INTERNAL SECURITY vi) Rehabilitation: Displacement or forced

eviction of people occurs due to developmental

projects. Tribal people are most prone to
Linkages between Development and displacement because tribal areas are rich in
mineral resources such as Orissa, Jharkhand.
Spread of Extremism
This impacts multidimensional trauma on them
leading to serious consequences.
Development = Not only economic growth but > 40% of the people displaced in hydropower
also human development. projects are adivasis & only 30% of them have
Lack of capacities, resources and opportunities been rehabilitated.
to step out of poverty and deprivation. Eg Odisha’s Samantha Tribe (ST) was evicted
from Odisha. They moved to Andhra and there
Development issues which pertain to the spread they are not recognised as STs - so, they
of extremism are linked to lack of access to declared criminals as they settled in forests.
basic resources to sustain livelihood.
vii) SEZ: Land acquisition for SEZ again
1. How does under-development and deprived poor of their lands. Also led to loss of
other factors leads to extremism ? revenue in the form of taxes. Loss of food
production as huge block of productive lands
i) Land alienation: 40% of rural households acquired for SEZ; major impact in livelihood
have no land or < half of acre of land, increased resource, leading to conflict.
marginal land holdings, no land reforms,
insecurity and exploitation of tenants and unrest viii) Environment degradation: Land targeted
leading to extremism. for mineral extraction, agriculture land getting
barren, water and air pollution degrade the
ii) Forest policy: In the name of development, quality of life.
rights of primitive forest dwellers were restricted
resulting in losing access to land. This gave rise ix) Common property resources (CPR):
to extremist activities. CPR’s contributes effectively to the rural
economy and provides sustenance to local
iii) Unemployment & livelihood: High poverty, communities. CPR includes such as community
unemployment and insecurity of livelihood which pasture, watershed drainages, village tanks etc.
lead to anger, dissatisfaction amongst youth of But due to industrialisation, privatisation and
extremist affected area. development projects, the CPRs area is
shrinking and govt. never look in to this matter.
iv) Rising inequalities which leads to
deprivation. x) Moreover, tourism industry in this
development scenario is posing a great threat to
v) Delayed process of adjudication: the existing tribal life which is interwoven with
Considerable frustration gets built up in the ecology.
society because of formal and slow judicial
system which ends up with illegal extremist xi) Globalisation: The introduction of foreign
mind framework. So, people approach influence and commercialisation is triggering the
naxalites. process of disintegration of tribal society leading
to extremist activities.
xii) Improper implementation of schemes &
programmes by the govt. Eg Forced labor in i) PESA, MNREGA, Scheduled tribes and
Karimnagar of Andhra (Atrocities against SCs other traditional forest dwellers acts must be
& STs) to the spirit of the law. Gram Sabhas must be
granted more powers.

ii) 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.

iii) Government should strengthen the

2. How does extremism can lead to supportive activities in horticulture, poultry,
fisheries, animal husbandry under the strict
underdevelopment ?
guidelines of ministry of agriculture through
establishment of quality infrastructure and
i) The region discourages foreign and domestic
efficient market linkages at the village level.
investment.
iv) Universalise basic social services to
ii) Developmental activities have been slow
standards so that discriminatory manifestations
down due to attack by insurgents who
of governance can be removed.
consistently target physical infrastructure.
v) Since problems in formulating a
iii) Also creates problem for working of NGOs
counter-extremist policy as well as in dealing
in these areas.
with the issue on a day-to-day basis are sourced
to the lack of centre-state cooperation, a
iv) Extremist usually target democratic system
permanent institutional mechanism in the form
& their violence is directed against democratic
of a coordination centre can be established to
institutions & symbols. This is turn leads to
thrash out emerging differences.
creation of fear among important govt
functionaries.

v) Extremism also decreases possibility of

development of tourism.
4. Other measures required to curb
extremism
vi) Extremism provides govt agencies an excuse
to use force. Any casualty of civilians is used i) Increased developmental expenditure,
as further justification by the extremist for further creation of infrastructure resources and
violence, thereby, leading to greater employment generation through development of
disenchantment. industries and tourism. Steps from both the
public and private sector are required for the
desired results.

3. Developmental solutions to problem of ii) With nearly 99 per cent of its borders
shared with other countries, the Northeast can
extremism
be a bridge to a most dynamic neighbourhood Started in 1967 in Naxalbari area of Darjeeling.
beyond the meeting point of South and LWE is called as “The greatest internal security
Southeast Asia. So, we need to liberalise the threat” by former PM MMS.
cross border trade.
Phases of Naxalism in India -
iii) Improved political representation in India’s
Parliament. The collective strength of the i) Phase 1 gathered momentum by May - June
Northeast States in the Lok sabha is 24 in a 543 of 1967 and brought under control by Aug 1967
member house, and this has led to a neglect of by bringing land reforms by govt.
issues relating to this region. Bringing the
extremists into mainstream can be done as ii) This led to All India Coordination Committee
Rajiv Gandhi Govt did it in case of Mizo National of Revolutionaries (AICCR) establishment within
front in Mizoram. CPI in 1967. In 1969, AICCR formed their
iv) Restoration and strengthening of institutions separate party CPI (ML) - leader - Charu
of local self-governance, including strong village Majumdar.
and tribal councils.
iii) Phase 2 was a period of hibernation from
v) Disruption of the underground economy of late 1970s (due to commitment of state to
terrorism. The lucrative regime of collusion implement land reforms) & conditions that
between terrorists and various overground prevailed during emergency.
entities, including political parties, the
bureaucracy and business organisations must iv) Phase 3 - In 2004, the merger of People’s
be challenged and dismantled. War Group (PWG) & Maoist Communist Centre
(MCC) brought about the real resurgence of
vi) Better surrender policy should be adopted. Naxalism.
Better coordination with neighbouring countries
and information exchange regarding extremist’s
activities is very crucial. 6. Features of Naxalism
vii) Use of satellite imaging & drone technology Mao Zedong gave 3 prolonged strategy of
can help in monitoring extremist activities. revolution -

viii) There must be active promotion of a i) Base area must be organised, consolidated
culture of peace that rejects and de-legitimises and preserved in an isolated and difficult terrain.
political violence as a means to the resolution of Eg in remote hilly, tribal & rural areas.
political problems or grievances.
ii) Steady expansion of bases and procurement
of arms by terror attacks on enemy units. Eg
using Guerilla Warfare technique. And then
5. Left Wing Extremism (LWE) - Naxalite gaining a territorial control like conventional war.
Movement
iii) Enemies and their camps must be destroyed
by conventional battles.
7. States response to Naxalism 8. Why Initiatives failed ?

i) Setting up of a unified command in Jk, Chh, i) Lack of coordination b/w union & state govts.
Od.
ii) Different states continue to pursue divergent
ii) Integrated Action plan (IAP) for selected tribal policies against Naxalism
and backward districts for accelerated
development. iii) Even the Central forces such as CRPF were
found to be operating without much guidance.
iii) Scheme for introduction of fortified police
stations. iv) Absence of Nationwide approach.

iv) Setting up of specialist Anti-Naxalist forces v) Modernisation of state police forces not done
such as Cobra, Greyhounds, Black Panther etc. - lead to poorly trained state forces.

v) Introduction of schemes like MGNREGA, NOTE - Follow Andhra Pradesh Model in form
PESA 1996, FRA 2006 . of Greyhounds. Most of leaders killed or forced
to flee; supported by local vigilante groups; used
vi) Setting up of a standing committee of CMs of surrendered naxals to weed out other naxalites;
LWE affected states under Home Minister. launching of developmental schemes like
Janambhoomi & Joint Forest Management
vii) National Rehabilitation & Resettlement
policy of 2007. National Policy and Action Plan
implemented by MHA since 2015 is a
multipronged strategy in the areas of security,
development, ensuring rights & entitlement of
local communities etc. to combat LWE.

viii) Some state led initiative - a) TN has started

a 10 day guerilla warfare training to the state
police officials. b) Surveying of laborers from Terrorism, Role of external state and
other states by KR govt. non-state actors in creating
challenges to internal security
ix) Special Central Assistance (SCA) for 35
most LWE affected districts.
Terrorism is an act of disproportionate use of
violence which create fear in the society, that
x) Infrastructure development initiatives like
ultimately helps to achieve a political, ideological
mobile towers, roads, etc.
or religious objective.
Many nations are affected, whether directly or
xi) Skill Development related schemes like
indirectly. Recent attacks on Peshawar (2014),
ROSHNI under DDUGKY.
Paris (2015), Kabul (2016) and Pathankot
(2016) as well as several earlier attacks shows
highly asymmetric and unpredictable nature
of terrorist attacks. Characteristics of Terroism -
i) Always associated with violent activities. i) Non-state actors from neighbouring country
ii) Operates on the principle of instilling fear in have been carrying out a proxy war since
the minds of the people. decades in order to bleed India to death. Ex:
iii) Driven by certain Ideology. Jihadis
ii) Certain NGOs and so called CSOs also work
in a secret manner to provoke discontent in
External state and Non-state actors sections of Indian society which creates internal
security issues. Ex: Protests against nuclear
State actors refer to those entities which have plants, etc.
formal backing of a sovereign state for carrying
out any intended action like influence the iii) Various dubious non-state actors run fake
internal security of the home state.. Ex. the currency rackets which pose a challenge to the
army, bureaucracy, intelligence agencies etc. economic security of India.

Non-state actors are individuals or iv) Various organised crime syndicates have
organisations that have powerful economic, been running drug rackets which also create
political or social power but do not belong to any internal sec. issues through illicit flow of money.
particular country or state. Ex. NGOs, MNCs,
religious outfits, Mafias, terrorist groups etc.
With the spread of globalization these non-state Both state and non-state factors from outside
actors have only become powerful & global in have created problems in our internal security
nature. Eg. Terrorist org., Fundamenalist org, framework. Hence while it is imperative to guard
NGOs, CSOs, Drug Cartels etc our borders and strengthen our diplomacy, on
They may work in tandem for the peace, stability the other hand, we need to check the various
and development of a country or they may work non state actors who come in hidden forms.
against the state.

1. Key observations
External state
i) Rise in number of active terrorists groups
i) The state may carry out a limited war against such as ISIS, Al-Qaeda, JeM, Hamas etc. and
Indian state. There have been instances where each one having different agenda and role.
state actors have been responsible for carrying
out a limited cyber warfare through hacking ii) Terrorist groups have access to advanced
and other espionage. weapons and machinery being supplied by
hidden agents.
ii) They might support various insurgent groups,
Naxalites, or separatist groups through funding, iii) Rise of terrorist groups is also influenced by
training or logistics which might pose a threat to world power’s tactics or strategic moves like
our internal security. Ex: Pakistan’s ISI. USA arming Islamist rebels in Syria to counter
President Bashar al-Assad who is a Russian
ally.

Non-state actors
iv) There is no proactive or preventive strategy iv) Focus on gathering intelligence, arrest
to handle such threats. suspected cell leaders & destroying terrorist
command centres
v) Training & equipping local police
vi) Big Data analytics.
2. Lone Wolf Attacks

Reasons for rise in lone wolf attacks 3. Why air strikes are not effective

i) Actors allegedly act by themselves without i) Instead of solving the problem it aggravates
any tactical or financial support from an the situation. Air strikes in Syria and Afghanistan
established insurgent group or international leads to emergence of more extreme groups.
terrorist organisation. (Ease of execution)
ii) It takes a heavy toll on innocent civilians.
ii) It is an efficient way of spreading terror in
hard to access places for terrorist groups like iii) Not taking a UN route which further weakens
the IS as lone wolves typically remain off the the chances of negotiation and peace.
security radar.
iv) Air strikes is proving a boon to weapons
iii) Mostly attackers are self radicalised towards makers and increasing their lobbying efforts.
extremist ideology..
v) Air strikes has led to merging of two jihadist
iv) The current gun sales environment in the US group and danger looms over Libya by Boko
allows self radicalised to have licensed weapons Haram and ISIS.
with the right amount of push. (Lax Gun
Control Regime)

Challenges in India 4. Failure of Anti-terror legislation

i) Weakening position of ISIS in Iran & Syria. Post independence, on the pretext of national
ii) Possibility of Pak using it as a tool to advance security, India has experimented with number of
its state-sponsored terrorism against India. anti-terrorism act, right from MISA, NSA, POTA
iii) High potential damage esp in high dense and TADA.
areas.
iv) Spread of fake news and misinformation. i) The multiplicity of laws is the first problem. Eg.
- the predicament set by centre is being
Way forward followed by states like MH and now GJ.

i) A multi-pronged approach towards ii) There is no liability on the state. Citizens who
radicalisation is needed. are wrongly charged under this law cannot sue
ii) Monitoring of social media. the state or demand compensation.
iii) Try to make lone-wolf attacks less lethal by
limiting access to explosive materials, iii) Issue with most laws has been that they are
semi-automatic weapons etc enacted as a knee jerk reaction to some events
(MISA during emergency, POTA during post i) Lack of expertise & infrastructure has
parliament attack). This hurried state of resulted in a substandard surveillance from
enactments results in large loopholes. across the border resulting in ever increasing
terror activities.
iv) Disproportionate power to police officials
have resulted in arbitrary arrests, cooked up ii) Lack of coordination between Army, state
charges, long detention without trial, torture, etc. police, paramilitary forces lead to confusing
outcomes. Similarly there is no coordination
v) Compulsory installation of CCTV, as in MH between defence intelligence units like IB, NSA,
act, is against the individual’s right of privacy. NSC.

iii) Hierarchical confusions arising because of

presence of PMO, NSA, Ministry of Defence,
5. What is needed rather than laws ? MHA all in loop creating slip ups.

i) Rather than new law, need of an hour is iv) Inputs gathered are either too late or not
robust investigation system via better unabridged enough to know the exact nature of
training, infra, application of modern technology, the activity. Ex: Mumbai attacks information.
cutting edge forensic department, etc.
v) Reports not tabled in Parliament and
ii) Implementation of ARC recommendation of anonymity maintained as to how they function.
separation of investigation & law enforcement This leads to lack of accountability.
branch.
vi) No parliamentary or public debate happens
iii) Better coordination between centre and state on working of these institutions which
and among states, plugging loopholes in diminishes essence of democratic debates.
unlawful prevention act is needed.

iv) Deeper engagement with SAARC and 7. State sponsored terrorism

ASEAN for intelligence collaboration, sharing
best practices as terrorism has become an It is govt support of violent non-state actors
international phenomenon. engaged in terrorism. This support could be to
achieve multiple objectives such as destabilising
So, conventional methods of warfare wont work popular government, or economic or strategic
for upcoming threats & hence a global reasons.
comprehensive strategy is the need of hour. We
must focus on preventive measure and Eg.
pro-actively dismantling the threats before they i) Iran has long been accused of funding
occur. terrorists by the US agencies most notably
against Iraq. Israel funding groups like HAMAS
and Lebanese Hizbollah.

6. Failure of intelligence agencies ii) USA supporting Al-Qaeda to keep off the
Russian military is another example.
iii) Pakistan intelligence agency ISI, has been becoming a key communication channel for
found to be the planning and operating master terrorist groups. Although civil liberties should
of many terrorist attacks in India. Pakistani army not be compromised.
has been giving cover fire for the terrorists to
enter into India. vi) There is political unwillingness to allow direct
top to top communication between intelligence
iv) China is believed to be funding terrorist agencies like RAW, ISI which some security
operations in NE states. It is accused of giving experts believe, if allowed, can be an huge step
shelter to ULFA members of Assam separatist towards ensuring nation security.
movement.

10. Convention on International terrorism

8. Lessons to be learned from 26/11 It was proposed by India in 1996. No conclusion

since two decades

Need
9. Strategies for prevention of terrorist
attacks - i) CCIT provides a legal framework which
makes it binding on all signatories to deny funds
i) UNSC can act as watchdog to keep an eye on and safe havens to the terrorist groups.
world politics. It can warn and condemn neo
cold war practices so that super powers doesn’t ii) It will provide an universal definition of
play their power games in disturbed countries terrorism.
like Syria, Afghanistan or recent North Korea.
iii) To ban all terror groups and shut down terror
ii) UN can play a key role in cutting access to camps. To make cross-border terrorism an
finance and weapons supply to terrorists. extraditable offence worldwide.
Controlling of oil reserves which is backbone of
IS for economic funding of its military. iv) Increased data sharing between foreign
funding, drug and arms trade network and
iii) Increasing cooperation between countries foreign tourist arrival (FTA) data.
which includes sharing lessons learnt, training
personnel and emulating tactics, sharing v) Islamic state is growing its influence further
intelligence and technology advancements. east despite being under siege in Iraq and Syria.
The deadly attacks in Pakistan, on a court and a
iv) Multilateral counter terrorism bodies like Sufi shrine, and the unearthing of an IS cell in
GCTF could play a significant role via talks and Hyderabad in India are proof. So there is a need
policy proposals. Regional groups like South for the global effort against terrorism.
Asian countries can come up with an effective
regional institution to share knowledge, India’s role
resources to counter threats.
i) India must isolate and act against countries
v) Countries needs effective mechanism to that serve as safe havens for terrorists.
monitor online activities as internet is
ii) India must redouble its diplomatic efforts with
the UNSC, US, OIC, and the Latin American iv) North-east is gifted with highly fertile land &
countries who are creating major obstacles to is also world’s largest producer of tea.
ratify the UN CCIT.
v) Hydropower potential for the NER is 40% of
iii) Adoption of the draft CCIT will be an India’s total hydropower potential.
expression of India’s resolve to fight terrorism.
vi) NER’s natural scenic beauty & distinct ethnic
iv) The current differences between definition of heritage offers great attractions for trekking,
terrorism need to be resolved through a broader mountaineering & other tourist activities. Also its
framework with stress on human right violations flora and fauna, varied cuisine and remarkable
and extra judicial killing. local handicrafts and performing arts can act as
a magnet for promotion of international tourism.
With terrorism on a rise and even countries who
have been sponsors of terror are becoming vii) Its proximity to international markets to both
victims of it shows the necessity and south-western China and SE Asia, makes this
significance of CCIT and with India’s continuous region a potentially important base for foreign
pursuance this can be achieved. and domestic investors.

11. Insurgency v/s Terrorism viii) The fertile Brahmaputra Valley has huge
potential for export of a variety of agricultural
Insurgency is always against the State to products.
achieve certain political objectives whereas
terrorism is indiscriminatory, therefore it is Challenges
directed against the individuals as well as state.
a) Inadequate road, rail and air connectivity.
b) Tourism industry remains underdeveloped.
12. North-east
c) Despite abundant rainfall, the irrigation
coverage in this region is < national average.
Significance
d) Under-utilisation of available natural
resources.
i) NER shares about 5,437 km of intl boundaries
e) Safety and security related issues.
with Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Myanmar and
f) Difficulties in transfer of land on lease to
Nepal. It is not only India’s land bridge to
entrepreneurs.
Myanmar but also a gateway to SE Asia and
beyond & important for realising objectives of
‘Act East Asia Policy’.
Insurgency in the North East

ii) Limestone deposits are found extensively

Causes
throughout the NER. Petroleum, NG & uranium
are other natural resources found in NER.
i) Historically, NE was loosely administered
under British India & even before. So, some
iii) The total forest cover in the region is 65.3%
groups resist joining into our country
of its geographical area, which is thrice the
national average of 21.5%.
ii) Indigeneous people have little share in the areas inhabited by the Naga people in NE
political and economic structures at the central India and Burma. Naga National Political
level. Groups (NNPGs) is umbrella body of 7 Naga
militant outfits.
iii) Limited role of indigeneous people in
economy of the region. Eg. Plantation industry Internal security problem in Nagaland
dominated by immigrant labor force.
i) Goal of Nagalim creation by unifying Naga
iv) Poor connectivity due to difficult terrain. inhabiting areas from parts of Manipur, Assam &
Arunachal Pradesh.
v) Ethnic tensions b/w tribals and migrants.
ii) Presence of multiple insurgent groups like
vi) Imposition of acts like AFSPA - feeling of NSCN(IM) and NSCN(K). Though they signed
disenchantment. Eg Nagaland demanding ceasefire agreements with Indian government,
repeal of AFSPA. there are instances of ceasefire violations
particularly by NSCN(K).
vii) Ideal region (dense forest and difficult
terrain) for insurgent groups to operate and iii) Formation of parallel government and
flourish. subsequent clashes with Indian Armed forces by
extremist groups like NSCN. Clashes among
viii) Division of NE states into 7 states was done different tribal groups and factions.
without due consideration to ethnicity of the
region. (Irrational distribution), A struggle for iv) Border issues with Assam resulting in
own identity to carve out new states for them. frequent clashes and conflicts. This is hindering
the development of Nagaland.
ix) Lack of a visionary leadership in the region.
v) Criminal networks operating through
x) Porous borders b/w India and Myanmar make Nagaland like Drug trafficking and currency
it easy for infiltration & unchecked cross-border forfeiting, etc. Presence of underground groups
movements. that deal in extortion, arms, drugs, smuggling
etc.
xi) 6th Schedule Autonomous Councils
ended up creating multiple power centers Steps taken by Government
instead of bringing in a genuine process of
democratisation in the region. i) In 1947, Assam Governor signed a 9-point
. agreement which was almost immediately
rejected by Phizo.
NAGALAND
ii) The Naga Hills, a district of Assam, was
Torch Bearer of insurgency. The Nagas believe upgraded to a state in 1963, by also adding the
that they were not part of India, whether through Tuensang Tract that was then part of NEFA.
conquest or consent. The Nationalist Socialist
Council of Nagaland (NSCN) is a Naga iii) In 1964, a peace mission was formed, and
nationalist group with an aim to establish a got the govt and NNC to sign an agreement to
sovereign state known as Nagalim unifying all suspend operations. But the NNC/NFG/NFA
continued to indulge in violence & a massive script named as associate official lang for
counter-insurgency operation launched. Assam.

iv) The GoI & Naga insurgent group NSCN(IM) Significance of Bodo Peace Accord
signed a peace accord in 2016.
i) Ist peace agreement in NE where all existing
v) Deployment of Assam rifles to check insurgent groups in particular area signed with
insurgency in the state. Border management by joint commitment to end violence.
fencing, flood lights etc
ii) Changed nuisance from districts to region.
vi) Special category status to state to strengthen
SG & increase economic development of state. iii) Border demarcation of BTR (Boundary
commission by centre)
The Naga issue can only be resolved by mutual
deliberations between Govt and extremist iv) Strengthening BTC & 6th schedule
organisations present in the state. amendment.

v) Protection of Bodo culture & welfare

ASSAM measures. (Setting up of Bodo - Kachari
Welfare Council)
ULFA, NDFB are two major organisations.
vi) Bodo in hill dist – Schedule Hill Tribe Status
ULFA was found in 1979 against the backdrop
of the All Assam student organisation’s agitation 3rd Bodo peace Accord promises to usher a
against foreigners. ULFA objective was to create new era for the people if development & peace
an independent Assam through armed struggle. take the charted course as intended by the
It conducted terrorist activities through 1990s. accord.
However, in 2011, there was a tripartite
agreement - Union govt, Assam govt and ULFA
for suspension of operations of ULFA which also MANIPUR
led to division of ULFA in two faction out of
which one is still active. Most insurgent ridden state in NE. More than 15
violent insurgent groups are present. Eg.
NDFB (National Democratic Front of Bodoland) Conflict between Meities (Valleys) and Nagas +
seeked to create a sovereign Bodoland territory. Kukis (hills) on other side. As Nagas + Kukis
Bodo’s are 5-6 % of Assam population. Issue of feel Meities are an influential group, thereby
culture, language, identity subsumed by compromising their interests. While Meities feel
Assamese & migrants. Later in 2005, a threatened due to the powers & status given to
ceasefire agreement was signed b/w Indian govt Nagas & Kukis after independence. Other
& NDFB & both sides agreed to stop groups are People’s Liberation Army (PLA) who
aggression. Recently Bodo Peace Accord b/w want to organise the entire NE into a
centre, Assam govt & NDFB. And BTC renamed revolutionary front and bring together all the
as Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR) in 2020 ethnic groups under a single umbrella.
with more administrative, executive, legislative &
financial powers. Also Bodo with Devanagari
TRIPURA cause, most important to the target population.
Eg. NSCN (IM) argues that its political objective
Mass migration since 1947 altered the is Naga territorial unification & sovereignty
demography of the region. (from a tribal area to based on historical narrative of Naga
a Bengali speaking majority area). In 1990, All independent status before British. ULFA uses
Tripura Tiger Force (ATTF) was formed which politics of Assamese exploitation at the hands of
carry out periodic terrorist attack for expulsion of New Delhi in order to vindicate its demand for
Bengali immigrants & removal of their names separate Assamese homeland.
from electoral rolls. National Liberation Front
of Tripura (NLFT) want independent Tripura. ii) Arms: Small arms along with other
communication gadgets are easily available
Pact to end Bru Reangs Refugee Crisis - In across the border especially in B’desh &
1997, ethnic tensions led to 30,000 brus fled to Myanmar. This can escalate violence.
Tripura from Mizoram. A 4 party pact (centre, Tr
govt, Mz govt, Bru community leader) signed to iii) Support base: Insurgent groups critically
settle them in Tripura and centre will give Rs depend on support base for financial help, food
600 cr aid. Bru refugees to get tribal status in needs, recruitment, intelligence gathering, etc.
Tripura. Also will get normal resident rights &
benefit of social scheme. This model provides a iv) External support: Many armed groups have
model on how to deal with Internally displaced thrived primarily due to strong external influence
People (IDPs) of China, Pak, B’desh, etc. Both ULFA & NSCN
had training camps in Myanmar & B’desh..

MIZORAM v) Drug abuse: These groups raise their

revenues through drug, human and animal
The state exemplify perfect example of the trafficking. NE is close to Golden triangle.
success achieved by the political efforts in
achieving peace after signing Mizo Accord b/w Government Steps
Mizo National Front & Indian govt in 1986. And
in 1987 a separate state of Mizoram was Basis of strategy of the govt lies in dialogue and
created. peaceful talks. Ceasefire agreements have been
made with most of the insurgent groups & SOPs
are in place for almost the whole region.
MEGHALAYA
i) North-East Vision 2020 plan for infra,
It has been largely free from insurgency. Some economic development & HR development. The
groups are People’s Liberation Front of North-East Industrial Development Scheme
Meghalaya which wants to create separate state (NEIDS) to incentivise new industrial units in
for Garos. manufacturing & services sector in the region.

Reasons for existence of Armed ethic ii) Infrastructure development: Special

groups Accelerated Road Development Program for
North East (SARDP NE), inland waterways,
i) Political motivation: Most insurgent groups connectivity through Railways.
gather popular support by citing a political
iii) Make in North-East: To promote exclusive iv) Local tourism should be promoted. Tourists
NE expertise in areas like tea processing, residing in NE states should be encouraged to
organic farming, food processing etc. travel within the region.

iv) Skill development: PMKVY and DDUGKY v) The NE region must be included in the
apart from states skill development missions. India-ASEAN vision for trade and cooperation.

v) NERCoRMP (NE Region Community vi) Special economic zones (SEZs) along
Resource Management Project): A livelihood & India-Bangladesh border, especially in
rural development project to transform lives of Meghalaya and Assam should be set up.
poor & marginalised tribal families in region.

vi) Financial support: NE Venture Fund, NE

startups, MUDRA etc. Way forward (for reducing insurgency and
bring development)
vii) Trilateral highway b/w Myanmar, Thailand
and India. Kaladan multi-modal transport to i) Multi-pronged approach is needed. Problem of
reduce dependence on India’s chicken neck insurgency in NE cannot be solved by political,
corridor. administrative or economic measures in
isolation.
ix) Mekong-Ganga cooperation launched to
boost cooperation in tourism, culture & ii) A vigorous programme of rural development
education. should be launched.

x) Providing effective political autonomy by iii) Developmental projects in the region must be
decentralisation of powers amongst the tribes. ecologically sustainable.

xi) Generating investment & creating awareness iv) Their distinct identity must be protected &
by conducting exhibitions & seminars. respected. However, their demand for multiple
statehood cannot be given to all the groups.

v) India needs to diplomatically pressurize the

Recommendations neighbouring countries for not providing refuge
to insurgent groups in their territories.
i) A system of work permit should be issued so
that the illegal Bangladeshi migrants do not end vi) Bringing accountability in the financial flow of
up as Indian citizens. funds in the NE region.

ii) The ADC should be empowered. Institutional vii) Each state within the NER may be
capacities in NW should be developed urgently. encouraged to draw up their development
blueprint in consultation with the NITI Aayog and
iii) Pragmatic land use policy should be the North-East Council (NEC).
formulated for attracting industries in the region.
MSMEs should be encouraged. viii) DoNER should document best practices of
the region (Sikkim) and disseminate its findings
within the region so that the learning can be the region plunges into more violence and
implemented suitably in other states. uncertainty. It can affect all initiatives involving
NE region such as the Act East Policy, the
ix) A regional multi-modal transit agreement Multimode transit project with Myanmar.
between the NER & 4 neighbouring countries to
enhance connectivity. iii) The return to arms by the insurgents will
have a bearing on the security environment,
x) Tourism, particularly eco-tourism and especially along the borders with Myanmar, and
adventure tourism, should be promoted by has the potential to derail India’s security
identifying suitable sites and creating supporting interests in the region.
infrastructure at these sites through PPP mode.
iv) The worry for security establishment is that
xi) Focus on sectors such as organic agriculture, the alliance partners of the UNLFW have a
renewable energy, cottage industry, etc. presence across the expanse of the NE & the
group is capable of striking in all of these places
xii) Water management is a major issue in the making it difficult to respond for security forces.
NER. Early completion of ongoing irrigation
projects in Assam and Manipur under the AIBP, Strategies
should be accorded high priority.
i) There is need of combining political decision
Have adequate road, rail and air connectivity, making and intelligence acquisition with
waterways, internet connectivity and financial operational capabilities of the Armed forces. The
inclusion. This will form the platform upon which recent surgical strike to uproot the insurgent
suitable interventions for all sectors where the bases across the border is welcome step to
NER has a comparative advantage (for e.g., boost the morale of security forces.
tourism, hydropower generation, handicrafts,
organic agriculture, etc.) can be effectively ii) The recent attacks are fallout of the lukewarm
implemented. response by government to renewal of ceasefire
agreements with various groups. Government
United Liberation Front of Western SE Asia must work on the ceasefire agreements by
roping in the trusted interlocutors.
UNLFW is a conglomerate of different insurgent
groups active in NE region. ULFA, NSCN-K, and iii) Expediting the process of dialogue with the
NDFB have come together to launch a united groups on board for permanent political solution
opposition against Indian forces. is necessary. Time bound results from
discussion with groups ready for peaceful
Implications of the front solution will deny acceptance and support to the
violent insurgent.
i) There can be increased incidences of
violence, like the Manipur ambush, hampering
development initiatives of government which is Peace in the North-East region is critical in
not good for trade, commerce & development. security and development aspirations of
India in South Asia and South-East Asia.
ii) The negative image of NE projected as a Restoring peace and finding permanent solution
disturbed area will get further accentuated as is essential for the success of these policies.
13. Kashmir Issue How policies created alienation ?

Post 1989, Pakistan facilitated the formation and i) Instrument of accession (IoA) did not give
promotion of militant groups such as Hizbul complete authority to the Indian state apart from
Mujahideen, LeT, HuM etc. The period of 1990s communication, defence and foreign affairs
saw large scale deployment of security forces in which sowed the seeds of alienation.
the state and since then situation has only
deteriorated. ii) Using force heavily to put down any social
unrest have further led to the aggravation of the
The threat from terrorist hroups has also problem.
increeased because of formation of United
Jihad Council (UJC), an umbrella organisation iii) India’s foreign policy with Pakistan on the
of 14 militant groups led by LeT & JeM. lines of Kashmir have made feel the people of
the valley as pawns between the two powers.

Reasons for such radicalisation iv) Lack of governance & stable polity as
politicians use the public sentiment for their own
i) Presence of military that pose checks on free benefit instead of trying to find a solution.
movement, speech and expression, and other
economic activities on a daily basis. v) Inability of the government to engage with the
separatists who command support from certain
ii) Lack of communication with separatists. It sections in a constructive manner.
opens void for radicalising elements from across
the borders. What needs to be done ? 6. The solution lies
in economic and social inclusion of the
iii) Lack of good governance. The governments Kashmiris in the fabric of the country with digital,
over the years have failed to deliver good, economic, infrastructure and other dividends
participative, democratic, transparent and reaching them like in the other parts of the
accountable governance. country. Schemes like UDAAN and Nai Manzil
aims to achieve the same.
iv) Lack of employment opportunities due to The emergence of insurgency in J&K began in
poor economic growth. 1988. This phase of insurgency was preceded
by a long period of political turmoil in the state
v) Pakistan is an active player in creating chaos since 1982 after the death of CM.
in valley and it takes help of terrorist
organisation time to time to provide resources to
separatist leaders, which encourage few handful Steps need to be taken
people to advance their malafide plans.
i) Emphasis on comprehensive CBM with
vi) Disharmony among many segments of people of Kashmir.
Kashmir society & segregation & segmentation
is another issue. Most of people are cynical to ii) Facilitating people to people contact b/w
Kashmiri people, which alienated them. people of J&K & those in PoK.
 pose a great threat to the world through their
iii) Holding periodic dialogue with groups syndicate and their deadly effects. Organised
representing different shades of opinions. crimes have objective of profit and power.

iv) Schemes such as Himayat etc 1. Characteristics of Organised Crimes/

OCG’s
v) Infrastructure promotion to provide better
connectivity b/w Jammu and valley region (Atal
i) Structure - Very well structured organisation
tunnel, Banihal pass)
having hierarchies, sub groups etc
ii) Membership
vi) Encouraging and facilitating return of
iii) Criminality
Kashmiri migrants.
iv) Continuity
v) Intimidation - They use techniques of
vii) Encouraging & facilitating cross-border trade
intimidation to get their work done.

viii) Countering the propaganda of Kashmiri

separatism.
2. Prominent OCG’s of the world -

ix) Improvement in Governance. (Transparency a) Yamaguchi Gumi (Annual turnover $66

& accountability) bn/year Japanese)
b) CRIPS (American - African OCG in USA)
x) Development of border areas, speedy c) D - Company (India)
disposal of cases, fixing flaws in recruitment,
training and deployment of jawans etc. 3. Relationship of Terrorist groups
vis-a-vis OCG
xi) Tightening of security in the short term.
Differences
xii) Schemes such as Udaan, Nai Manzil, etc
are steps in the right direction in this regard. i) Terrorism aims to overthrow the existing govts
by changing the present order. OCG’s on the
xiii) Withdraw the Armed Forces Act from a other hand co-exist with the govt trying to form
number of civilian areas immediately. a parallel govt.

xiv) Revisit the SOPs for deployment of security ii) TGs usually use violent means whereas
forces, correct deviations & plug all loopholes. OCGs prefer to use less violent means to
achieve their objective.

iii) TGs - political objectives whereas OCGs -

Linkages of organized crime with economic objectives.
terrorism
iv) TGs try to seek media attention while OCGs
don’t demand any such attention.
Terrorism and organised crimes (money
laundering, drug trade, weapons trade, human
v) TGs take responsibility of their action but
trafficking, fake currency) are conjoint twins that
OCGs don’t.
vi) TGs have some ideological orientation i) Money through money laundering is used to
whereas for OCGs only ideology is money. fund terror organisations. Hawala transactions
of real estate in India are said to be used by
terror groups in Pakistan to fund its activities.

Similarities ii) Drug trafficking started as an organised

crime and has emerged as a threat to nation
i) Both use violence and the threat of reprisals. states because of its association with terrorist
The violent activities include use of groups. Taliban in Afghanistan is reportedly
kidnappings, assassinations, & extortion. making some $100 million a year from drugs
(poppies). Terrorists give protection and
ii) Both operate secretly, though at times support to drug traffickers with fire arms, and the
publicly in friendly territory. drug traffickers, being acquainted with the
routes, assist the terrorists in border crossings.
iii) Both defy the state and the rule of law. They
present great security threat to the nations. iii) Large amount of illegal small arms are
manufactured in various illegal arms factories
iv) Both are highly adaptable, innovative, and and sold in black market for cheap prices. The
resilient. illegal arms trafficking aids terrorists operating
around the world.

Linkages iv) Terrorist organisations not only utilise human

trafficking for financial support, they also use to
Three types - obtain an entry point into countries. The slave
trade is currently a multi billion industry built
on demand for single product i.e. fellow human
Coexist where OCG’s & TGs operate in
ence same region but remain separate beings.
entities.
v) Currency counterfeiting is one of the
organised white collar crimes which contribute in
Coopea It can be due to some ideological growing terrorism globally. Beyond issues of
rtion proximity that OCG decide to
intellectual property theft and consumer safety,
support TG. Eg. D’company & LeT
(Pan Islamic proximity) there is the notion that counterfeit sales directly
Or due to purely practical purposes fund terrorist organisations.
(economic). Eg. TGs use false
documentation provided by OCGs
for acquiring weapons & explosives. 4. Factors which contributed to this

Conflue Eg. Drug Trafficking; or A linkage i) Alleged political nexus between the
nce b/w the attackers in Madrid 2004 & politicians and various groups all over the world.
Eastern European OCGs.
Another ex is association of FARC ii) Corporates fund the terror groups indirectly
with a TG in Columbia with cocaine
as it help them to expand their business via
trade in the region.
arms trade, drug trade, oil production and post
war facilities. 7. Suggestions to combat OCGs -

iii) Poor performance of global police forces like a) Strengthening of criminal laws
Interpol in curbing this linkage - Amendment in CrPC (to increase
period of police custody in such
iv) Money laundering, human trafficking goes organized crime cases)
unchallenged as regulations and laws are not - Further amendment in PMLA
very effective. - Separate law for org crime
- Indian Police is legally handicapped in
v) Regional instability, religious propaganda collecting evidence against OCG due
further fuel these linkages. to archaic provision of Evidence Act.

vi) Poor national law and order situations and b) Improving coordination & setting up
lack of control over cyberspace leaves gaps in specialized units. (eg OC cells at dist level)
the security field.
c) Enhancing International Cooperation
There is a need for global cooperation in curbing - Speedy extradition of criminals
the nexus. Adequate training and use of data - Strengthening the functioning of org
analytics and AI monitoring tools to monitor such as InterPol
socially harmful developments. - Signing multilateral treaties such as
SAARC Convention for separation of
5. Linkages in India terrorism.

In NE, insurgents run parallel govt & control d) Role of Mass Media as they can build public
areas which are out of bounds. They collect opinion against OCGs.
money in the form of tax from the citizens & govt
Officials are bribed or threatened to award e) A well trained & highly professional police
contracts in their favor. Any of the OCGs use the force can suppress the emergence of any OCG.
services of insurgent groups for a nominal fee.

Security challenges and their

6. Why is combating OCGs in India management in border areas
difficult ?
India has 15000 km of international border. In
Indian case, borders are quite complex and
i) Difficulty in obtaining proof
almost every type of extreme geography is
ii) Inadequate legal structure - India doesn’t
present at different borders viz. deserts, fertile
have specific law for organized crime
lands, swampy marshes or tropical evergreen
iii) Slow pace of trial and convictions
jungles. There is cross border smuggling,
iv) Dual Criminality
problem of drugs, cattle, humans, artefacts, fake
v) Lack of resources & training
Indian currency note (FICN), etc.
vi) Lack of coordination
vii) Criminal-Political-Bureaucratic Nexus
India-Bangladesh border (BSF guard it)
 vii) Cross border water disputes such as
i) India shares around 4100 km of its land Teesta river; construction of dam by India on
border with Bangladesh. The entire stretch Barak river.
consists of plain, riverine, hilly stretches.
Undemarcated stretches & adverse possessions A major success in the recent times has been
had been causing constant friction b/w the the execution of Land Boundary Agreement
border guarding forces of India & B’desh. for exchange of enclaves.
Countless streams & rivers make it difficult to
establish & maintain Border pillars.
India-Pakistan border
ii) Illegal immigration: Estimates 24 million;
Poor development, religious persecution, This is spread across extreme climatic
environmental concerns etc., pushed conditions (from hot Thar Desert to cold
Bangladeshis into India, while India’s huge Himalayas). This boundary is categorised in 3
economy and accommodative society pulled different heads:
immigrants. Communal violence in Assam has - 1st is Radcliffe line, around 2000 km long
direct link with this immigration. (Rohingya & stretches from GJ to parts of Jammu.
crisis) - 2nd is LoC, or ceasefire line, which came
into existence after the 1948 and 1971 wars.
iii) Cattle and other smuggling: Cattle from UP, This line runs from Jammu to Leh district.
Bihar is taken to borders for grazing & then - 3rd is actual ground position line (AGPL)
smuggled to B’desh. This way govt is losing that divides current positions of Indian and
revenue of around 10000 crore annually. Along Pakistani troops in Siachen Glacier region.
with cattle, smuggling of arms, diesel, human
and narcotics trafficking, counterfeit Indian i) Border dispute at Sir Creek and Kashmir.
currency are quite rampant.
ii) Infiltration and cross-border terrorism targeted
iv) Bases of Anti India elements: Presently, to destabilise India.
ULFA & NDFB and several other insurgent
outfits from Northeast have bases in B’desh. iii) Diverse terrain including desert, marshes,
snow capped mountain & plains makes border
v) Fencing: Fencing and floodlighting are imp. guarding difficult.
constituents of maintaining vigilance along the
borders. Govt has undertaken the work of iv) Time and cost overruns in infrastructure
construction of fencing, floodlighting and roads projects due to unforeseen circumstances and
along these borders. natural calamities.

vi) Integrated check posts: There are several v) Other issues include drug smuggling, fake
designated entry and exit points on the border currency, arms trafficking, etc.
through which cross border movement of
persons, goods and traffic takes place. Infra is
not adequate. India-China Border (ITBP guard it)

Share a 3,500 km long boundary. Unfortunately,

entire boundary is disputed. The line, which
delineates boundary b/w two countries, is facilitates the unrestricted illegal flows of drugs
popularly called the McMahon line, after its into the Indian territory.
author Sir Henry McMahon.
v) It is reported that the local insurgent groups
i) Border dispute at Aksai Chin, Arunachal are actively involved in drugs and arms
Pradesh, Doklam etc. with sporadic aggression. trafficking. Work for fence erection and road
building is going on, but at times it is interrupted
iii) Large scale smuggling of Chinese electronic because of opposition.
and other consumer goods.
vi) Border haats (exchange of local produce)
iii) Inadequate infra due to difficult terrain.

iv) Multiple forces along Indian border (for India-Nepal border (SSB guard it)
example, ITBP, Assam rifles, Special frontier
force) as opposed to single PLA commander on Nepal claims Lipulekh, Kalapani & Limpiyadhura
Chinese side. & dispute in Susta (Bihar)

v) Water sharing issue as China is building i) India and Nepal have shared an open border
dams on its side reducing water flow in lower since 1950. Treaty of Peace and Friendship,
riparian Indian states. wherein citizens of both countries are given
equal rights in matters of residence, acquisition
of property, employment & movement in each
India-Myanmar boundary (Assam Rifles other’s territory, provide for an open border. .
guard it)
ii) Open border has been a great facilitator of
i) After Independence, the boundary was strong and unique bilateral relations. At the
demarcated in 1967 under an agreement signed same time, it has given rise to many irritants and
by both countries. The rugged terrain makes problems that raise serious concerns.
movement & overall development of the area Allegations of excesses such as intimidation and
difficult. forcible grabbing of land by either side along the
disputed border also surface from time to time.
ii) The internal dynamics of the region in terms
of the clan loyalties of tribal people, inter-tribal iii) Many terrorist organisations and Naxalites
clashes, insurgency, & trans-border ethnic ties have fully exploited open borders with Nepal.
also adversely affect security of border areas.
iv) Indo-Nepal border has become a major
iii) There is practically no physical barrier along source of illegal activities, such as smuggling of
the border. Insurgents make use Free essential items, FICN, gun running, and drugs
movement Regime (FMR) (16kms in each and human trafficking.
other territory w/o visa) to cross-over to
Myanmar and receive training and acquire arms. v) It has also become a source for smuggling
Gold from Tibet into India. Radicalisation of
iv) The location of the boundary at the edge of youth in border areas of Nepal is on rise and is
the golden triangle (Laos, Myanmar & Thailand) being tapped by external agencies for anti-India
activities.
vi) Pakistani ISI has been using Nepalese 2. Issue related to BM
territory to carry out anti-India activities since the
1990s. WikiLeaks documents have revealed i) Lack of proper demarcation of our land and
that the ISI has created a number of terrorist maritime borders. (Contested Intl borders)
fronts in Nepal.
ii) Complex and different terrain on all borders
GoI Steps makes it difficult to attain specialization in border
i) Institutionalisation of Home Sec level talks. management.
ii) There is a JWG at the level of Joint Secy.
iii) Agreement on inc. the capacity of Nepal iii) Inadequate attention to security forces such
armed & police forces. as no mobile connectivity leading to isolation,
iv) India has offered to strengthen immigration inadequate medical facilities, disparity in wages
setup along the border. and allowances in comparison with the army.
v) A pending issue to be resolved is Nepal’s Security forces have to face extreme conditions
refusal for the border’s demarcation of 2007. like extreme heat of Thar and extreme cold of
vi) Nepal wants to revise the Peaceful & Siachen glacier.
Friendship Treaty of 1960 but there has been bo
concrete proposal from their side. iv) Lack of coordination among multiple
agencies (Army, ITBP, BSF, Assam rifles)
India-Bhutan Border (SSB guard it) associated with border security as in some
places MoD is responsible & in other MHA.
i) India and Bhutan share a 669 km long China has one command for its security
boundary. The boundary is demarcated except forces managing border.
along the tri-junction with China. Like with
Nepal, it is also an open boundary. v) Lack of critical infrastructure such as
observation towers, bunkers, border flood lights
ii) The border was peaceful till Indian insurgent etc & also lack of staff & modern equipments.
groups established camps in the southern
districts of Bhutan. In 2003, India & Bhutan vi) Inadequate attention to the concerns of local
conducted a joint Operation All Clear, which people in border areas which is exploited by
saw destruction & uprooting of all insurgent hostile elements to create a feeling of ill will
camps in Bhutanese territory. against the security forces & Government.

iii) Even though Bhutan has zero tolerant policy vii) Golden crescent in the west and Golden
wrt anti-India activities on its soil, limited triangle in the east are responsible for Drug
capacity of Bhutanese police forces & difficult trafficking.
terrain pose significant challenges
viii) Dense eastern border and border with
Steps Nepal and Bangladesh are notorious for human
trafficking and smuggling.
i) To secure borders, SSB has been deployed.
ii) Secy level talks have been initiated. ix) Open seas has allowed many foreign
iii) Joint operation ALL CLEAR elements to come inside the Indian Territory.
Mumbai attack was an eye opener in this enhanced procurement powers to BRO; Land
regard. acquisition & all statutory clearances are made
part of DPR.
x) Poor implementation - CAG in 2017 find, out
of 73 road allotted only 22 completed by March k) BSF’s BOLD-QIT (Border Electronically
2016. Dominated QRT Interception Technique) to
equip Indo-B’desh borders with different sensors
3. Recent initiatives by Govt in unfenced riverine areas.

a) Border area development program (BADP)to 4. Diversity of borders

meet specific dev needs of people living near
borders. a) Arid & desert border with Pakistan.
b) Alpine mountains with rugged features and
b) Border Infra & Management (BIM) includes glaciers along borders of Pakistan and China.
60 projects like construction of roads, schools, c) Plains and foothills with Nepal.
health centre etc. d) Dense forests with Myanmar in NE region.
e) Large coastline open to international waters.
c) Creation of Chief of Defence staff (CDS).

d) India is also constructing some critical 5. Suggestions

bridges to cut down time for troop movement
such as Dhola-Sadiya bridge. i) CIBMS: The Comprehensive Integrated
Border Management System (CIBMS) is an
e) India has joined hands with Japan to integration of a number of new gadgets and
aggressively develop infrastructure projects in technologies to ensure electronic surveillance of
North east to contain China. India's intl borders with Pakistan & Bangladesh.

f) Army infrastructure projects within 100 km of ii) Dispute resolution: Govt should resolve
LAC have been exempted from forest pending border disputes, as they later become
clearance. . matters of national-security threat.

h) Expediting forest clearances by providing iii) No diversion of security forces: The

General approval under FCA, 1980. border-guarding force should not be distracted
from its principal task and deployed for other
i) Leveraging power of technology eg CIBMS. internal security duties. Eg. ITBP, a force
Conversion of border fence into a smart fence specifically trained for India-China border should
with several sensors, LiDAR, cameras under not be used in the naxalite infested areas.
CIBMS along Indo-Pak & Indo-B’desh borders.
iv) Involvement of army: It is felt that the
j) Recently agreed Shekatkar Committee responsibility for unsettled and disputed
recommendation for speeding up road borders, such as the LoC in J&K and the LAC
construction - Outsourcing road construction on the Indo-Tibetan border, should be that of the
beyond optimal capacity of BRO; EPC Indian Army while the BSF should be
mandatory for > Rs 100 cr projects; Introduction responsible for all settled borders.
of modern construction plants by delegating
 vi) A federal system with multi & regional party
v) Developing Infrastructure: Intensifying the system also throws open the challenge of centre
Border area development program (BADP) and state co-ordination.
which funds states to invest in education, job
creation and infrastructure will go a long way in
managing borders. (PPP) 7. Excessive employment of the Army is
bad
vi) Use of advanced technology: The In many troubled states, the Army has been
advances in High tech surveillance technology, employed in large numbers to ensure law and
particularly satellite and aerial imagery, satellite order and conditions. But once committed, these
with Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) can help to forces have usually had to remain deployed for
maintain a constant vigil along the LAC and several decades.
make it possible to reduce physical deployment.
i) First, an over dependence on the Army
vii) Weapons: BSF and ITBP should be armed reflects lack of trust and faith in the capability of
with better sophisticated weapons and work the state and central armed police and
conditions should be improved to give them paramilitary forces.
confidence.
ii) 2nd, with passage of time, the locals start
viii) Border Haats: To build confidence and treating the Army as just another police force.
economically develop border areas.
iii) 3rd, such deployments and prolonged duties
6. Reasons behind weak internal have an adverse impact on the Army’s
security discipline, morale and operational effectiveness.

i) The nitty gritty of security management have iv) 4th, during a war, the Army requires public
not been given due importance. support. It cannot afford to alienate the local
population as is currently happening in Manipur,
ii) Police continue to be in a shambles. The SC and to some extent, in J&K and Assam.
gave historic directions in 2006 for police
reforms, but the states have been dragging it for Reduction in Army deployment will be possible
too long. only if the paramilitary, central and state police
forces can be revamped. There is a need to
iii) India lacks national security doctrine. modernise these forces, improve their
leadership, training and man management
iv) Weak intelligence coordination and capabilities.
dissemination between various agencies.

v) There is no long-term policy for J&K, nor is 8. Govt initiatives

there any strategic vision to tackle Maoist
insurgency. i) NATGRID: The formation of an intelligence
database designed to consolidate and make
searchable data gathered by existing security
and law enforcement agencies, will prove to be should be developed. Eg. Govt is introducing
a vital link in India’s intelligence infrastructure. courses on scientific interpretations of religious
texts in Madrassas.
ii) CCTNS: The Crime & Criminal Tracking
Networks and System (CCTNS) is an initiative vi) Implementation of Make in India, National
of MHA, to facilitate storage, transfer & sharing Manufacturing Policy, reviving textile MSMEs,
of data & information b/w police stations. improving ease of doing business etc will
generate much-needed jobs in India.
iii) CERT-In: It is responsible for protection of
cyber systems and it provides specific steps and vii) In the Northeast, the Assam Rifles had
countermeasures to patch existing been raised primarily for deployment in that area
vulnerabilities & strengthen security of websites. and comprised personnel from that region. Its
composition was eventually changed to that of
iv) SAMADHAN: On the Naxal front, the an all-India force which lead to loss of rapport.
Conference of CMs of the affected states held in
Delhi came up with a new formula of viii) Internal funding sources for terrorists, ML,
SAMADHAN to tackle the problem. cyber thefts should be checked by the
coordination of NIA, NATGRID and IB.

9. Measures to internal security ix) Terrorism has global dimension and effective
challenges cooperation should be secured with other
nations to tackle it.

i) Police is generally the first agency to respond

x) Effective border management through ICPs,
to internal security challenges. Impending police
fences, regular visits of leaders in bordering
reforms (Prakash Singh judgment of SC) should
areas is needed to curb insurgency.
be implemented to strengthen policing.
xi) Implementation of National cyber security
ii) The absence of a central institution to tackle
policy 2013 will reduce vulnerability of core
terrorism has resulted in a fragmented approach
infrastructure & secure banking, government
to terrorism. Therefore, a central anti-terrorism
and military communications.
agency, NCTC, should be established.
Considering the length of India’s borders, the
iii) Synergy between law enforcement, legal and
border forces will always remain inadequate.
judicial systems is essential..
They have to be supplemented with Home and
Hearth units or village guards of the kind
iv) Military pressure alone can’t resolve matters
employed in Arunachal. These Home & Hearth
unless there is good governance, with a strong
units, with as many local ex-servicemen as
thrust on socio-political & socio-economic
possible, can be raised wherever border holding
issues.
forces are thin on ground.

v) Perception management has been the

weakest link in India’s fighting against internal
Various Security forces and agencies
security problems. Counter narratives to the
propaganda of the terrorists and insurgents and their mandates
Law and order is a state subject of the state, v) Top most positions are occupied by IPS
therefore the bulk of the policing lies with the officers which leads to a low morale that
respective states & territories. Larger cities also translates into low efficiency.
operate metropolitan police forces (MPF) under
respective SGs. The majority of federal law vi) Promotion system lacks a proper path and
enforcement agencies are controlled by MHA. indicators to identify deserving candidate.

1. Contribution of paramilitary forces vii) They are devoid of justice. Armed forces
tribunal does not cover them. Even Article 33
i) Disaster: During the 2013 Uttarakhand floods, deters them to approach civilian judiciary.
ITBP was the first to respond to the catastrophe.
viii) No stability in terms of duration of posting
ii) Organised crime: The paramilitary forces like and no peace posting. There are many
the BSF, SSBl, ITBP deployed at borders check accompanying services like, VIP security, law
smuggling of drugs, fake currencies and human and order and election duty.
trafficking along with border security.
x) Govt doesn’t accord them status of a martyr.
iii) Law and order: CRPF personnel provides
their services when law & order situation goes
beyond control during riots or large scale 3. Steps taken by Government
violence.
i) Increased hardship allowances will be given to
iv) Naxalism: The paramilitary forces are also CAPF jawans in Naxal areas. Posting of choice
deployed in fighting insurgencies and violent after serving in the naxal affected areas.
activities like Naxalism.
ii) To curb depression among jawans, yoga,
meditation and recreation facilities are provided.
2. Problems
iii) A rational and fair leave policy and well
i) There is shortage of man power which regulated duty hours to provide optimum rest.
increases the workload on existing personnel. It
is found that CISF jawans have to do continuous iv) Increased interaction between jawans and
duty for 15-18 hours. officers were part of the 14 measures
undertaken by govt to boost morale.
ii) There is an absence of a dedicated grievance
redressal system. Ex: Recent BSF Jawan video. v) Retention of housing in last posting to ensure
education of children of the forces remain
iii) A paramilitary soldier was against the undisturbed.
sahayak/buddy system where soldiers were
forced to do personal chores for senior officers. vi) 7th Pay Commission has recommended a
review of posts earmarked for IPS officers and
iv) Poor working conditions like no housing recommended to open higher positions for
facilities, poor food & low allowances. CAPF officers as well.
 iv) To curb depression among jawans, yoga,
4. Issues with Border Guarding forces meditation and recreation facilities are provided.

i) Jawans are overworked and hence fatigued

during the patrolling duty. 6. National investigative agency (NIA)

ii) Medical facilities for personnel posted on the NIA is a central agency established by govt to
border are severely inadequate. The personnel combat terror in the country. The agency is
had to be transferred to frontier head quarters empowered to deal with terror related crimes
for even basic treatment. across states without special permission from
the states. Till 2019 the NIA has seen a 91%
iii) Disparity in wages and allowances in conviction rate in terror cases.
comparison with the army.
Shortcomings in NIA
iv) There is an absence of a dedicated
grievance redressal system. Poor working i) Overstretched intelligence network with limited
conditions like no housing facilities, poor food staff and meagre budget. It is currently
and low allowances adds to problems. operating with 3/4th of its sanctioned staff.

v) There is no mobile connectivity in Border ii) NIA at most of the times takes help in
Outposts (BOPs) and the only available means intelligence gathering from local police, who are
of communication with their families is through typically poorly trained and ill equipped.
satellite phones.
iii) Lack of cooperation from state governments.
vi) Deficiency of some surveillance equipment,
like Hand-held Thermal Imagers, which are iv) It is potentially open to political interference.
essential for surveillance during night.
v) India has multiple intelligence and
investigation agencies along with the police. The
5. Recommendations IB is the domestic unit and the RAW is an
external spy agency. The military & paramilitary
i) Proposals of BGFs to raise additional no of organizations run their own intelligence wings.
battalions should be considered on a priority
basis. vi) NIA is not empowered to investigate a
number of interstate and trans-national crimes
ii) Composite BOPs should be developed with that require a national response.
telephone, medical facilities etc.
NIA, 2009
iii) Hard area allowance should be exclusively
decided on the basis of climatic and For the offences under its purview, NIA officers
geographical conditions of the area of have the same power as other police officers
deployment and should be uniform for personnel and these extend across the country.
of all the forces, be it CAPFs or Army. The existing Act allows the Centre to constitute
special courts for NIA’s trials.
 case of any emergency, the response
NIA amendment act, 2019 mechanism is not effective. Here too NATGRID
will be useful.
i) Type of offences that the NIA can investigate
and prosecute is now expanded like human Criticism of NATGRID
trafficking, cyber terrorism, counterfeit currency
etc also included. i) NATGRID is facing opposition on charges of
possible violations of privacy and leakage of
ii) Also gives NIA officers power to investigate confidential personal information.
offences committed outside India, subject to
international treaties & their domestic laws. ii) NATGRID will have access to all kinds of data
under one roof and can also prove to be
iii) The Bill states that CG may designate counterproductive if misused.
Sessions Courts as Special Courts for the trial
of scheduled offences. iii) Crucial intelligence information, if available to
many agencies, can be leaked & used against
Criticism the nation. (Resistance from IBs) (Possible
misuse of database - eg Snowden files)
i) Encroachment of Federal power.
ii) Sessions courts are already burdened with iv) Doubts over efficacy as state police won’t be
many cases. part of NATGRID, thus reducing chances of
immediate, effective action.
7. NATGRID (National Intelligence Grid)
v) Lack of consensus among various ministries
Importance of NATGRID
Way forward
i) NATGRID is an intelligence grid connecting
the databases of 21 core security agencies to i) Mitigate misuse of data concerns - prevent
collect comprehensive patterns of intelligence. information for any other purpose than of
These databases include railway and air travel, countering terrorism & transnational OCs.
income tax, bank account details, credit card ii) Comprehensive privacy laws (like EU & USA)
transactions, etc. iii) Parliamentary oversight
iv) Regular audit to improve accountability &
ii) To have a well formulated database of the credibility.
terror networks. The idea is to collate and
analyse vital data to get the complete view of a NATGRID also faces issues like consolidating
situation. (use of data silos) data from a huge population, lack of
compatibility with data sets in regional
iii) NATGRID will tackle the problem of languages, risk of spies ratting out vital
coordination between various law enforcement information to outside sources and security from
agencies in various ministries. (Provide real external attacks.
time data )

iv) Due to federal nature of govt, coordination at

center & states level is also lacking and in the Media in security challenges
 has potential to vitiate the atmosphere around
Media is 4th pillar of democracy. Any which a citizen is supposed to get justice.
communication channel through which any kind
of information, news, entertainment, education, v) Also the media networks are regularly hacked
data, promotional messages etc., can be by enemy countries to spread false information
disseminated is called media. and to recover classified data. Recently New
York Times (NYT) and Twitter servers were
1. Why media can be dangerous hacked by Syrian agencies.

i) Sensationalization of National Security vi) Ownership of media houses by Corporate

related issues - During the hijacking of flight groups - jeopardising independence of
IC814 to Kandhar Indian media accurately journalists & quality of journalism as well as
reported the movement of army personnel & internal security of India. Many countries such
also influenced decision of political leadership as USA, Japan, Germany have strict media
which led to poor negotiations & eventual cross-ownership norms to prevent dominance.
releasing of terrorists (JeM leader Masood
Azhar) vi) Countries like US are not only snooping on
Similarly, In the 26/11 attack, the handlers of their own citizens but are also able to freely
the terrorist used the media coverage to tell intrude the privacy of any individual in other
them the exact locations of policemen & advised countries too. US has the specific advantage of
them about the best way to attack the police. having the servers of main social networking
Also the goriest details of attack were shown sites like Facebook, Twitter etc. within its
virtually non-stop. frontiers and hence in the outreach of their laws.

ii) Reporting on sensitive issues in an 2. Positive impacts created by media

irresponsible manner- Media is often criticised
for its non-stop coverage of incidents of i) In August of 1999, Pakistan navies patrol
communal tensions which might incite the plane was shot down by IAF for violating the
communities to further wreak havoc. Even print Indian Airspace. This issue flared the tension
media sometimes thoughtlessly carries b/w 2 countries as the Kargil war was just
messages from the leaders of opposing factions ended. Pak even took the issue to ICJ.
creating further tensions. However, Indian media support & timely
information that it provided to the domestic & intl
iii) During 2013 Assam riots, social media and audience help not only to grasp the Intl media
the SMS were blamed for rumour mongering attention but also influenced the judgement of
during the Assam unrest. They were alleged of ICJ in India’s favour.
misrepresentation of facts and doctoring news
which led to huge migration of north easterners ii) Creating awareness & busting myths around
across the country. the activities of extremist groups.

iv) Reporting on sub judice matters - Matters iii) Helping govt defuse any turmoil in the society
pending in the court are freely reported &
discussed in the media & principle of sub judice iv) Defusing tensions b/w communities with
is compromised. A parallel trial by the media informal and formal exchange of ideas.
 Security challenge due to the
3. Possible ways to plug the Communication networks
shortcomings of media
India’s telecom market is 2nd largest, 1.6 bn
i) Sensitising journalists about possible effects subscriber & tele density of 87.37% in FY20,
of non-stop display of gory images during 743.19 bn internet users
coverage of riots, terrorist affected areas etc.
i) External sourcing of equipment & technology
ii) Preparing guidelines for the coverage of which might contain a back window for
areas affected by man-made disaster. Ex: transmitting information. This is described as
Indian media in during Nepal earthquake. Supply Chain cyber security threat. Recently
IEEMA highlighted the concern of security threat
iii) Building solid networks and creating a task in critical power infrastructure due to the
force to combat any kind of hacking. increased use of foreign products in operation &
management of India’s power grid (60% equip
iv) Experts have suggested India to build our from China)
own social networks like China has its own.
To prevent this recent National Security
3. Mis-use of social media directive on the telecom sector aims to
identify trusted sources of telecom equipment
i) To spread fake news. which should meet DoT’s Preferential Market
ii) Propaganda, radicalisation and recruitment by Access (PMA) scheme to qualify.
terrorist organisations.
iii) Influence the outcome of elections. Ex: ii) Evolving nature of threats - Also, the threat
Alleged Facebook role in US elections. spectrum has widened as threats originate from
iv) Targeted advertisements by companies and nation states as well as malicious non-state
political parties. actors. Eg. India was amongst the worst hit
v) Hate against women and minorities. country by ‘PETYA’
vi) Privacy issues.
iii) Structural challenges with India’s network
management - Like multiple agencies, federal
4. Measures by the government
structure of the country.
i) Social Media Communication Hub - to monitor
iv) Private sector in Network management - The
social media.
task of securing network is also complicated by
ii) Network Traffic Analysis (NETRA) - to detect
the fact that much of the infra is in the hands of
selective words.
private companies who see measures such as
iii) Lawful interception and Monitoring Project
security auditing as adding to their cost.
(LIM) - For surveillance.
iv) Draft IT (intermediary Guidelines)
Need of Telecom Security
Amendment rules, 2018.

i) Cyber Security like data protection,

architecture, email security. Only 50% of Indian
companies have their security strategy for cloud v) AFSPA is necessary to maintain law and
computing. order in disturbed areas, otherwise things will go
haywire. The law also dissuades advancement
ii) National Security - Data sovereignty of of terrorist activities in these areas.
defence & other security sector

iii) Dubious Suppliers 2. Arguments against AFSPA

iv) Realising self reliance - currently India i) Abuse of power: It has been alleged that
imports Telecom equip Rs 1.3 trillion. immunity granted by act has led armed forces to
misuse the powers given to them & commit
offences like fake encounters and sexual
AFSPA (Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, assault. Justice Santosh Hegde Committee to
1958) investigate fake encounters in Manipur
described it as a “symbol of oppression”.
The Act grants extraordinary powers and
immunity to the armed forces to bring back ii) Terrorism: It has failed to contain terrorism
order in the disturbed areas. Some of these and restore normalcy in disturbed areas, as nor
extra-ordinary powers include Fire upon anyone of armed groups has gone up after act was
after giving warning, Arrest anyone without established. Many even hold it responsible for
warrant, Stop and search any vehicle or vessel the spiralling violence in areas it is in force.
and Armed forces personnel have legal
immunity for their actions. People residing in iii) Threat to fundamental rights: It leads to
AFSPA enacted areas need the permission of suspension of FRs and liberties guaranteed to
CG in order to approach SC for constitutional the citizens by the constitution. Thus, it weakens
remedies under Article 32. democracy. Human rights violations in AFSPA
areas are not inquired into and followed by
1. Arguments for AFSPA adequate action. Thus, it is against the principle
of natural justice.
i) AFSPA is required to deal with terrorists and
insurgents whose stated objective is breaking iv) Diminishing credibility of democracy:
up the country. People’s disillusionment with democratic setup
is exploited by secessionists and terror
ii) Many argue that removal of the act will have a sympathasizers, which leads to more violence &
demoralising effect on the armed forces. more counter violence creating a vicious cycle.

iii) Without AFSPA militants may motivate and v) Excessive use of force and using it despite
threaten locals to file lawsuits against the army. having other options to explore.

iv) Army require minimum safeguards from legal vi) The decision of govt to declare a particular
harassment and empowerment of its officers to area disturbed can’t be challenged in a court of
decide on employment of the minimum force law. Hence, several cases of HR violations go
that they consider essential. unnoticed.
Justice Jeevan Reddy committee
recommended that it should be repealed & 5. Way ahead
UAPA to be strengthened to fight militancy.
i) Rooting out AFSPA totally might create an
3. Observations made by SC atmosphere of chaos, and chances of terror
attacks will increase.
i) AFSPA should be only used to supplement the
civil authority and not supplant the same by ii) The Ministry is waiting for the SG say on the
putting in place military administration. idea to take a come out with a final verdict.

ii) The Section 6 of AFSPA which precludes any iii) Amending the AFSPA act to delist offences
prosecution, suit or legal proceeding against like sexual offence etc from it and trying them
personnel of the security forces is no longer out under other state & national criminal laws.
valid if the deaths of civilians are unjustified. Eg.
Recent deaths of civilians by armed forces in iv) Slowly phasing out AFSPA based on threat
Nagaland. perception from such areas and strengthening
local police and security officers.
iii) Every death caused by the armed forces in a
disturbed area, be it of a common person or a v) Proactive role by local government towards
criminal, should be thoroughly enquired into. real development, especially in social sectors.

iv) Use of excessive and arbitrary force is vi) In areas where AFSPA exists, having a
unreasonable be the person a criminal, robust judicial mechanism withering the Army to
insurgent, terrorist and militant. weed out elements from within who indulge in
such violation for promotion and awards.

4. Reddy Committee Recommendations

Basics of cyber security
i) In case the situation so warrants, the SG may
request Union govt to deploy the army for not Cyber Security is defined under Section 2(b) of
more than 6 months. IT Act, 2000 & is defined as protecting
information, devices, equipments, computer
ii) The Union govt may also deploy the armed resources & information stored in them from
forces without a request from the state. unauthorized access, use, disclosure,
However, the situation should be reviewed after disruption, modification or destruction.
six months and Parliament’s approval should be
sought for extending the deployment. In 3rd Global Cybersecurity Index released by
the ITU, India slipped to 47th rank in 2018 from
iii) Non-commissioned officers may continue to 23rd in 2017.
have the power to fire.
1. Cyber crimes
iv) Union govt should set up an independent
grievances cell in each district where Act is in Cyber crimes can be classified on basis of
force. source, medium used as well as objectives like
theft, psychological damage, Ransome, warfare, Service attack (Distributed DOS is an effort to
propaganda etc.. make one or more systems unavailable. It
usually targets servers)
Semantic/ Syntactic attack
viii) Phishing - It is an email fraud in which
Attack on the functioning of the information perpetrators send out legitimate looking emails
system. Eg. computer viruses, trojans. In this in an attempt to gather personal & financial
attacker dupes the user into thinking that they information from the recipients.
are doing the intended thing when in reality they
are doing something different. Eg. duplication ix) Cyber Stalking/ Cyber harassment: It
of website. refers to online harassment/ bullying with the
use of email/ instant messaging/ derogatory
Threats - websites by harassing an individual through
i) Cyber defamation: It is defamation by anything personal attack.
which can be read, seen or heard with the help
of computers. x) Cyber warfare involves politically motivated
attacks on information and information systems.
ii) Corporate smear: It is a false rumour about a Cyber warfare attacks can disable official
company, its management or its stock that is websites and networks, disrupt or disable
posted on the Internet. This is bad for business. essential services, steal or alter classified data,
and cripple financial systems. It has 2
iii) Digital forgery: Digital forgery implies making characteristics -
use of digital technology to forge a document. It 1. Activity must cross International borders.
is used to make fakes IDs, cheques, currency, 2. It must involve at least one nation state.
passports, visas, etc. Eg. In 2010, Stuxnet, which was designed to
attack Iranian nuclear programme.
iv) Gambling: The world of online gambling, due
to its anonymity, unfortunately has many other Two Types of Cyber Warfare -
hazards like danger of illegal use of credit card
or illegal access to bank account. a) Cyber Espionage - It is act of cyber spying
engaged upon a nation or an org at any time.
v) Illegal articles: There are certain articles like
drugs, guns, pirated software or music that b) Cyber Sabotage - In this the attack is on
might not be permitted to be sold under the law national critical infrastructure such as power
of a particular country. plants, micro-grids, research facilities etc.

vi) E-mail spamming: Spam is an unsolicited Cyber Warfare cases in India -

message requiring one’s time and effort to get
rid off. The result, apart from loss of internet i) In 2012, a high profile cyber attack breached
working hours, could be one of mental agony the email accounts of around 12k people inc
and distress. officials of MHA, MEA & IPPB etc.

vii) Cyber Crime - No particular definition. Also ii) Hackers from Algeria also carried attacks on
not defined in IT act, 2002. Eg. Hacking, website run by DRDO in 2013
computer viruses/ worms, Data theft, Denial of
 Challenges in protecting CI
xi) Cyber terrorism: Cyber terrorism is the
convergence of terrorism and cyber space. It is i) Complexity of cyber attacks
generally understood to mean unlawful attacks ii) Elimination of air gap security for improving
and threats of attacks against computers, efficiency make systems prone to attack.
networks, and information stored therein when iii) Smart sensors & technology in Industrial
done to intimidate or coerce a government or its control systems are more prone to attacks.
people in furtherance of political or social iv) Individuals within CI can pose risk.
objectives. It can lead to violence. Eg. the
rumour that led to mass exodus of NE Suggestions
people from Bengauru in 2012.
Other incidents - Muzaffarnagar Riots, Social i) By evolving protection strategies, vulnerability
media use in recruiting ISIS. assessment & auditing methodologies.

ii) Collaboration with public & pvt sector & Intl

2. Critical information infrastructure cooperation strategies to improve security &
resilience.
Critical Infrastructure describes the physical &
cyber systems & assets that are so vital to a iii) Training and awareness programmes.
country that their destruction would have a
debilitating impact on national security & iv) Build & grow the cyber workforce.
economic & social welfare of a state.
v) An integrated & sustainable supply chain
i) CII is communications or information service security.
whose availability, reliability and resilience are
essential to functioning of a modern economy,
security & other essential social values. CII 3. Need for cyber security
include Power, dams, ICT/Communication,
Banking, Transport and e-governance. i) Govt’s digital push: Various programs of govt
such as Aadhaar, MyGov, GeM, DigiLocker,
ii) The complex interactions among critical Bharat Net etc. are prompting a larger number
infrastructure leads to interdependencies. A of citizens, companies and government
minor disruption at one point could have a agencies to transact online.
rippling effect across multiple infra’s in India.
ii) Start-ups digital push: India is 3rd largest
Threats to CI hub for technology-driven startups in the world
after USA and China.
i) Natural disasters
ii) Human caused - Terrorism, financial crimes, iii) Prevent economic loss: Estimated cost of
economic espionage. cyber attacks in India stands at $4 bn which is
Eg. Shadow Pad malware (suspected from expected to reach $20 bn in next 10 years.
Red Echo, a hacker group of China); Cyber
attacks by Russia on Georgia in 2008 iv) Increasing internet users: India ranks 3rd in
iii) Accidental or technical terms of no of internet users after USA & China.
v) To protect women and children who are vii) Lack of coordination among various
more vulnerable. Threats like cyber bullying, agencies: Further, Private sector, despite being
online harassment, Child pornography. a major stakeholder in the cyberspace, has not
been involved proactively for security of same.
vi) The increasing business transaction from
tangible assets to intangible assets like IP has viii) Other challenges: Include absence of
converted cyberspace from being a mere info geographical barriers, majority of servers
space into important commercial space. located outside India, etc

vii) Another concern is that, money laundering,

be serious crime becomes much simpler 5. Tools to protect against cyber threats
through the use of net. Therefore cyberspace
needs to be regulated to curb this phenomenon. i) Traditional tools: Importance of use of
antivirus, firewalls, strong passwords, secure
viii) Cyber terrorism. wi-fi connection, training to netizen, etc. need to
be emphasised.

4. Challenges to cyber security ii) Digital signatures: A digital signature is a

technique by which it is possible to secure
i) Digital illiteracy: which makes citizens highly electronic information in such a way that the
susceptible to cyber fraud, cyber theft, etc. originator of the information, as well as integrity
of the information, can be verified.
ii) Substandard devices: In India, majority of
devices have inadequate security infrastructure iii) Encryption: One of the most powerful &
making them susceptible to malware such as important methods for security in computer
recently detected Saposhi. There is also systems is to encrypt sensitive records and
rampant use of unlicensed software. messages in transit and in storage.

iii) Lack of adoption of new technology: Eg. iv) Security audit: It is a systematic evaluation
In Banking sector, 75% of total Credit and Debit of the security apparatus of the company. It is to
card are based on magnetic strip which are find out the vulnerabilities that an organisation is
easy to be cloned. facing with its IT infra.

iv) Import dependence: Majority e- devices v) Cyber forensics: It is the discovery, analysis,
used in power sector, defence & other critical and reconstruction of evidence extracted from
infra are imported & enhance vulnerability. any element of computer systems. It gathers
digital evidence that is distributed across
v) Trained staff: There are currently around large-scale, complex networks.
30,000 cyber security vacancies in India but
demand far outstrips supply of skilled people.
6. National Cyber security Policy, 2013
vi) Anonymity: Even advanced precision
threats carried out by hackers is difficult to Announced in 2013 yet its implementation is still
attribute to specific actors, state or non-state. missing. As a result fields like e-governance and
e-commerce are still risky and may require
cyber insurance in the near future. To build iv) The coordination of cyber security among
secure and resilient cyber space. Features - various sectors of economy remains under the
ambit of CERT-In. CERT-In is an civilian agency
i) To create a cyber ecosystem in the country & functions under department of IT.
to generate adequate trust & enhance adoption
of IT in all sectors of economy.. v) Most of the cyber crimes are expected to be
ii) The NCIIPC is to be the nodal agency to dealt with by the local police in combination with
protect critical infrastructure, while another 24×7 outside consultants. No efforts are taken to
agency, CERT-In, is to coordinate all upgrade skills of local police.
emergency response and crisis management.
iii) Creating workforce of 5L skilled vi) Most of the IT services have migrated to
professionals in the field. cloud computing now. NCSP is silent on dealing
iv) Fiscal benefits for businessman who accepts with threats emanating from new technologies.
standard security practices & proceses, etc. An earlier and constant revision of policy would
v) Indigenous technological solutions need to be make it more meaningfully equipped.
developed to reduce reliance on foreign
software. Establishing infrastructure for testing vii) CSP fails to address the overreach of state
of IT equipments. in cyberspace. Further, with state outsourcing to
vi) All organisations should designate a CISO private companies to build systems for mass
and allot a security budget. surveillance, there is every chance of private
vii) Encourage use of public key infrastructure data falling into wrong hands.
(PIK) for various government services.
viii) Engage infosec professionals to assist viii) Lack of awareness and the culture of cyber
e-governance initiatives, establish centres of security at individual as well as institutional
excellence, cyber security concept labs for level.
awareness and skill development, etc.
ix) Lack of trained and qualified manpower to
7. Critical analysis of cyber security implement the counter measures. We have only
policy 5000 cyber security professionals, where as
China has around 5 lakh personnel.
i) The policy mainly covers defensive and
responsive measures and makes no mention of
the need to develop offensive capability. 8. Various steps taken in India

ii) The policy promises to develop a dynamic Institutional Measures (Also answer for
regulatory framework for technological steps to protect CII)
developments without explaining what this
framework would aim to do. i) National CII Protection Centre (NCIIPC) to
battle cyber security threats in strategic areas
iii) The policy avoids addressing privacy vs such as air control, nuclear and space.
security, censorship vs freedom of speech and
use of indigenous security products versus ii) National cyber coordination centre (NCCC)
importing vulnerable technology. generate situational awareness of cyber security
threats.
iii) National Cyber Security Coordinator (NCSC) xi) National Cybercrime Reporting Portal
coordinates with different agencies at national (NCRP) - Citizen centric initiative
level.

iv) A new Cyber and Information Security (CIS)

Division in MHA to tackle internet crimes. Cyber Legislative measures
Warrior Police force has also been
established. i) IT Act, 2000 (amended in 2008) to provide a
legal framework for transactions carried out by
v) Setting up of CERT-in in 2004 to enhance the means of electronic data interchange,for data
security through proactive action and effective access for cybersecurity etc.
collaboration. CERT-in is also operating Cyber ii) National Cyber Security Policy 2013.
Swachhta Kendra, a Botnet Cleaning and
Malware Analysis Centre to detect malicious International measures
programme & free tool to remove the same.
i) Budapest convention on cybercrime: Only
vi) Government inaugurated new body binding international instrument.
NIC-CERT to prevent and predict cyber-attacks ii) Paris call for cyber security.
on govt utilities. iii) Global centre for cyber security by WEF to
serve as laboratory and early-warning think tank
CERT-In Functions - for future cybersecurity scenarios.
i) Collection, dissemination & analysis of iv) Cyber diplomacy: India has entered into
information related to cyber attacks. cyber security collaborations with countries such
ii) Forecasting of cyber security incidents. as the USA, European Union and Malaysia.
iii) Coordination of cyber incident activities.
iv) Issuing guidelines & advisories relating to 9. Suggestions/ Way Ahead
cyber security space.
i) Govt must put in place necessary
vii) Cyber Surakshit Bharat Initiative to amendments to the existing laws to safeguard
strengthen cyber security ecosystem in India. It against the misuse of personal information by
is first PPP of its kind and will leverage the private/ public agencies.
expertise of the IT industry in cybersecurity. 6.
The MHA is implementing Cyber Crime ii) Increasing inter-state & inter-ministerial
Prevention against Women & Children scheme. coordination related cyber security issues.

viii) Cyber Appellate Tribunal under IT Act, 2002 iii) Cyber Sec education and R&D must be
made an integral part of National CS Strategy.
ix) Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre.
(I4C) by MHA to deal with all types of iv) Make it mandatory for all the govt & pvt org
cybercrimes in line with National Cyber Security to have a Chief Information Sec officers.
Policy, 2013.
v) We should raise a cyber command & build
x) Recent Cyber Volunteer Program (CVP) up offensive capabilities.
envisaged by I4C.
vi) Lobbying at intl level for harmonization of iii) Improving the police functioning in various
existing national laws to ensure deterrence for other areas such as law and order, curbing
cyber criminal and terrorists. organized crimes, resource management etc.

vii) India doesn’t have a separate law to deal iv) Facilitating collection, storage, retrieval,
with cyber crimes. (Currently deal under IT analysis and transfer and sharing of data and
Act, 2000) information among police station, district, state
headquarters and other agencies.
Cyber security is an important part of our life
today. Everything from national critical Initiatives
infrastructure to our basic human rights are
dependent on secure cyber world. Governments i) NCRB is implementing CCTNS which is a
are therefore urged to consider policies that mission mode project under NeGP.
support continued growth cyber security.
ii) NATGRID, NCTC, CMS are some of the
10. ICT and Police crucial initiatives.

i) The graph of appropriation of ICT by society in iii) Installations of CCTV and GPS trackers have
last two decades has been exponential. Along been quite successful in online monitoring.
with its benefits, ICT is also creating and
evolving and diversified sphere of crime in iv) Initiatives like Aarakshi of RJ & e-cops of
society. As India becomes more integrated with Andhra can be adopted in other states too.
world a number of factors are operating to make
traditional way of policing obsolete. But to realise full potential of ICT in crime
control some challenges like inadequate digital
ii) New forms like cybercrime, internationally infrastructure, lack of technical skills in
funded terrorism, international crime syndicates personnel, daily evolving nature of crimes need
are emerging. This makes it necessary that the to be wiped away as in addition to traditional
police should also evolve to keep pace with the crimes like mob violence, civil disturbance,
changing times. Some of the ICT tools that can terrorism, insurgency etc.
be incorporated into police works are use of
CCTV, RFID, e transport, e identification, online
verification and fingerprint readers, GPS
tracking, intelligent sensors etc. Money-laundering and its prevention

Tools Money laundering is the process by which large

amount of illegally obtained money, from drug
i) Providing the investigating officers with the trafficking, terrorist activity or other serious
tools, technology & information to facilitate crimes, is given the appearance of having
faster and more accurate investigation of crime originated from the legitimate source. It allows
and detection of criminals. the criminals to maintain control over their
proceeds.
ii) Online tracking of vulnerable as in case of Objective is to convert black money to legal
radicalisation by ISIS. money & conceal the illegal activity.
 iv) Nexus b/w bureaucrats, pol & criminals.
1. Stages of money laundering v) Improvement in e-communications &
unavailability of well trained officials to crack
Ist Stage: Placement - It refers to moving the down on ML.
funds from a direct association with the crime. It vi) Secrecy clauses in DTAA don’t allow these
involves initial entry of dirty cash into the countries to share information about companies.
financial system by avoiding detection by legal
authorities. This is the most vulnerable stage.
Tools for placement 3. Impact of money laundering
- Currency exchange
- Gambling i) The infiltration of illegitimate money into
- Purchasing of assets (cars/ property) financial sector can threaten economic and
- Repayment of loans/ credit cards political stability.
This is done by splitting large cash into smaller
sums or using other ways. ii) Economic crimes also have the potential of
adversely affecting other people who do not
2nd Stage: Layering- 2nd & most complex seem to be the victims of the crime. Eg. tax
stage. It often involves international movement evasion results in loss of government revenue,
of funds. Party may begin by moving money affecting potential to spend on dev schemes.
electronically from one country to another &
then investing back into the market’s abroad. iii) It can lead to creation of any artificial
This use of widely dispersed accounts for demands & hence inflation.
laundering is especially prevalent in those
countries that do not cooperate in Anti-ML iv) Organised crime can damage credibility of
investigations. financial institutions and make it look less
attractive for potential investors, thus making
3rd Stage: Integration- The final stage involves country lose investments.
integration of money into legitimate - economic
& financial system to make it extremely difficult v) Money laundered is often placed in what are
to distinguish b/w legal & illegal wealth. Eg. known as sterile investments, or investments
- Creating fake companies & false that generate little additional productivity.
loans in legitimate transactions.
- Property dealing vi) Launderers can offer bribes to public officials.
- Generation of false import & export This may have devastating social
invoices consequences.
- Complicity with foerign banks.
vii) It also provides fuel for drug dealers,
terrorists, illegal arms dealers, corrupt public
2. Causes of money laundering officials and all types of criminals to operate and
expand their criminal activities. Laundering
i) Poor tax administration (for DT & IDT) enables criminal activity to continue.
ii) For a long time, India didn’t have a special ML
dealing law. Thus, money laundering can not only lead to
iii) Level of corruption in India is high. economic offence but may also be a threat to
international peace and security.
4. Challenges in tackling ML 6. PMLA, 2012

i) Growth of Technology: The enforcement i) It introduced concept of corresponding law to

agencies are not able to match up with the link provisions of Indian law with laws of foreign
speed of growing technologies. countries.

ii) Non-fulfilment of purpose of KYC Norms: ii) It also adds the concept of reporting entity
Facilitating money launderers to make illicit use which would include a banking company, FI,
of cut throat competition in banks. intermediary or a person carrying on a
designated business or profession.
iii) Widespread act of smuggling: There are a
number of black market channels in India for the iii) The act has provided for provisional
purpose of selling goods. attachment and confiscation of property of
any person (for a period not exceeding 180
iv) Lack of convergence among separate days).
wings of law enforcement agencies dealing with
ML, cyber crimes, terrorist crimes, economic iv) It expands definition of offence under ML
offences etc to include activities like acquisition, possession
& use of proceeds of crime.
v) Tax-haven countries have long been
associated with ML because their financial PMLA, 2018
secrecy laws allow creation of anonymous
accounts while prohibiting the disclosure of i) It now allows ED to proceed against assets of
financial information. equivalent value located even outside country.

ii) Bail provisions: It also makes applicability of

5. Steps bail conditions uniform to all the offences under
PMLA.
i) India has criminalised ML under PMLA, 2002.
iii) Corporate frauds is being included as
ii) Also criminalised ML under Narcotic Drugs & scheduled offence under PMLA, so that
Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (NDPS Act). Registrar of Companies can report such cases
for action by ED for ML probe.
iii) Enforcement Directorate for investigation &
prosecution of cases under PMLA. iv) Details sharing: The amendment also
makes it mandatory for the ED to share relevant
iv) Financial Intelligence Unit – India details with other agencies.
(FIU-IND) for receiving, processing, analysing
and disseminating information relating to v) Restoration of property: The amendment
suspect financial transactions. allows special court to restore confiscated
assets to the rightful claimants even during the
v) KYC guidelines
trial. Earlier, the assets could be restored only ii) Proposed strengthening of Institutional
after completion of the trial. coordination b/w ED & other information
collecting & investigating agencies.

7. International level iii) Dedicated teams can be formed within

investigating agencies for speedy investigation
i) Vienna Convention 1988 was the 1st legal of cases related to terrorist activities.
instrument to enlist ML aspect of dealing with
drug trafficking. iv) The regional Economic intelligence
council can be used for increased coordination
ii) BASEL statement of principles, 1989 b/w investigation agencies.
guidelines for banks, federal agencies across
the world.
9. Participatory-notes
iii) FATF: An intergovernmental body
established by G7 summit in Paris in 1989 and P-Notes are instruments used by foreign
responsible for setting global standards on investors not registered with the SEBI to invest
anti-money laundering and combating financing in Indian securities. They are issued overseas
of terrorism. Blacklisting of countries by FATF. against underlying Indian securities (like
shares).
iv) OECD: Automatic Exchange of Financial
Information by many countries as part of the P-notes and money laundering
OECD initiative. i) P-Notes hides the identity of the investor.
According to the ‘White Paper’ on black money
iii) Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) (2012) prepared by central govt, a considerable
initiative, under which the countries have agreed portion of PNs are used by wealthy individuals
to take necessary measures. who uses it as a mechanism to channelize black
money kept in foreign countries to India.
iv) UN convention against illicit traffic to The Special Investigation Team (SIT) on black
combat drug trafficking organizations by money also recommended phasing out of P-N.
emphasising the attacking goal of all organised
crime. ii) In addition, SEBI has no jurisdiction over
P-note trading. Although FIIs must register with
v) UN convention against organised crime: It SEBI, the P-notes trading among FIIs are not
is designed to combat the phenomenon of registered, leading to concern that P-notes are
transnational organised crime. being used for money laundering.

vi) UN resolution 1373 after 9/11 attacks. SEBI measures to phase out p-notes

8. Recommendations by 2nd ARC i) SEBI barred their issuance for speculative

purposes from checking any misuse for
channelizing black money. So, P-Notes can be
i) Amendments to PMLA 2002 (made in 2012).
issued only for purpose of hedging
(safeguarding) wrt equity shares held.
ii) SEBI tightened P-Note norms by deciding to IONS was launched in 2008 under the aegis of
levy a fee of $1,000 on each instrument. It had the Indian Navy and consists of 32 nations,
increased KYC requirement. including 8 observer states.

iii) It also issued curbs on transferability, and i) It seeks to increase maritime cooperation
prescribed more stringent reporting for PNotes among navies of the littoral states of IOR by
issuers and holders. providing an open and inclusive forum for
discussion of regionally relevant maritime
iv) Also decided to relax the entry norms for issues.
FPIs willing to invest directly in Indian markets
rather than through P-Notes. ii) Other principle objectives of IONS were to
promote a shared understanding of maritime
v) It also mandated issuers to follow Indian issues facing the region, formulate strategies
anti-ML laws instead of norms prevalent in the and cooperative mechanisms to enhance
jurisdiction of the end beneficial owner. regional maritime security, and strengthen
capabilities to ensure speedy response to
requirements of Humanitarian Assistance and
10. Measures to stop fake currency Disaster Relief (HADR) in the IOR.

i) It is necessary to stay ahead of counterfeiters.

RBI needs to constantly upgrade both paper
based (water mark) & print based (optical 2. ASAT test (Anti-satellite missile)
variable ink, see through effect) security
features. India tested its first anti-satellite (ASAT) missile
as part of ‘Mission Shakti’. An anti-satellite
ii) Promote digital transactions and increase weapon is anything that destroys or physically
digitisation of economy. damages a satellite for strategic military
purposes. Only US, Russia, China, & now India
iii) Increase cooperation among law have demonstrated this capability successfully.
enforcement agencies, border security
agencies, police, etc. Mission Shakti is India’s response to the potent
case of future weaponisation of space, which
iv) External dependence on security paper and can disrupt critical infrastructure of the nation.
ink could be reduced by increasing indigenous
production. As most the paper is imported from Significance of Mission Shakti
EU, it can be asked to keep tight monitoring
over currency rated printing in Pakistan. a) India’s entry in the elite group of 4 countries.
b) Entire effort is indigenous.
Other Topics c) Addressed concerns of Space Debris. DRDO
has said that all the debris of India’s ASAT will
1. Indian Ocean Naval Symposium decay in 45 days.
d) Develops credible deterrence during war.
(IONS)
e) Did not invite international criticism and won’t
impact other strategic interests.
 v) India supports the substantive consideration
Space militarisation - It refers to the of the issue of Prevention of an Arms Race in
ecosystem of space systems that are utilised to Outer Space.
achieve military objectives. It involves strategic
planning, surveillance and telecommunication There is no global regulatory regime to address
as well as real time combat through placement the growing militarisation in space. There is a
and development of military technology in outer need of separation between civilian and military
space. use of outer space. The 21st century should
move towards peace and prosperity rather
Space weaponization - refers to more than conflicts and arms races.
aggressive & offensive use of space systems for
military purposes where outer space itself
emerges as the battleground and weapons are 3. Defence
placed and created in space that travel from
earth to attack or destroy targets in space. India is one of largest importers of conventional
defence equipment and spends about 31.1% of
i) China is making serious advances in its total defence budget on capital acquisitions.
weaponising the outer space creating the About 70% of its defence requirements are met
fourth frontier of war in space by making strides through imports.
in ICBM programme.
Why DPP is needed ?
ii) US President announced creation of a “space
force” or 6th branch of American armed forces. i) Complex & unique decision making is there eg
supplier constraints, foerign suppliers, high cost)
iii) With launch of GSAT-7, India officially placed ii) Shift focus on self reliance
its first military satellite in orbit and after iii) Streamlining & simplifying process (long
successful launch of Agni-V, India acquired gestation periods, delay in procurement) by swift
capabilities to take down enemy satellites in low decision making,
earth orbits. iv) Addressing the acquisition of high quality
equipment at low cost, in a short timeframe.
Is India entering into Arms race ? v) Define role for private sector

i) India has always maintained that space must DPP, 2020

be used only for peaceful purposes. India is
against the weaponization of Outer Space. i) Indigeneous content (IC) ratio hiked.

ii) India is a party to all the major international ii) New Category Buy (Global Manufacturer in
treaties relating to Outer Space. India) introduced with min 50% indigeneous
content on cost basis.
ii) India already implements a no of
Transparency & Confidence Building Measures. iii) Leasing introduced as a new category.

iv) India also supported UNGA resolution on No iv) New chapters like for procurement of
First Placement of Weapons on Outer Space. software, Post contract management etc
introduced.
Integrated Battle Groups (IBGs) 4. Mob-lynching/ Fake news

IBGs are brigade sized, agile, self-sufficient Reason for spread of fake news
combat formations who can swiftly launched
strikes against adversaries within 12-48 hrs. Will i) Faster spread of Information: Social media
help in implementing Cold Start Doctrine - allows super quick spread of fake news.
envisages swift deployment on western border
of situation of a full blown war arises. ii) No regulator for social media: The New Media
is not investing enough in fact checking.
Other policies
iii) Time consuming process to trace fake news:
i) Strategic Partnership Policy: Under this, an Studies have shown that correcting and/or
Indian pvt company would be selected in each debunking a piece of fake news/dangerous
segment which would tie up with shortlisted rumour online takes an average of 12 hours.
global Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM)
to manufacture the platforms in India under iv) End to end encryption: Whatsapp platform is
technology transfer. encrypted end-to-end at the device level thus all
data is stored on the device and not on servers.
ii) FDI Policy revised to allow under automatic This further creates the problem in tracking the
route upto 49% & beyond 49% through Govt originator of the message.
route.
v) Behavioural issues: Studies have
iii) Govt is establishing two Defence Industrial demonstrated that people tend to circulate
Corridors (UP & TN). falsities far faster than facts, especially if such
false information conforms to users’ biases.
iv) Launch of ‘Mission Raksha Gyan Shakti’
which aims to provide boost to the IPR culture in vi) Socio-political reasons: The lynching is also
indigenous defence industry. a result of disrespect for an inclusive social
order, rising intolerance and growing
v) Defence Investor Cell has been created in the polarisation.
Ministry to provide all necessary information
required for investment in the sector. Thus hate crimes is a product of intolerance,
Developing an indigenous defence manf. ideological dominance, role of bigotry,
industry has strategic, economic & social non-acceptance of plurality and diversity in
advantages. India needs to pursue the idea of creating an atmosphere where human beings
indigenisation with strong commitment. are dehumanised.

Integrated Air Defence Weapon System Challenges due to fake news

(IADWS)
i) Weakens democracy
Also called as National Advanced Surface to Air ii) Affect choices & behaviors
Missile system (NASAMS - II) is a combination iii) Threat of infodemic (Overabundance)
of different weapons. It will be a part of iv) Give rise to various crimes - communal riots,
Multi-layer missile shield over NCT, Delhi. mob lynching, mass hysteria.
v) Infringement on citizen’s right to unbiased &
truthful news & reports. 5. Epidemics & National Security
vi) Affecting the economy at large. Eg Poultry &
Seafood sector in COVID-19 How Epidemics threaten National Security
vii) Spread hate & mistrust - reinforcing existing
prejudices. i) Can trigger a violent conflict - social
viii) Influences mainstream information destabilisation. Eg. AIDS triggered violence in
dissemination mechanism Sub-saharan Africa
ix) Lone Wolf attacks.
ii) Biological weapons
Steps that need to be taken
iii) Affect bilateral relations. Eg. Disputes
i) Role of police: Swift response from police. during MERS outbreak b/w India & middle
Community policing & other ways of intelligence -east countries regarding Indian diaspora.
gathering.
iv) Human Security
ii) Role of enforcement authorities: Similarly,
enforcement agencies need to develop standard Independent Institutional mechanism would
operating protocols to tackle such situations. be a better solution as mislabelling everything
as security threat have risk of losing “National
iii) Role of local authorities: The district Security” word’s analytical usefulness.
administrations & gram panchayats should be
asked to reach out to locals to persuade them
against falling for rumours and to come to the
authorities if they have any fears.

iv) Creating deterrence: There is a need to

instill fear of the law in lynch mobs.

v) Mass awareness campaigns and outreach

is needed in communities.

vi) Media literacy: The government needs to

invest much more resources into education of
children and adults alike, in media literacy.

vii) Posting counter-videos: The one of the

method to check fake news is to post
counter-videos clarifying the actual position, the
other is to register the offences Eg PIB fact
check, Official chatbot on whatsapp.

viii) Localisation of data: The govt should also

ask the social media giants to establish and
install servers in India.