Agencies related with intelligence:
- Intelligence Bureau(IB)
- National Investigation Agency (NIA)
- Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI)
- Economic Intelligence Agency
- Enforcement Directorate.
Need for A Unified Structure dealing with Terrorism
The paradigm shift in the nature of the security challenges facing the country lends urgency to the need for reforms in country’s intelligence apparatus. There is need to remove the deficiencies within the system.
A similar body in USA deals only with strategic planning and integration of intelligence without any operational involvement. In case of UK’s Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre, which too plays a purely coordinating role. However the proposed structure in India’s case will have not only intelligence functions but also powers to conduct operations, raids and arrests in any part of India.
Why needed:
- Improve coordination between Intelligence Agencies.
- To fix accountability for the lapse.
- Ensure better oversight.
- To Remove overlaps and duplications.
- End “turf-wars“. It is important to prevent confusion regarding intelligence inputs and also ensure that none of the police forces from the states enter into a “blame game” regarding intelligence sharing as one got to see during the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai.
- To ensure better utilisation of National Resources.
Taking into account the above reasons many experts have suggested to set-up a central anti-terror mechanism placing intelligence and investigation wings under a single command.
Concerns regarding proposed unified Structure
- Need for a dedicated agency to deal with specific cases as threat posed by organised terrorist organisation is very different from threat posed by Naxalites.
- IB fears that under such system safety of its field officers and secrecy of covert operations would be jeopardized.
Conclusion
- The Indian intelligence system did not evolve out of any detailed and well thought out administrative policy, but emerged as an extension of the Indian police system due to a “Need Driven” colonial and postcolonial decision making process, designed to meet the requirements of maintaining law and order and internal security.
- Hence, there is need of comprehensive reforms which takes into account the varying nature of internal security challenges and does not affect the federal structure of the country as mandated by the constitution.