Analyse the multidimensional challenges posed by external state and non-state actors, to the internal security of India. Also discuss measures required to be taken to combat these threats.
Approach · directive: “analyse / discuss”
What it asks · Analyse the state and non-state threats from outside to India's internal security across military, economic, cyber, social and coastal dimensions, and suggest measures.
The question has 3 parts — answer each
- Analyse the multidimensional challenges from external state actors to India's internal security
- Analyse the challenges from external non-state actors
- Discuss the measures required to combat these threats
Open with · Hostile states and non-state groups operating from outside India use proxies, crime and information to threaten security without a formal war.
Cover
- State actors: proxy war, cross-border terrorism, arms and narcotics smuggling, fake currency, infiltration, cyber attacks and disinformation to weaken India.
- Non-state actors: terror groups such as Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed, insurgent outfits with sanctuaries abroad, drug cartels and radical online networks.
- Dimensions: border and military (drones, tunnels, face-offs), economic (counterfeit currency, terror funding), cyber and information, social (radicalisation) and coastal.
- Enablers: porous and difficult borders, coastal vulnerability, gaps in local intelligence, social-media narratives and safe havens abroad.
- Border and coast: fencing, surveillance and the Comprehensive Integrated Border Management System, coastal security, and intelligence sharing between Centre and States.
- Legal and financial: UAPA and NIA Act amended in 2019, FATF-aligned action on terror financing, curbs on counterfeit currency, and cyber monitoring.
- Diplomatic and developmental: isolate sponsors at the UN and FATF, partner with friendly states, keep credible deterrence, and develop border and insurgency-affected areas.
Close with · A coordinated mix of secure borders, agile intelligence, firm laws and diplomacy, along with inclusive development, is the answer.
Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2021, GS Paper III — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·
Model answer · 266 words (UPSC limit 250) · Minimalist IAS
India's internal security is increasingly shaped from outside: hostile states act through proxies and non-state networks to inflict harm below the threshold of war, across military, economic, cyber, social and coastal dimensions.
Challenges from external state actors
- Proxy war: sponsorship of cross-border terrorism and infiltration, tunnels under the border and drones dropping arms and narcotics.
- Economic subversion: counterfeit currency, narcotics and terror financing through hawala networks.
- Cyber and information: state-linked attacks on infrastructure and disinformation aimed at communal, caste and regional fault lines.
- Military pressure: border face-offs that tie down forces and embolden insurgents with sanctuaries across the frontier.
Challenges from non-state actors
- Terror groups such as Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed, and insurgent outfits with camps abroad, mount attacks and recruit locally.
- Drug cartels and arms smugglers fund and equip violence; coastal routes remain vulnerable, as the 2008 Mumbai attack showed.
- Radical online networks spread propaganda and recruit youth, giving external actors a foothold within society.
Enablers
- Porous and difficult borders, coastal gaps, weak local intelligence, social-media narratives and safe havens abroad.
Measures required
- Borders and coast: fencing, surveillance and the Comprehensive Integrated Border Management System; layered coastal security; intelligence sharing between the Centre and States.
- Legal and financial: UAPA and NIA Act amended in 2019, FATF-aligned action on terror financing, curbs on counterfeit currency and cyber monitoring.
- Diplomatic: isolate sponsors at the UN and FATF, partner with friendly states and maintain credible deterrence.
- Social and developmental: develop border and insurgency-affected areas, counter radicalisation online and through community policing.
Secure borders, agile intelligence, firm laws and diplomacy, combined with inclusive development, are the answer; none works alone.
Written by Minimalist IAS from facts checked at source (how we verify). UPSC publishes no model answers: compare your structure and coverage with this, then write your own.