Security forces & agencies

India has faced terrorism in nearly every form — cross-border, separatist, left-wing and urban — making it one of the democracies most affected by terror.

Manifestations in India

• Cross-border, state-sponsored terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir: the Pahalgam attack of 22 April 2025 killed 26 people, mostly tourists.
• Radicalisation and modules: online recruitment, ISIS-inspired cells and IED plots in the hinterland; lone actors are hard to detect.
• Narco-terror and financing: drones dropping arms and drugs across the Punjab border, hawala, fake currency and crypto-assets.
• Insurgency-linked violence in parts of the North-East and Maoist violence in central India, now sharply reduced.

Counter-measures by the State

• Legal: UAPA, amended in 2019 to designate individuals as terrorists; PMLA against terror finance; the NIA Act amendment (2019) widening the agency's reach.
• Institutional: NIA, the Multi-Agency Centre for intelligence sharing, NATGRID, regional NSG hubs and State anti-terror squads.
• Operational: intelligence-led operations, border fencing and surveillance; Operation Sindoor (7 May 2025) struck nine terror sites across the border after Pahalgam.
• Diplomatic and social: FATF pressure on terror financing, UN listings, the 'No Money for Terror' conferences, deradicalisation and community policing.

Zero tolerance must pair hard security with intelligence, financial tracking and social resilience — and the global legal consensus on terrorism that India has long sought.

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Nearly 95% of India's trade by volume and about 70% by value moves by sea — the sea lanes of the Indian Ocean are the arteries of the economy, and their security is a national interest, not only a naval task.

Why maritime security is vital

• Energy and trade lifelines: crude, LNG and container traffic pass chokepoints — Hormuz, Bab-el-Mandeb, Malacca — where disruption raises freight and insurance costs, as the Red Sea crisis showed.
• Ports and the blue economy: shipping, shipbuilding, fisheries and offshore energy depend on secure waters along a long coastline and island chains.
• Strategic weight: a secure Indian Ocean underpins India's role as a net security provider and its Indo-Pacific partnerships.

Maritime and coastal challenges

• Non-traditional: piracy off Somalia, attacks on merchant ships, illegal and unreported fishing, and drug and arms smuggling by sea.
• Strategic: growing extra-regional naval presence, dual-use ports and research vessels in the Indian Ocean, and grey-zone tactics.
• Coastal: seaborne infiltration as in 26/11, lakhs of small fishing boats to track, and coordination among the Navy, Coast Guard, marine police and customs.
• Climate and disaster: cyclones, sea-level rise and oil spills threaten ports and coastal communities.
• Cyber and infrastructure: port systems and undersea cables are new targets.

Way forward

• Institutions: the coastal radar chain, transponders on fishing boats, the Information Fusion Centre–Indian Ocean Region at Gurugram, the National Maritime Security Coordinator and stronger marine police with joint exercises.
• Capacity: a blue-water navy with indigenous shipbuilding, deep-water ports, the Andaman and Nicobar Command as a forward post, and maritime domain awareness through satellites and drones.
• Partnerships: SAGAR and MAHASAGAR, IORA, the Quad's maritime initiatives, the Colombo Security Conclave and coordinated patrols with neighbours.
• Resilience: climate-proof ports, oil-spill response and community-based coastal watch through fishing communities.

A secure Indian Ocean is the precondition for India's growth; integrated maritime governance and partnerships can make India the region's preferred security partner.

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India's internal security is tested from within and across its borders, by terrorism, insurgency, extremism, organised crime and cyber attacks, so intelligence and investigation must work as one chain.

Internal security challenges

• Cross-border terrorism and infiltration in Jammu and Kashmir, sustained by external support.
• Left-wing extremism in central India and insurgency in parts of the North-East.
• Communal and caste violence, and online radicalisation.
• Emerging: cyber attacks on critical infrastructure, drug trafficking and narco-terror, terror financing and fake currency, and drone and maritime threats.

Central intelligence agencies

• Intelligence Bureau: domestic intelligence and counter-terrorism, tracking modules and radical networks.
• Research and Analysis Wing: external intelligence on threats that originate abroad.
• NTRO: technical intelligence, including satellite and cyber monitoring.
• FIU-IND: financial intelligence on suspicious transactions that fund terror and crime.

Central investigative agencies

• NIA: investigates and prosecutes terror and related offences across states.
• CBI: corruption and serious crime with inter-state or international ramifications.
• ED: money laundering under PMLA and foreign-exchange offences.
• NCB: narcotics trafficking, including its narco-terror links.
• CERT-In and the Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C): incident response and coordination against cyber crime.

Coordination

• The Multi Agency Centre pools intelligence from central and state agencies; NATGRID links databases; state Special Branches and police remain the first responders.

Gaps

• Overlapping mandates, weak Centre-State coordination, no statutory basis or parliamentary oversight for the intelligence agencies, and limited cyber capacity.

Statutory clarity, Centre-State and inter-agency coordination and modern technical capacity would turn many agencies into one seamless security response.

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With a long coastline, island territories and busy sea lanes, India faces threats from the sea that range from terrorism to piracy and illegal fishing; the 26/11 attack exposed how thin coastal security was.

Maritime security challenges

• Threats: sea-borne terrorism as on 26/11, piracy, smuggling of arms, drugs and people, and illegal fishing and migration.
• Strategic: maritime boundary disputes and a growing extra-regional naval presence in the Indian Ocean.
• Vulnerabilities: ports and offshore assets, cyber attacks on port systems, oil spills and marine disasters.

Organisational initiatives

• A three-tier structure: the Navy leads overall maritime security, the Coast Guard covers coastal waters and Marine Police the shallows, coordinated by the National Committee for Strengthening Maritime and Coastal Security and joint operations centres.

Technical initiatives

• A coastal radar chain, AIS transponders and vessel tracking, the National Command Control Communication and Intelligence network, and the Information Fusion Centre for the Indian Ocean Region.

Procedural initiatives

• Identity cards for fishermen and registration of boats, coastal security exercises such as Sea Vigil and Sagar Kavach, ISPS Code security at ports and information-sharing protocols among agencies.
• Regional: the SAGAR vision, joint patrols and anti-piracy cooperation with Indian Ocean partners.

Gaps remain in manpower, coordination among many agencies and asset maintenance; seamless intelligence sharing, well-equipped State marine police and fishing communities as the eyes of the coast are the weakest links to fix.

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Naxalism thrives where poverty, land and forest grievances and weak governance meet; the violence is the symptom, so the response must go beyond policing.

Emerging issues

• Root causes persist: tribal alienation, displacement for mines and dams, unimplemented forest and land rights, poor services and exploitation by contractors and officials.
• Shrinking but entrenched: only 46 districts reported LWE violence in 2021 against 96 in 2010 (MHA), yet a hard core in areas such as Dandakaranya and Jharkhand still uses forest terrain and IEDs to inflict losses on security forces.
• Finance and support: extortion of contractors and mining interests funds the movement, and urban support networks supply ideology and logistics.
• Rights concerns: operations that harm civilians or misuse the law deepen alienation and feed the insurgents' narrative.

A multilayered strategy

• Security layer: intelligence-led joint operations by State and central forces, better-trained and equipped State police, fortified posts and the SAMADHAN principles, including actionable intelligence, technology and cutting access to finance.
• Development layer: roads, mobile connectivity, schools, health and banking in affected districts, with the Aspirational Districts programme and central assistance for LWE areas.
• Rights and governance layer: implement the Forest Rights Act and PESA, fair land acquisition and rehabilitation, accountable local administration and quick redress of tribal grievances.
• Outreach layer: dialogue, an attractive surrender and rehabilitation policy, community policing and counter-narrative, and choking the flow of funds and arms.

Sustained security pressure, visible development and rights delivery, and the trust of local communities together can end the movement's appeal.

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The S-400 Triumf is Russia's long-range surface-to-air missile system; India contracted five squadrons in October 2018 to shield its western and northern fronts.

What gives it the edge

• Layered reach: one system fires four missile types for different bands, the longest reaching about 400 km, so it covers short, medium and long-range threats together.
• Multi-role: it engages combat aircraft, cruise missiles, drones and tactical ballistic missiles through a single network of radars, command posts and launchers.
• Sensors: long-range surveillance and engagement radars track many targets at once.
• Mobility: road-mobile launchers and radars redeploy quickly, so they are hard to target pre-emptively.
• Against peers: Patriot has shorter reach and THAAD is built mainly for ballistic missiles; the S-400's mix of range and roles in one package is its distinction.

Testing the claim

• "Superior to every other system" is a claim, not a record: performance against stealth aircraft, saturation attacks and electronic warfare is untested in combat.
• No single system can seal the sky; for India the deal also carries CAATSA sanction risk and dependence on Russian supply.
• It works best layered with indigenous air and missile defence and an integrated radar network.

The S-400 is among the most capable long-range air-defence systems, but India's security lies in layering it with indigenous systems and networked sensors, not in any single purchase.

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Left-wing extremism (LWE) has taken root in the forested, mineral-rich tribal belts of Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Bihar and West Bengal, where the State arrived late and thinly and grievances found an armed outlet.

Determinants

• Land and forest: displacement by mining, dams and industry with poor rehabilitation, alienation of tribal land, and weak recognition of forest rights.
• Development deficit: poverty, thin schools, health care, roads and mobile connectivity, youth unemployment, and exploitation by contractors and moneylenders.
• Governance gaps: absent or corrupt local administration, weak policing, and poor implementation of PESA, 1996 and the Forest Rights Act, 2006.
• Terrain and tactics: dense forests and hills give cover; extremists extort, coerce and exploit grievances, and slip across state borders.

Strategy: Government of India

• Fund and coordinate: special central assistance to the worst-hit districts, roads and mobile towers, and a unified command with the states; the SAMADHAN doctrine (2017) sets the security frame.

Strategy: civil administration

• Reach every village: schools, health centres, skilling and financial inclusion; full application of PESA and the Forest Rights Act; fair rehabilitation before projects; and grievance redress that works.

Strategy: security forces

• Hold ground: coordinated operations by CAPFs and state police, intelligence sharing, fortified police stations, technology, and strict respect for rights so that operations do not create new recruits.
• Surrender and rehabilitation schemes that offer a way out, and community outreach that builds trust.

Security operations create the space, but lasting peace comes from land and forest rights, roads, schools and responsive local governance.

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India's western, eastern and north-eastern land borders pose different threats: cross-border terrorism and narcotics in the west, illegal migration and smuggling in the east, and insurgent sanctuaries and drugs in the north-east. Each needs a different guard.

Pakistan border and the LoC

• Infiltration of terrorists across the LoC under cover of ceasefire violations; arms, narcotics and fake currency smuggled across the international border, including by drones and tunnels.
• Narcotics money and hawala feed terror networks and the criminals who move their logistics.

Bangladesh border

• Illegal migration, cattle and goods smuggling, human trafficking and fake currency, exploited by criminal networks along unfenced and riverine stretches.

Myanmar border

• Insurgent camps and cross-border movement of militants, arms trafficking, and drugs from the Golden Triangle, with misuse of the free movement arrangement for locals.

Common threads

• Smuggling, hawala and narcotics finance terror and insurgent groups, and criminal networks lend them logistics; porous terrain and demographic change add to the strain.

Role of the security forces

• Army: holds the LoC, counters infiltration and works with the police in the hinterland.
• BSF: guards the international borders with Pakistan and Bangladesh, checks smuggling and illegal crossing, and runs border outposts, fencing and floodlighting.
• Assam Rifles: guards the Myanmar border and fights insurgency in the north-east.
• Support: state police, the Intelligence Bureau, NIA, NCB and customs share intelligence and investigate; force-level talks with neighbours help coordination.
• Measures and gaps: fencing, floodlighting, the CIBMS technology pilot, integrated check posts and border roads help, but unfenced terrain, manpower shortfalls, drones and overlapping roles remain.

Each border needs its own mix of fencing, technology, intelligence and local goodwill, with clear command and coordination among the forces that guard it.

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In 2019 Parliament amended the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 and the NIA Act, 2008, allowing the Centre to designate individuals as terrorists and widening the National Investigation Agency's reach.

What changed

• UAPA: the Centre can notify individuals, not only organisations, as terrorists; a person so named may seek de-notification from the Government and then a Review Committee.
• Investigation and property: NIA officers of Inspector rank can investigate UAPA cases, and the NIA Director-General, rather than the State police chief, approves attachment of property in NIA cases.
• NIA Act: the schedule adds human trafficking, counterfeit currency, prohibited arms, cyber-terrorism and explosives offences, and the agency can probe offences abroad against Indians or India's interests.

Why now: the security environment

• Banned groups reappear under new names, online-radicalised individuals act alone, and the UN already lists individuals, as with Masood Azhar in May 2019; Indian law had no equivalent tool.
• Security case: quicker action against leaders, financiers and ideologues, stronger asset attachment, and one specialist agency for terror-linked trafficking, fake currency and cyber crime.

Why human-rights groups oppose the UAPA

• Designation by executive order, without trial or independent review, harms reputation and liberty before guilt is proved; vague terms open the law to misuse against dissent, risking Articles 14, 19 and 21.
• Section 43D makes bail hard, so undertrials spend years in custody while conviction rates stay low; the NIA's expanded reach cuts into the States' police powers.

The amendments aim at a faster, more national response to terror; their legitimacy will rest on safeguards, clear criteria, independent review and judicial oversight, so that the law targets terrorists and not dissent.

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Police and public order are State subjects, so the Centre supplements the affected States through an integrated approach that pairs security with development and good governance, set out in the National Policy and Action Plan of 2015.

Security

• Central Armed Police Forces and India Reserve battalions, reimbursement of States' costs under the Security Related Expenditure scheme, police modernisation, helicopters, intelligence-sharing and inter-State coordination.
• SAMADHAN (2017): a doctrine spanning smart leadership, aggressive strategy, actionable intelligence, technology and choking Maoist finances.

Development

• Roads and telecom towers in affected districts, skill development, and Special Central Assistance for critical infrastructure in the worst-affected districts; the Aspirational Districts programme adds focus.

Rights and entitlements

• Implementing the Forest Rights Act, 2006 and PESA, 1996 in Scheduled Areas, and better delivery of MGNREGA, the public distribution system and schooling, to remove the grievances Maoists exploit.

Outreach

• Surrender and rehabilitation policies, counter-propaganda, and trust-building with alienated tribal communities.

Remaining challenges

• Uneven governance, land alienation and displacement, and weak coordination among States; the Home Ministry itself calls the approach holistic because force alone cannot end extremism.

Security clears the space and development and rights must fill it; the downward trend will hold only if governance reaches the last village.

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India shares over 15,000 km of land border with seven neighbours, including 4,097 km with Bangladesh, 3,488 km with China and 3,323 km with Pakistan, plus a coastline of over 7,500 km; each stretch mixes hard terrain with hard politics.

Challenges

• Terrain: Himalayan heights and glaciers, the Thar desert, the Rann's marshes and creeks, the riverine Sundarbans and the forested north-eastern hills make fencing, patrolling and surveillance costly and porous.
• Hostile and unsettled borders: infiltration and ceasefire violations on the Line of Control, an undemarcated Line of Actual Control, and porous borders with Bangladesh and Myanmar; the 2008 Mumbai attack came by sea.
• Cross-border crime: terrorism, arms, drugs from the Golden Crescent and Golden Triangle, fake currency, cattle and human trafficking, illegal migration and insurgent camps across the Myanmar border.
• Institutional gaps: overlapping roles of several forces, weak intelligence sharing, thin roads and manpower, and slow land acquisition for fences.

Strategies

• One border, one force: BSF on the Pakistan and Bangladesh borders, ITBP on China, SSB on Nepal and Bhutan, Assam Rifles on Myanmar, and the Coast Guard with marine police at sea, each with clear accountability.
• Infrastructure and technology: fencing, floodlighting, outposts, roads and integrated check posts, with sensors, radars, thermal imagers and drones for riverine gaps where fencing fails.
• Intelligence and coordination: joint intelligence through the Multi-Agency Centre, coastal radar chains and transponders on fishing boats, and terrain-specific training.
• People: the Border Area Development Programme for roads, health and schools, so border villagers become the eyes and ears of security forces.
• Diplomacy: settle boundaries, as the Land Boundary Agreement with Bangladesh did (1974 agreement, 2011 protocol, implemented in 2015), and institutionalise border-guard talks and coordinated patrols with China and Myanmar.

Effective border management combines clear command, technology and infrastructure with development of border areas and steady diplomacy that turns hostile borders into managed ones.

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