In its recently released Annual Report 2020-21, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) stated that the country’s internal security was “under control” in 2020. The MHA noted in the study that the country’s internal security concerns can be broadly classified as terrorism in the country’s hinterland, Left Wing Extremism (LWE) or Naxalism or Maoism in specific places, insurgency in the North Eastern (NE) states, and cross-border terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir.
It is worth noting that the Indian government places a high priority on improving internal security. The main “priority on the internal security front remained on battling terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir, improving the security scenario in the Northeastern states, combating Left Wing Extremism, and sustaining peace in the country’s hinterland,” according to the report.
The Ministry stated that because state police forces are the first responders to any terrorist incident, the Central Government builds the capacity of these state forces through regular training in the areas of intelligence gathering, response to terror occurrences, and investigation.
As per the report, the names of terrorist organizations or individuals, involved in terrorism are listed in the First Schedule and Fourth Schedule of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 respectively, and that the Central Government has declared “42 organizations and 31 individuals as terrorist organizations and individual terrorists respectively till December 2020”.
The MHA also actively participated in Joint Working Group Meetings on Counter-Terrorism with other countries such as BRICS member states and the United States of America, according to the report.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) was established by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) Act of 2008 as a special agency for the investigation and prosecution of acts defined in the NIA Act’s Schedule, according to the report.
The NIA is also the principal investigation agency at the federal level for terrorist-related matters, including terrorism finance charges, according to the statement. “Since its founding, the NIA has registered 363 instances (59 cases in 2020 till December 31, 2020), of which 286 have been charged.A trial has concluded in 69 cases, of which 63 cases have resulted in a conviction.”
