the gear boxes.
Way ahead:
● Concerted and coordinated efforts of all the agencies will be required to tackle this
growing threat.
● Technical surveillance followed by basic policing methods will lead to the seizure of large
consignments of drugs and the arrest of the gang.
● The nexus between terrorists and organised gangs/underworld is a new and disturbing
trend, which has to be tackled effectively by security agencies.

Terrorism and role of External State and Non-State Actors

• Terrorism is the planned, organized and systematic use of violence as a means of coercion
for political, religious or ideological purposes. It has become a global phenomenon posing
major threat to international peace, security and stability.
• The menace of terrorism whether perpetrated by individuals, groups or state forces is a crime
against humanity which has wounded societies all over the world.
• The terrorist has not only threatened the ideals of democracy and freedom but also caused a
serious challenge to the existence, progress and development of mankind.
• International terrorism poses an increasingly dangerous and difficult threat to world.
Today’s terrorists seek to inflict mass casualties, and they are attempting to do so across
globe. They are less dependent on state sponsorship and are, instead, forming loose,
transnational affiliations based on religious or ideological affinity and a common hatred. This
makes terrorist attacks more difficult to detect and prevent.

India subdivides terrorism in four major groups:

• Ethno-nationalist terrorism – This form of terror focuses either on creating a separate State
within India or independent of India. Violent Tamil Nationalist groups from India to address

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the condition of Tamils in Sri Lanka, as well as insurgent tribal groups in North East India are
examples of ethno-nationalist terrorist activities.
• Religious terrorism – This form of terror focuses on religious imperatives, a presumed duty
for a specific religious group, against one or more religious groups. Mumbai 26/11 terror
attack in 2008 from an Islamic group in Pakistan is an example of religious terrorism in India.
• Left-wing terrorism – This form of terror focuses on economic ideology, where all the existing
socio-political structures are seen to be economically exploitative in character and a
revolutionary change through violent means is essential. Maoist violence in Jharkhand and
Chhattisgarh are examples of left-wing terrorism in India.
• Narcoterrorism – This form of terror focuses on creating illegal narcotics traffic zones. Drug
violence in northwest India is an example of narco-terrorism in India.

Role of external state and non-state actors in creating challenges to internal security
• All the states in the north-eastern region are different from each other because of their
ethnic diversity which comprises over 160 scheduled tribes and 400 other tribal or sub tribal
communities and groups with predominantly a rural economy.
• This region has remained largely under-developed and there has been no policy like “Act East”
which could focus on the extended neighbourhood in the Asia-Pacific region and
simultaneously developed this region.
• Because of lack of socio-economic development, and central and regional divergence, this
region still suffers from a multiplicity of deficits namely deficits related to basic needs,
infrastructure, resource allocation and utilisation, governance and above all a deficit of
understanding between the region and the rest of the nation. For these reasons, different
insurgent groups are still active.
• Deadlock over peace-talks and cease-fire agreements with various warring tribes, nexus
between many insurgent groups and organized crime syndicates, China’s linkages to some
anti-India insurgent groups, demand scrapping the controversial Armed Forces (Special
Powers) Act are some other key reasons for the survival of armed insurgency in the north-
eastern region.

External vulnerabilities by state and non-state actors that pose challenges to India’s national
security:
• ‘State actor’ is used in the context where one government supports an actor in the
performance of an act or acts of terrorism against the other often deemed as a state
sponsor.

State actors:
• Increasing activities of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) in Nepal changed the
nature of the border completely. It has ties with the Taliban and other radical groups. These
groups have been involved with the radicalization of the Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh.
Groups such as the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), the Haqqani Network and the Taliban have
repeatedly been used by Pakistan as instruments to help it achieve its foreign policy
objectives in India and Afghanistan.
• China’s People’s Liberation Army continues to deploy construction equipment for road works.
It uses spider excavators to build roads in the border area.
• China is setting up villages in uninhabited tri-junction stretches between India, Bhutan and
China, which are intended to support Chinese military facilities.
• China not following resolution mechanism of maritime disputes in reference to the South
China Sea where China is flexing its military muscle despite an international tribunal verdict
(UNCLOS) going against it.

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Organizations and individuals not connected with, directed by, or funded through the
government are non-state actors. They can be corporations, NGOs, and even paramilitary and
armed resistance groups.

Non-state actors:
• Pakistan has been a major exporter of terrorism to India. Non-state actors like terrorist
groups for instance Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad are a continuous threat.
• Non state actor -sponsored terrorism, often motivated by fundamentalist ideologies, backed
by secretive but efficient financial networks, use of IT, clandestine access to chemical-
biological and nuclear materials, and illicit drug trafficking, has emerged as a major threat to
international stability.
• These groups aim to not only create instability in states like J&K, they also have a larger aim
of destabilising the country. This is done through sporadic terrorist strikes, which spreads
terror and panic. This could also adversely affect the ability of the Indian state to pursue
economic modernisation.
• Growing vulnerability of the coastline and also of the airspace, for example, Mumbai and
Purulia incidents.
• Insurgency, illegal migration from Bangladesh and smuggling activities reflect the porosity
(concern highlighted in Kargil Review Committee) of our borders.
• The deep-rooted nexus between drug mafias, arms dealers, and money launderers for
financing terrorism.
• The north-eastern states have been facing many challenges such as
o organized Crime, the UWSA is the largest of the organized criminal groups in the
region and operates freely along the China and Thailand borders,
o Ethnic Gangs
o Insurgent Groups which can encourage LWE, trans-border terrorism and separatist
tendencies
o Opium poppy cultivation in Burma’s Shan state
o illegal immigrants having livelihood interest
o refugee crisis like 40,000 Rohingya live in India
o insurgent groups active in the Northeast, namely ULFA-I, NDFB-S, UNLF hide in
Myanmar, together these could be a serious threat to internal security.

Reasons for rise of terrorism

• Terrorism has been a threat not only to India’s democracy but countries worldwide affecting
the enjoyment of rights of people. Terrorism has slammed and affected almost every sphere
of human life, be it economic or political or social life.
• Broadly, terrorism is the antithesis of independence, development and human rights. The
frontier regions of India, especially regions bordering Pakistan are the worst affected
regions by terrorism.
• Terrorism, in all its form, is the greatest violator of human rights. The ruthless, barbaric,
inhuman killing of innocent people is carried out by the terrorists with a view not only to
challenge the authority of the Government, but also to put the security and sovereignty of
the country in jeopardy.
• Terrorism in India is characterized by communist, Islamists and separatist groups. Communist
terrorist groups are by far the most frequent perpetrators and the main cause of terrorism
deaths in India.
• India continues to face a number of terror attacks from Islamic groups in Kashmir, Sikh
separatists in Punjab, and secessionist groups in Assam.
• The most immediate and measurable impact of terrorism is physical destruction. Terrorists
destroy existing plants, machines, transportation systems and other economic resources. On
smaller scales, acts of terrorism may blow up different public places, markets or religious
places. The impact of terrorism is always negative for the economy.

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• Productive resources that might have generated valuable goods and services are destroyed,
while other resources are almost invariably diverted from other productive uses to bolster the
military and defense. None of these create wealth or adds to the standard of living.
• The best strategy to isolate and defeat terrorism is by respecting human rights, fostering
social justice, enhancing democracy and upholding the primacy of the rule of law.

Cross-Border Terrorism:
India has one of the longest and most varied of international borders. Historical and political
reasons have left India with an artificial unnatural border. Border Management is an integral
approach towards borders in which along with security enhancement, infrastructure & human
development is undertaken. The challenge of coping with long-standing territorial and boundary
disputes with China and Pakistan, combined with porous borders along some of the most
difficult terrain in the world, has made effective and efficient border management a national
priority.

Issues and threats posed by each neighbouring country to India:

Indo-Pakistan Border:
• Indo-Pakistan Border (3,323 Km) runs along the states of Gujarat, Rajasthan, Punjab and the
UTs of J&K and Ladakh.
• Direct accessibility of the borders and some technological developments enabling quick
passage of information and transfer of funds has changed the focus and tenor of border
security.
• Cross-Border Terrorism from Pakistan has exacerbated due to non-recognition of boundaries
by its terrorist groups and their success in acquiring legitimacy due to religious or ethnic
identity.
• Inadequate Cooperation from Pakistan has made the management of border further
difficult for India.

Indo-Bangladesh Border:
• The Indo-Bangladesh Border (4,096 Km) passes through West Bengal, Assam, Meghalaya,
Tripura and Mizoram.
• The entire stretch consists of plains, riverine belts, hills & jungles which make illegal migration
very easy.
• Illegal Migration across this border poses serious security threats and acts as a fertile ground
for organisations like the Inter-Services Intelligence of Pakistan to penetrate and expand their
activities.
• Also, poor law and order situation at the border, has led to smuggling of arms and drugs.
Supply of arms help in sustaining any conflict.

Indo-China Border:
• India shares a long land border with China (3,488 Km) in the Indian states of Himachal
Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh and UT of Ladakh.
• Although this border remains relatively aloof from illegal migrations, this border remains a
cause of constant vigil for Indian forces.
• India has a longstanding border dispute with China running back to British era in Aksai Chin
and Arunachal Pradesh.

Indo-Nepal Border:
• India-Nepal Border (1,751 Km) is an open border in the sense that people of both the
countries can cross it from any point, despite the existence of border check posts at several
locations.
• Anti-India organizations use this border to plant their people in the territory of India.

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• Also, smuggling of gold, small arms, drugs and fake currency helps terrorists in executing an
attack.

Indo-Bhutan Border:
• This border (699 km) passes through states of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, West Bengal
and Sikkim.
• Illicit establishment of camps by militant outfits in the dense jungles of south-east Bhutan
helps insurgents from India in executing anti-India activities.

Indo-Myanmar Border:
• The northeast states of Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram share the
border with Myanmar (1,643).
• Some of the insurgent groups like the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN) and
ULFA operate from Myanmar, which threatens the security of India as well as Myanmar.

India has had to deal with numerous challenges with respect to border management such as:
Current fence:
• The present one has a high rate of degradation due to snow and has to be repaired after
every season which costs about Rs. 50-60 crore every year.
• Over time infiltrators have devised ways to cross it.
• India’s internal security challenges are inextricably linked with border management. This
is so because Indian insurgent groups have for long been provided shelter across the
nation’s borders
by inimical neighbours.

No real-time coordination:
• Due to the lack of understanding of military issues among the decision-making elite,
India’s borders continue to be manned by a large number of military, paramilitary and
police forces.
• Each of which has its own ethos and each of which reports to a different central ministry
at New Delhi, with almost no real coordination in managing the borders.
• Border management is designed for a ‘firefighting’ approach rather than a ‘fire
prevention’ or pro-active approach.
• It is based on a strategy of ‘reaction and retaliation’ rather than on a holistic response to
the prevailing environment, resulting in stress and decision-making problems at the
functional level.

Other Challenges:
• Perennial and Seasonal Rivers via which terrorists can infiltrate.
• Un-demarcated boundaries with overlapping claims cause constant friction along borders.
• Mountainous and Hilly terrain especially in North Indian borders which are snow clad and
inhabitable during winter season.
• Unilateral actions by some nations to change the status quo in their favour.
• Little or no support from counterparts of neighbouring nations and in some cases active
support by cross border elements to illegal activities.
• Cultural, ethnic and linguistic affinity across borders and clan loyalties
• Multiple agencies are involved in border management, lack of Inter agency cooperation
and coordination.
• Support of state and non-state actors to aid infiltration, smuggling, trafficking etc.

Solutions for addressing cross border terrorism:

• Infrastructure along with border has to be improved – rail connectivity along with road
connectivity has to be provided for quick mobilization.
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• Building of additional checkpoints and Border posts along major and minor trade routes
connected with borders.
• Building of floating bridges, walls & electrical fences where there is high probability of
infiltration.
• Taking up of joint Border management with Countries like Myanmar, Bhutan and Nepal.
• Improving healthcare, physical infrastructure and digital connectivity in villages around
borders thus making them stakeholder in Border Management.
• Madhav Godbole task force recommendations on border management need to be
implemented.
o It had recommended that the CRPF should be designated as the primary national
level counterinsurgency force. This would enable the other central paramilitary
forces like the BSF and Indo- Tibetan Border Police to return to their primary role
of better border management.
o It had also recommended that all paramilitary forces managing unsettled borders
should operate directly under the control of the army and that there should be
lateral induction from the army to the paramilitary forces so as to enhance their
operational effectiveness.
• The principle of ‘single point control’ must be followed if the borders are to be
effectively managed.
• The advances in surveillance technology, particularly satellite and aerial imagery, can help
to maintain a constant vigil along the LAC and make it possible to reduce physical
deployment.

Conclusion:
Keeping a strong vigil on its border is very important for any nation to check any kind of illegal
activities or intrusion through them. For India, the task becomes difficult where terrain and
climate is very complex across some of its border areas. Focussing on improved technology will
help in making the task easier for the security forces and make its borders more secure.

Bioterrorism
• Bioterrorism or Biological Attack is the intentional release of viruses, bacteria, or other
germs that can sicken or kill people, livestock or crops. They use microorganisms and natural
toxins to produce disease in humans, animals, or plants.
• The Covid-19 pandemic has exposed the vulnerability of several world powers in the event
of use of biological weapons against them by rogue states and terrorist groups.

Bio-Weapons:
• Biological weapons can be derived from: bacteria, viruses, rickettsia, biological toxins and
fungi.
• These agents can be deployed as biological weapons when paired with a delivery system
such as a missile or aerosol device.
• Bacillus anthracis, the bacteria that causes anthrax, is one of the most likely agents to be
used in a biological attack.
• The most destructive bioterrorism scenario is the airborne dispersion of pathogens over a
major population region.
• Tropical agricultural pathogens or pests can be used as anticrop agents to hamper the food
security worldwide.
• It is a substantial threat because small amounts of biotic agents can be effortlessly hidden,
transported and discharged into vulnerable populations.
• It can impact and expose military and civilian susceptibilities to biological weapons and to
the complexity of offering ample safeguards.

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• Bioweapons experts believe that currently bioterrorists probably lack the biotechnological
capability to produce-super pathogens or super pests.

Combating Bioterrorism:
• The European Union (EU), Russia and China are finding ways to deter bioterrorism and
biowarfare. The aim is to make it harder for terrorists to obtain the resources for designing
biological weapons.
• Intelligence Sharing & Rapid Detection
o Global intelligence agencies should operate together and share credible intelligence.
o Combining human resources, laboratory resources and information supervision in
novel, legal and satisfactory ways that allow for timely detection and categorization of
hazards.
o Rapid detection and surveillance are important for an efficient response to a bioterror
strike.
• Pathogen Analysis
o Speedy, uniform techniques that allow for the discovery of an extensive range of
pathogens used as biological weapons in a measurable fashion.
o Pathogens are a usual part of the environment and can complicate detection
attempts.
• Strengthening the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention
o The Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC) of 1972 prohibits signatory
nations to develop, produce, stockpile or otherwise, acquire or retain:
▪ Microbial or other biological agents or toxins whatever their origin or
method of production, of
▪ types and in quantities that have no justification for prophylactic, protective
or other peaceful purposes.
o There is no exact authentication method that can ensure compliance with the BTWC.
Therefore, efforts must be made to strengthen the BTWC so that it helps to uncover
and successfully prevent biological weapons programs.
o India ratified and pledged to abide by its obligations in 2015.
• Biodefense Systems
o Upgrading and installing biodefense systems in major urban conglomerates to protect
against deadly disease outbreaks initiated by bioterrorism.
o During the Cold War, Soviet Union had set up several Biodefense systems across the
country.
o Developing and stockpiling vaccines and antimicrobial medicines that can be used to
defend the people against infections triggered by biological weapons.
o Coaching first responders on how to deal with a biological weapons attack.
o Refining diagnostic laboratory capability and epidemiological capabilities.

Way Forward
• The studies conducted to assess the actual efficiency of counter bioterrorism measures
are insufficient which needs to be changed.
• It becomes important that engaged and methodical efforts in studying the efficiency of
counter bioterrorism measures are applied in a meticulous way.
• It should be taken into account that the implementation of some specific counter
bioterrorism
practices can possibly have consequences with respect to human rights, institutional
liberties, fundamental democratic values and the Rule of Law.

Terrorism Measures- Institutional and Legal Framework

• India has been consistently working towards fighting the menace of terrorism at both global
and national front, thus adopting certain measures at policy level.

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• At international level, India has proposed Comprehensive Convention on International
Terrorism (CCIT) at United Nations General Assembly which is under negotiation. Upon its
adoption, the convention would provide legal basis for criminalizing all terrorist activities.
o No international convention exists, that determines intelligence and evidence sharing,
extradition of accused persons hiding outside national territory.
o This needs to be finalized at the earliest.
• India has also voted in favour of Resolution 34/8 of the Human Rights Council on ‘Effects of
terrorism on the enjoyment of all human rights’.
• At national level, India has formulated and implemented many laws. Some of them are
Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 Prevention of Terrorism Act, 2002 etc.
• A Central Scheme titled Central Scheme for Assistance to Civilian Victims of Terrorist/
Communal/Left Wing Extremist (LWE), Cross Border Firing and Mine/IED blasts on Indian
Territory has been formulated.

National Security Guard (NSG): National Security Guard was raised in 1984, following Operation
Blue Star and the assassination of Indira Gandhi, “for combating terrorist activities with a view to
protect States against internal disturbances”. The primary role of this Force is to combat terrorism
in whatever form it may assume in areas where activity of terrorists assumes serious proportions,
and the State Police and other Central Police Forces cannot cope up with the situation.

Money laundering and terrorism financing are often linked. When law enforcement is able to
detect and prevent money laundering activities, it may also be preventing those funds from being
used to finance acts of terror.

Financial Action Task Force (FATF):

• Combating the Financing of Terrorism (CFT) policies largely originate and are modeled upon
the report Forty Recommendations, which was published by the Financial Action Task
Force (FATF).
• FATF works to combat money laundering and the financing of terrorism through creating
standardized processes to stop threats to the international financial system. It seeks to
increase acceptance of anti-money laundering regulations across the globe. Eg: Pakistan is on
greylist for two years.
• Following the FATF, world organizations, international financial institutions, and many
national governments have pursued CFT initiatives and policies.
• The FATF also collects and shares information about trends in money laundering and
terrorism financing and works closely with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World
Bank, and the United Nations.

Steps needed to curb terrorism

• A comprehensive and multidimensional strategy for the “War on Terror” must
involve an integrated view of the strategic military and economic domains, among
others.
• Financial institutions play an important role in combating the financing of terrorism because
terrorists often rely on them, especially banks, to transfer money. Laws that require banks to
perform due diligence on their customers and to report suspicious transactions can help
prevent terrorism.
• Intelligence sharing: As terrorism is taking global form, intelligence sharing among countries
is critical in preventing or minimizing the terror attacks. Eg: Easter attack possibility was
shared by India to Sri Lanka, though it was not acted upon.
• Global cooperation on extremist content: Christchurch Call of Action outlined voluntary
commitments from governments, ISPs to address issue of violent extremist content online.
India is a signatory to this plan

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• Global sanctions against nations that are State sponsors of terrorism. Eg: UNSC must come up
with stringent sanctions against nations.
• Addressing UN High-Level conference on Heads of Counter Terrorism, India extended a five-
point formula –
o Exchange of timely and actionable intelligence.
o Prevention of misuse of modern communication through collaboration with the
private sector.
o Building capacities for improved border controls.
o Sharing of info related to the movement of passengers.
o Designation of Counter-Terror focal points to fight global terror.
• In addition, there should be a concerted effort from the countries affected by the scourge of
terrorism to pressurize countries who engage in state-sponsored terrorism.
• It is necessary for countries fighting terrorism to learn more closely from their differences,
rather than try to generalise from experience.
• The success or failure of each of these approaches must be studied & applied to smaller
countries suffering from global terrorism based on applicability.
• United Nations must become the global Centre to fight global terrorism.
• The complete implementation of UN Global Counter-Terrorism Coordination Compact that
was agreed upon in 2018.
• Intelligence sharing between countries needs to be strengthened and countries currently not
affected by global terrorism need to take the threat seriously.

Conclusion:
• Terrorism is a complex, non-static phenomenon. Its associated motivations, financing and
support mechanisms, methods of attack and choice of targets are often evolving, thereby
compounding the challenges of ensuring the existence of an effective strategy to counter it. In
this situation global cooperation is of paramount importance.
• India should play a proactive role to neutralize any threat of terrorism. There is a need for
the world to join hands and take concrete multilateral initiatives to ensure that terror groups
are dealt with a heavy hand. Accepting and ratifying the Comprehensive Convention on
International Terrorism (CCIT) proposed by India would be good first step.

Maritime Security
India's Maritime Grand Strategy
• The legendary military theorist, Sun Tzu, once said that the critical element in battle was
foreknowledge, but that it “could not be elicited from spirits, nor from gods, nor by analogy
with past events, nor from calculations”.
• The foreknowledge could only be gathered with specialised tools and by men who knew the
enemy well.
• A prior reading of the adversary and the theatre of battle, could decisively shift the balance of
fortune in war.

Nature of the enemy at sea

• Today, the enemy at sea is often unrecognisable — a terrorist, a pirate, a criminal or a sea
robber.
• Indian maritime planners have been wary of the possibility of a greater Chinese presence in
the eastern littorals.

Indian Navy’s Initiatives

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• Of late, the Indian Navy has been on a drive to improve domain awareness in the Indian
Ocean.
• The Navy is seeking to expand India’s surveillance footprint by setting up radar stations in
the Maldives, Myanmar and Bangladesh.
• The Indian Navy’s efforts seem focused primarily on monitoring Chinese activity in the Eastern
Indian Ocean.
• In recent months, Indian naval ships have patrolled the Andaman Seas and eastern
chokepoints to deter any maritime adventurism by Beijing.
• India has moved to expand its underwater detection capabilities in the Eastern chokepoints.
• Navy’s coverage of the Bay of Bengal littoral is already considerable.
• Indian Navy’s Information Fusion Centre for Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR) was established
in 2018 to effectively keep track of the shipping traffic as well as other critical developments
in the IOR under a collaborative framework with like-minded countries.

Maritime grand strategy

• New Delhi’s excessive focus on the continental sphere since Independence has not yielded
great returns in terms of secure borders, healthy relations with its neighbours or deterrence
stability vis-à-vis adversaries.
• It is time for India to change its grand strategic approach — by shifting its focus from the
continental sphere to the maritime sphere.
• The work in this direction, both ideational and practical, needs to be fast-tracked to keep pace
with the emerging realities and to make use of new opportunities.
• The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) established a new division to deal with the Indo-Pacific
in April 2019.
• Unlike in the continental sphere, there is a growing great power interest in the maritime
sphere, especially with the arrival of the concept of ‘Indo-Pacific’.
• The maritime space is a lot more important to China than engaging in land grab attempts in
the Himalayas, due to the massive Chinese trade that happens via the Oceanic routes.
• Therefore, it is high time New Delhi shifted its almost exclusive focus from the continental
space to the maritime space.

Concerns / Challenges
• There is concern among maritime watchers that the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN)
may be poised to develop a generation of quieter submarines that would be hard to detect in
the near-seas.
• Analysts fear that the next generation of PLAN nuclear submarines could be stealthier than
ever, capable of beating adversary surveillance.
• There are apprehensions that China may already be mapping the undersea terrain in the
approaches to the Indian Ocean Region.
• While cooperative information sharing allows for a joint evaluation of threats, countries do
not always share vital information timeously.

Way Forward
• Law enforcement agencies need to be a lot more vigilant on high-grade sensors and
communication networks that observe and track suspicious movements, sharing information
in real time.
• This state of enhanced consciousness is described as maritime domain awareness.
• Indian decision makers must recognise the need for cooperative tools to fight transnational
crime in the littorals.
• Efforts to help smaller island states build capacity to combat regional threats.
• India must ensure seamless information flow, generating operational synergy with partners,
and aim to expand collaborative endeavours in shared spaces.

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• New Delhi must ideate on the current and future maritime challenges, consolidate its
military and non-military tools, engage its strategic partners, and publish a comprehensive
vision document on the Indo-Pacific.

Indian Ocean Region (IOR)

The IOR accounts for more than two-thirds of the world’s oil shipments. One-third of bulk cargo
and more than half of container traffic pass through it. The safety of these sea routes is not only
directly connected to our economic interests, but it also establishes India as a net security
provider in the IOR.
With challenges such as piracy, aggressive China’s String of Pearls, terror threats like Mumbai
attack and disasters, there is growing need for a stable IOR with India at its helm. Towards this
end, India has been actively participating in IOR in various aspects.

Growing instability and security issues in IOR

• The Indian Ocean is an area of conflict. Some conflicts are internal and remain localised, but
other local and regional conflicts are of global significance and are prone to foreign political
and military interference.
o Some notable conflict areas are Israel and Palestine, Iraq, Sudan, Afghanistan,
Somalia, Sri Lanka and Pakistan.
• Though the causes of these conflicts vary, many can be associated with weak or failed states,
significant levels of poverty, poorly developed institutions, the absence of democracy,
corruption, competition for scarce resources, interference by foreign powers, the global war
on terror and what can be termed ‘turbulence’ in the Islamic world.
• The region is home to continually evolving strategic developments including the competing
rises of China and India, potential nuclear confrontation between India and Pakistan, the US
interventions in Iraq and Afghanistan, Islamist terrorism, growing incidence of piracy in and
around the Horn of Africa, and management of diminishing fishery resources.
o Almost all the world’s major powers have deployed substantial military forces in
the Indian Ocean region.
• The US 5th Fleet is headquartered in Bahrain, and uses the island of Diego Garcia as a major
air naval base and logistics hub for its Indian Ocean operations.
o France maintains a significant presence in the north and southwest Indian Ocean
quadrants, with naval bases in Djibouti, Reunion, and Abu Dhabi.

India’s response in IOR and multiple initiatives

• Security and Growth for All (SAGAR) Policy: India’s SAGAR policy is an integrated regional
framework, unveiled by Indian Prime Minister during a visit to Mauritius in March 2015. The
pillars of SAGAR are:
o The primary responsibility for peace, stability and prosperity in the IOR would be
on those “who live in this region”.
• Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA): The aim of IOR-ARC is to open the region based on four
major components: trade liberalisation, trade and investment facilitation, economic and
technical cooperation, and trade and investment dialogue.
• The ‘Indian Ocean Naval Symposium’ (IONS): IONS is a voluntary initiative that seeks to
increase maritime co-operation among navies of the littoral states of the Indian Ocean
Region.
• Indian Ocean Commission (COI): The COI is an intergovernmental organisation created in
1984 with the Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius, France and the Seychelles as members.
• India is working on a range of projects to improve maritime logistics in Sri Lanka, Maldives,
Mauritius and Seychelles.

Conclusion

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Indian occupies a central and strategic location in the Indian Ocean area. Its national and
economic interests are inseparably linked up with Indian Ocean. Hence to keep the Indian Ocean
as a zone of Peace free from superpower rivalry and increasing cooperation among littoral
countries in the region has always been India’s foreign Policy’s goal for example Look East policy,
Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation, BIMSTEC and Ganga-Mekong
Cooperation etc.

Maritime Security
• With a coastline of over 7500 KM, Maritime security is an important aspect of national
security for India.
• The Government of India is implementing Coastal Security Scheme, in phases, to strengthen
security of coastal areas against sea borne threats. The Coastal Security Scheme aims to
augment the capabilities of police force of coastal states and UTs for patrolling and
surveillance in territorial waters especially shallow waters close to the coast.

• India also has growing strategic interest due to its strong economic and political relations with
Southeast Asian countries coupled with concerns about the safety of the sea lanes. At the
2018 Shangri-La Dialogue Prime Minister Narendra Modi outlined the vision for free, open,
inclusive and rules-based Indo-Pacific region which was universally welcomed.
• Later at the 14th East Asia Summit (EAS) in 2019, Prime Minister Modi announced the Indo-
Pacific Oceans Initiative or IPOI as practical implementation of this shared Vision for the Indo-
Pacific with a focus on collaborative effort to better manage, conserve, sustain and secure this
maritime domain.

Shift from continental strategies to the maritime sphere:

A paradigm shift from continental strategies to maritime strategy is needed because of the
following reasons:
• Unlike in the continental sphere where India seems to be hemmed in by China-Pakistan
collusion, the maritime sphere is wide open to India to undertake coalition building, rule
setting, and other forms of strategic exploration.
• Unlike in the continental sphere, there is a growing great power interest in the maritime
sphere, especially with the arrival of the concept of ‘Indo-Pacific’.
• The situation in the maritime sphere is the exact opposite: great powers remain ever more
interested in the maritime sphere and this interest has grown substantially since the coinage
of Indo-Pacific.
• Beijing’s bullying behaviour in the South China Sea in particular and the region in general has
generated a great deal of willingness among the Euro-American powers and the countries of
the region, including Australia and Japan, to push back Chinese unilateralism. This provides
New Delhi with a unique opportunity to enhance its influence and potentially checkmate the
Chinese ambitions in the region.
• The maritime space is a lot more important to China than engaging in opportunistic land grab
attempts in the Himalayas, thanks to the massive Chinese trade that happens via the Oceanic
routes and the complex geopolitics around the maritime chokepoints which can potentially
disrupt that trade.
• Organization like the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi Sectoral Technical and Economic
Cooperation (BIMSTEC) may provide equal leverage as a key transit route between the Indian
and the Pacific Oceans, placed at the intersection of the Chinese and the Indian strategic
interests, thereby fuelling India’s Act East Policy as well as deeper integration with ASEAN
equally.
• It is only through a renewed geopolitical scenario that India would be able to make its mark in
the new vision of the global maritime outlook.

Importance of Indian Ocean for India:

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• Securing Sea lanes of Communication: In the Indian Ocean, three major Sea Lanes Of
Communication (SLOCS) play a crucial role in the energy security and economic prosperity:
• SLOC connecting the Red Sea to the Indian Ocean through the Bab al-Mandab (that transports
the bulk of Asia’s international trade with its major trading partners in Europe and America),
• SLOC connecting the Persian Gulf to the Indian Ocean through the Strait of
Hormuz (transporting the bulk of energy exports to major import destinations like
India, ASEAN, and East Asia),
• SLOC connecting the Indian and Pacific Oceans through the Straits of Malacca (integral to the
smooth flow of trade with ASEAN, East Asia, Russia’s Far East and the US).
• The Indian Ocean region transports 75% of the world’s maritime trade and 50% of daily global
oil consumption.

Other Advantages of having a robust maritime strategy:

• Protection from sea-based threats to India’s territorial integrity.
• Ensuring Stability in India’s maritime neighbourhood.
• Creation, development, and sustenance of a ‘Blue’ Economy, incorporating
• The preservation, promotion, pursuit and protection of offshore infrastructure and maritime
resources within and beyond the Maritime Zones of India (MZI).
• The promotion, protection and safety of India’s overseas and coastal seaborne trade and her
Sea Lines of Communication (SLOCs), and, the ports that constitute the nodes of this trade;
and Support to marine scientific research, including that in Antarctica and the Arctic.
• The provision of holistic maritime security — i.e., freedom from threats arising ‘in’ or ‘from’
the sea.
• Provision of support succour and extrication-options to the Indian Diaspora.
• Obtaining and retaining a regionally favourable geostrategic maritime-position.

Conclusion:
• India’s maritime security challenges and opportunities are both complex and varied.
• There is much merit in India formulating and executing a maritime strategy that is focussed
upon attaining the objectives arising from a detailed analysis of the country’s principal
maritime interests.
• This ‘interests-based approach’ should be at the heart of India’s maritime strategy, wherein
India recognizes — and leads regional recognition — that the geo-economic goals that the
country seeks to achieve in this century are increasingly referenced to the maritime domain.

Arihant SLBM
Launch of SLBM (Submarine-launched ballistic missile):
• Recently India successfully launched SLBM and joined among the group of six nations that
have demonstrated similar underwater capability i.e., Russia, the UK, the USA, France and
China.
o In August 2016, North Korea claimed a successful launch of an SLBM.
• Significance: It will help in a robust, survivable and assured retaliatory capability in keeping
with India’s policy to have ‘Credible Minimum Deterrence‘ that underpins its ‘No First Use’
commitment.”
o It increases the second-strike capability of India and thus boosts its nuclear
deterrence.

Issues concerning India’s deterrence capabilities

• Modest ballistic profile of SLBM Launched: It is reportedly fitted with the K -15 SLBM, which
has a range of 750 km and this would be classified as a short-range missile.
• Slow progress: India has made slow but steady progress in its missile programme, nuclear
weapon capability, the nuclear submarine and more recently the building of an aircraft

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carrier.
o But all these capabilities remain a “work-in-progress”.
• Handicapped carrier: The indigenously designed and built aircraft carrier (INS Vikrant) is
handicapped by not having the appropriate fighter aircraft and an SSBN whose ICBM
capability is some years away.

Emerging challenges in water:

• US-China contestation: Currently, the global geopolitical domain is in a state of flux and the
US-China contestation amongst other issues will roil the waters.
• Ukraine war: The outcome of the war in Ukraine and the orientation of the Delhi-Moscow
relationship will have a bearing on India’s strategic programmes.

What India needs to do?

• Arm the INS Arihant with a 3,500 km missile IRBM (intermediate-range ballistic missile).
• At the next stage arm its SSBN with a missile whose range is in excess of 5,000 km — which
would qualify as an ICBM (intercontinental ballistic missile).

Border Disputes
Border Management
India has one of the longest and most varied of international borders. Historical and political
reasons have left India with an artificial unnatural border. Border Management is an integral
approach towards borders in which along with security enhancement, infrastructure & human
development is undertaken.

India has had to deal with numerous challenges with respect to border management such as:
• Porous borders: International borders with Pakistan and Bangladesh run through diverse
terrain including deserts, marshes, plains and mountains. This porosity of borders
facilitates various illegal activities such as smuggling, trafficking of humans, drugs and
arms and infiltration.
• Contested International borders: History of mistrust and constant border skirmishes with
Pakistan along line of control (LOC) makes India highly susceptible to cross-border
terrorism. Similarly, India’s border with Myanmar is threatened by several insurgent
groups that have found sanctuaries in jungles along the border. Political boundary issues
of “enclaves and adverse possessions” in Bangladesh have resulted in political sensitivity
along the entire eastern border.
• Inefficiency in Border management: Indian borders continue to be guarded by military
and police forces that report to different ministries in the Centre and states, making the
border management task arduous and leading to duplication of efforts by the security
forces.
• Lack of critical infrastructure: Critical infrastructure such as observation towers, bunkers,
Border Flood Lights etc. are lacking in many border areas which also prevent deployment
of hi-tech equipment.
• Poor intelligence and resource efficiency: Security forces are ill-equipped to handle
border management given poor intelligence capabilities and severe resource deficiency.
• Ethnic conflicts and separatist movements: The situation has worsened due to the
changed demographic profile of many Border States and shift in ethnic balance of
communities as a result of illegal migration.

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• Over-population in the border areas: Density of population in the border areas at some
places is approximately 700-800 persons per square km on the Indian side and about
1,000 persons on the Bangladesh side.
• Political instability and disorder in its periphery impacts India’s security directly or
indirectly. Proxy war between India and Pakistan adds to this security risk.

The implications on the internal security due to the above challenges of border management is
marked by
• increased cross-border terrorism
• infiltration and ex-filtration of armed militants
• emergence of non-state actors
• nexus between narcotics traffickers and arms smugglers
• left-wing extremism
• fake Indian Currency network
• separatist movements aided and abetted by external powers
• illegal cattle trade

Is a single agency managing all its borders a good idea

• In India, we have unwieldy arrangements. As a result, there is a lack of a coherent policy
on training, planning and the conduct of guarding operations among various outfits.
Overall coordination is also affected.
• India needs a single security agency adequately equipped, suitably armed and trained in
advanced military drills and sub-unit tactics to guard our borders.
• The manpower and infrastructure should be created by pooling and merging the
resources of the CAPF and Assam Rifles.
• It augments the battle efficiency, a fixed percentage of manpower, including the officer
cadre, should be drawn on deputation from the army.
• It could have the explicit mandate to effectively retaliate against cross-border
transgressions and stabilise the situation till the operations are taken over by the armed
forces.

However, entire border management under a single agency has its own drawbacks
• It would reduce the niche skills of the various forces currently managing the various
borders.
• The borders themselves have a huge diversity which could pose huge investment risks on
training all soldiers in all types of terrain.
• Further, with more localites getting associated with the forces in the region, its easier for
them to adapt to the environs quickly.
• It could lead to centralization of powers and thus leading to unnecessary redtapism.

Way forward:
• Infrastructure along with border has to be improved – rail connectivity along with road
connectivity has to be provided for quick mobilization.
• Building of additional checkpoints and Border posts along major and minor trade routes
connected with borders
• Building of floating bridges, walls & electrical fences where there is high probability of
infiltration.
• Taking up of joint Border management with Countries like Myanmar, Bhutan and Nepal.
• Improving healthcare, physical infrastructure and digital connectivity in villages around
borders thus making them stakeholder in Border Management.
• Madhav Godbole task force recommendations on border management need to be
implemented.

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• It had recommended that the CRPF should be designated as the primary national level
counter-insurgency force. This would enable the other central paramilitary forces like the
BSF and Indo-Tibetan Border Police to return to their primary role of better border
management.
• It had also recommended that all paramilitary forces managing unsettled borders should
operate directly under the control of the army and that there should be lateral induction
from the army to the paramilitary forces so as to enhance their operational
effectiveness.
• The principle of ‘single point control’ must be followed if the borders are to be
effectively managed.
• The advances in surveillance technology, particularly satellite and aerial imagery, can
help to maintain a constant vigil along the LAC and make it possible to reduce physical
deployment.

Conclusion:
Keeping a strong vigil on its border is very important for any nation to check any kind of illegal
activities or intrusion through them. For India, the task becomes difficult where terrain and
climate is very complex across some of its border areas. Focussing on improved technology will
help in making the task easier for the security forces and make its borders more secure.

Ramping up border infrastructure

According to India’s External Affairs Minister, the government’s recent border infrastructure
projects focus on the north and east along India’s 3,488 km border with China (or LAC).

Background:
● Reports claim that Indian forces have lost access to 26 of 65 patrolling points along the LAC
since 2020.
● The timing is crucial because of the upcoming meetings of the G-20 Foreign Ministers and the
Foreign Ministers of the SCO.

About the projects:

● Ramping up infrastructure in Ladakh, HP, UK, Sikkim, and Arunachal Pradesh.
○ Many of these projects which have been in the pipeline for several decades have been
expedited.
○ For example, the length of roads constructed in the China border areas (6,806 km
between 2014 to 2022) is almost double the length constructed from 2008-2014.
● Projects connecting India to “friendly” neighbouring states such as Bangladesh, Bhutan,
Nepal, and Myanmar.
○ Improving cross-border connectivity via highways, bridges, inland waterways,
railroads, electricity lines and fuel pipelines.
○ Modernising and constructing integrated check posts (ICPs) at all the border crossings
to smooth trade.
○ Funding and constructing infrastructure projects. For example,
■ The Mahakali motorable bridge and the Maitri Setu between Tripura and
Bangladesh,
■ The Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project (KMTTP),
■ The Sittwe port project and the road to Mizoram, etc.

Need for ramping up the border infrastructure:

● Strategic reasons: Successive skirmishes with the Chinese PLA in Chumar in 2014, Doklam in
2017, and the Galwan clashes in 2020.
● Border preparedness: To update the quality of structures, the technology involved and their
maintenance.

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NOTES
Miscellaneous
Hybrid Warfare
• Modern war is multifaceted and includes military warfare, a cyberwar, an information war
and also economic war.
• External support and assistance, however generous, will be inadequate for victory.
• Our deficiencies are visible in India’s import bills that range from military hardware, combat
aircraft, parts and inputs for local production to energy and technology.
• The answer lies in atmanirbharta (self-reliance).

Vulnerabilities that can affect India’s security

• Dependence on defence equipment:
o India was the world’s biggest importer of major arms in 2018–22
• Hostile neighbourhood:
o India is surrounded by hostile neighbours in the north like China, Pakistan and
Taliban ruled Afghanistan.
• Space warfare:
o Rapid developments in space technology have significantly enhanced capacity of a
nation to partake in offensive and defensive space operations.
o India has been at the receiving end of variants of Hybrid Warfare.
o Firstly, from Pakistan in the form of state sponsored terrorism and the other
through cyber-threats from China
• New forms of terrorist attacks:
o The idea of Hybrid Warfare encourages new forms of terrorist attacks such as ‘lone-
wolf’ attacks and creation of ‘sleeper cells’.
o These attacks are extremely difficult to detect and, in most cases, the financial and
ideological source remains anonymous.
o Adversary could also act on the lines of radicalization of the population, which leads
to issues like Communalism, Naxalism and Separatism in the long run.

Hybrid warfare
• Hybrid warfare essentially refers to the use of unconventional methods of warfare clubbed
with the traditional means of military actions.
• These methods aim to disrupt and disable an opponent’s actions without engaging in open
hostilities.
• The methods include disinformation, economic manipulation, use of proxies and
insurgencies, diplomatic pressure and military actions.

Way Forward
• The nature of war is changing and it is important to engage adversaries in all domains, like
land, sea, air, space and cyber.
• Institutional measures are needed to keep vulnerabilities in check and estimate possible
hybrid threats.
• Self-assessment of critical functions and regularly upgrading critical Fintech systems in the
country.
• Training of armed forces in hybrid warfare:
o Training in special battle techniques, as well as conditioning to overcome urban
combat stress.
o Training in use of technological tools such as smart robots, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
(UAVs) and Intelligence tools like Real Time Situational Awareness (RTSA) for precise
operations.
• Strengthening the democratic institutions enables government to gain trust of its citizens.

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NOTES
o This helps government negate various forms of hybrid warfare such as disinformation
and radicalization.
o Inclusion of Civil Society Institutions such as think tanks multiply the government’s
capabilities to counter such threats.
• Investing in Journalism to raise media literacy:
o Global research shows that 70 percent of uses of the term “hybrid threats” by the
media are inaccurate.
o As a result, investing in journalism will indirectly help citizens in understanding the
threat.

Conclusion
• India must become self-reliant with robust backing of technology. This will secure our borders
against intruders.

25th anniversary of Pokhran-II

On May 11, 1998, codenamed Operation Shakti (literally, “strength”)/Pokhran-II, India conducted
three nuclear bomb test explosions at the Indian Army’s Pokhran Test Range.

Timeline of Operation Shakti/Pokhran-II:

Foundation of India’s nuclear programme laid by physicist Homi J Bhaba:
● Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR): India’s first research institution dedicated to
the study of nuclear physics opened (1945) in Bombay, after Bhaba’s successful lobbying.
● Department of Atomic Energy (DAE): Founded in 1954 with Bhabha as director.

The threat of China and Pakistan:

● The 1962 Sino-Indian War and China’s subsequent nuclear bomb test at Lop Nor in 1964.
● The 1965 India-Pakistan war, with China openly supporting Pakistan.
● Therefore, India was surrounded by two unfriendly nations and needed to take steps towards
building self-sufficiency.

The “discriminatory” NPT:

● By the 1960s, discourse around nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation as the Cold War
arms race pushed the US and the USSR to great extremes.
● In 1968, the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) came into existence, defining nuclear-weapon
states as those that have built and tested a nuclear explosive device before January 1, 1967 -
the US, Russia (formerly USSR), the UK, France and China.
● This disallows any other state from acquiring nuclear weapons.
● The government of India refused to accede to the terms of the treaty because it failed to
address India’s concerns.

Pokhran-I/Operation Smiling Buddha:

● By the 1970s, Vikram Sarabhai (Bhaba’s successor at the DAE) had worked to significantly
broaden India’s nuclear technology.
● The Indira Gandhi government showed political will and on May 18, 1974, India carried out
its first nuclear test at the Pokhran test site.
● This test was conceptualised as a “peaceful nuclear explosion” with “few military
implications”.

International sanctions on India post-Pokhran-I:

● The world was not willing to buy India’s version of the motive behind Pokhran-I and countries
like the US and Canada imposed significant sanctions.
● These sanctions (majorly on tech transfer) would be a major setback for India’s nuclear
journey and majorly decelerate its progress.

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NOTES
The period between the two tests:
● Domestic political instability: The Emergency of 1975 and PM Morarji Desai’s opposition to
nuclear weapons brought the programme to a grinding halt.
● 1980s: Dr APJ Abdul Kalam was made in charge of India’s missile programme (1983) and India
exponentially increased its plutonium stockpiles.
● 1990S:
○ With the fall of the USSR in 1991, India lost one of its biggest military allies.
○ The US continued to provide military aid to Pakistan.
○ Discussions regarding a Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) were also underway
in the UN (it would be finalised in 1996, but India did not sign it).

Pokhran-II - Projecting India’s strength:

● In 1995, permission for carrying out a nuclear test was granted. However, logistical and
political reasons pushed back the tests further.
● In 1998, the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government showed political will and successfully conducted
Operation Shakti.
● Unlike the 1974 test, the Indian Government declared itself as a state possessing nuclear
weapons following Pokhran-II.
● Though the test invited sanctions from some countries (like the US), the condemnation was
far less than in 1974.
● The test helped India enter the highly guarded club of countries with the capability to deploy
nuclear weapons, helping it to cement its status as a dominant nation-state.

India’s nuclear doctrine (presented in 1999) since Pokhran-II:

● It highlighted a credible minimum deterrence (CMD) and a no-first-use (NFU) policy, while
concurrently supporting non-proliferation and universal disarmament.
● The sole purpose of India’s nuclear deterrence is to deter adversaries’ use or threat of use of
nuclear weapons.
● The policy changed India’s image and the US (once an adversary of India’s nuclear
programme) signed a civil nuclear deal with India in 2008, acknowledging India as a
responsible nuclear player.

Way ahead:
● India needs actions at two levels for sustainable national security:
○ To address immediate security threats by intelligently building sufficient and resilient
retaliatory capability to signal credible deterrence.
○ To make long-term innovative diplomatic investments towards the creation of a
global environment conducive to peace and universal nuclear disarmament.
● Simultaneously, India can leverage the economic, political and cultural appeal to showcase
the advantages of its philosophy of nuclear deterrence.

Resurfacing of extremism in Punjab

Signs of extremism resurfacing in Punjab:
● Pro-Khalistan protests in areas of the globe where a sizable concentration of the Sikh
diaspora exists (Australia, Canada, the UK and the US).
● The emergence of self-styled Sikh extremist preachers (like Amritpal Singh).

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The real cause for concern

Lessons from the The current security dispensation does not appear to have learnt the
Past right lessons from past mistakes.

For example, proper handling of the Bhindranwale phenomenon well

before 1984, could have avoided violence → ‘Operation Blue Star’ →
the damage caused to Akal Takht.
Low Awareness All serious threats develop from misreading sentiments that remain
unheeded by those in authority.
Intelligence analysis Intelligence analysis involves gathering information → thoroughly
has low priority. evaluated by professionals → projected to decision-makers.
India has clearly To convince the world of the true nature of the radicalist Khalistan
failed in its threat.
diplomatic efforts:

What needs to be done?

• Stop treating the issue as a foreign conspiracy (of Pakistan’s ISI, drug mafias, etc).
• Facing up to the reality that this may be more than a mere emotional outburst of the Sikh
extremist fringe.
• Prioritising intelligence analysis: The central and State intelligence agencies cannot miss
signs of
o Growing insecurity among sections of Sikh youth

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NOTES
o Discontent prevailing among the Sikh peasantry over the decline in their economic
conditions, and
o The threat posed to the Sikh religion by conversions to other religions, such as
Christianity.
• Sharing intelligence with friendly intelligence agencies, especially in countries where the Sikh
diaspora is present.

Conclusion:
India should not yield to the temptation of resorting to strong-arm methods. It needs to ensure a
greater sense of unity within the country while upholding due respect for individual dignity and
human progress.

Delhi Police’s use of facial recognition technology

Facial recognition Technology is an automated process of comparing two images of faces to
determine whether they represent the same individual. Also, recently DigiYatra (facial recognition
technology) has been operationalised at many Indian airports.

Potential benefits in various aspects of law enforcement

● Helps in Finding missing people and identifying perpetrators.
○ Identification of Missing Children: In April 2018, the Delhi Police trial of a facial
recognition system commissioned by the Delhi High Court helped correctly identify
approximately 3000 missing children.
● Improving outcomes in the area of Criminal identification and verification.
○ Pehchaan citizen app in Uttar Pradesh: The app provides users with a confidence
score of the likelihood that two faces belong to the same person by running the face
against the All India Criminal Database.
● Better security measures in banks and airports.
○ The government‘s Digi-Yatra policy is to give a ―seamless, hassle-free, and paperless
journey experience to every air traveller in India.
● Helps civilian verification when needed and helps in the reduction of fake IDs.
● Drastically reduces human touchpoints: Facial recognition requires fewer human resources
than other types of security measures, such as fingerprinting.
● International usage: Several countries are already using FRT on a large scale for ease of
internal security and in their criminal justice system e.g. China.

Issues associated with the use of FRT

● Accuracy rates fall starkly based on race and gender: This can result in a false positive, where
a person is misidentified as someone else, or a false negative where a person is not verified as
themselves.
○ Delhi Police treats matches of above 80% similarity generated by its facial recognition
technology (FRT) system as positive results (as per RTI response).
● A greater threat to individual and societal privacy.
○ The FRT system violates the right to privacy: As per the Puttaswamy judgment,
Privacy is a fundamental right, even in public spaces, Large-scale recordings, storing
and analysis of images undermine this right because it means it won’t be possible to
do anything in public without the state knowing about it.
● Issues of ‘Function Creep’: Delhi police widening of the purpose for FRT (from finding missing
children to surveillance) demonstrates an instance of ‘function creep’ wherein a technology
or system gradually widens its scope from its original purpose to encompass and fulfil wider
functions.
● Violates personal rights: Can infringe on personal freedoms.
○ Informed consent: Facial recognition technology is typically deployed without
consent, by both the private and public sectors.

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● State surveillance: The technology makes it possible for Government and the law
enforcement agencies to identify people who attend or participate in rallies or in any other
form of political or social dissent and thereafter potentially put them under surveillance to
track their movement.
○ E.g. Allegations of the Delhi Police were using FRT to surveil the anti-CAA protests in
the 2019, 2020 northeast Delhi riots, the 2021 Red Fort violence, and the 2022
Jahangirpuri riots.
● Creates data vulnerabilities: There is also concern about the storage of facial recognition
data, as these databases have the potential to be breached.
○ Provides opportunities for fraud and other crimes.
● Factors that could influence the efficacy, accuracy, and potential biases of FRT in India
include skin colour, geography, religion, and caste.

Government Measures:
• NCRB proposal for National Automated Facial Recognition System (AFRS) which would
be used to create a national database of photographs which would help in swiftly
identifying criminals by gathering existing data from various other databases like
Passport, CCTNS, ICJS and Prisons, WCD Ministry's KhoyaPaya etc.
• Initiatives by states: TSCOP + CCTNS in Telangana, Punjab Artificial Intelligence System
(PAIS) in Punjab, AFRS in Delhi, Automated Multimodal Biometric Identification System
(AMBIS) in Maharashtra, FaceTagr in Tamil Nadu.
• National Intelligence Grid (NATGRID) - a project to create a comprehensive and
searchable database.
• Lawful Intercept and Monitoring project (LIM), Crime and Criminal Tracking Network &
Systems (CCTNS), and Network Traffic Analysis System (NETRA), have been criticized for
facilitating mass surveillance, being opaque, and implemented without clear legal backing
or oversight mechanisms.

Conclusion
With the right regulation and protections, facial recognition technology can make the world
safer, more convenient and smarter.

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