UPSC Community Blog

Issues Concerning Police Forces: Colonial Legacy : The Police Act of 1861 was legislated by the British right after the revolt of 1857 to bring in efficient administration of police in the country and to prevent any future revolts – Repressive, Draconion This meant that the police were to always comply with those in power. Accountability to the Political Executives vs Operational Freedom: The Second Administrative Reforms Commission (ARC-2007) has noted that political control has been abused in the past by the political executive to unduly influence police personnel , and have them serve personal or political interests. Psychological Pressure : While improvements in pay scale and promotions are necessary aspects of police reforms, little has been spoken about reforms needed at the psychological level. In the Indian police force, the lower ranks of police personnel are often verbally abused by their superiors or they work in inhuman conditions, 15-hour Duty; No proper Leave, Week-Off Us...

A reincarnation of the British-era legislation that was enacted to quell the protests during the Quit India movement , the AFSPA was issued by way of four ordinances in 1947. The ordinances were replaced by an Act in 1948 and the present law effective in the Northeast was introduced in Parliament in 1958 by the then Home Minister, G.B. Pant. It was known initially as the Armed Forces (Assam and Manipur) Special Powers Act, 1958. After the States of Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram, and Nagaland came into being, the Act was adapted to apply to these States as well. Jammu and Kashmir has a separate J&K Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1990. About The ASFPA gives unfettered powers to the armed forces and the Central armed police forces deployed in “disturbed areas” to kill anyone acting in contravention of law and arrest and search any premises without a warrant and with protection from prosecution and legal suits. (Ministry of Home Affairs & State Governor declare as dist...

Women comprise only 3.8% of the army - compared to 13% of the air force and (First time allow in Combat Role) 6% of the navy. The Army, Air Force and Navy began inducting women as short-service commission (SSC ) officers in 1992. This was the first time when women were allowed to join the military outside the medical stream. One of the turning points for women in the military came in 2015 when Indian Air Force (IAF) decided to induct them into the fighter stream. In 2020, the Supreme Court (SC) ordered the central government to grant permanent commission (PC) to women officers in the Army's non-combat support units on par with their male counterparts. The SC had rejected the government’s stand of women officer’s physiological limitations as being based on "sex stereotypes" and "gender discrimination against women. Women officers have been granted PC in the Indian Army in all the ten branches where women are inducted for SSC. ( Short Service Commission (SSC), in the ...

  Integrated Theatre Command An integrated theatre command envisages a unified command of the three Services , under a single commander, for geographical theatres that are of security concern. (Ex: Kashmir theatre, Punjab theatre, Tamilnadu Theatre etc… Each theatre contains 200 soldiers (Army, Navy & Air force) with one commanding officer reporting to CDS). In India Andaman only having Integrated theatre command, having Army, Navy & Air force. Favour Large Size: Unique problem in each command. A composite and cohesive whole : Enmeshing the three Services together at different levels and placing them under one commander for execution of operational plans. Efficacy and Efficiency against the enemy : The integrated theatre commander will not be answerable to individual Services . Officer will be free to train, equip and exercise his command to make it a cohesive fighting force. The logistic resources required to support his operations will also be placed at the disposal of th...

  National Security Advisor A senior official on the National Security Council of India, and the chief adviser to the Prime Minister of India on national security policy and international affairs. NSA has the same rank as a Union Cabinet Minister. The post has high vested powers, so the NSA is a highly prominent and powerful office in the Government of India. All NSAs appointed since the inception of the post in 1998 belong to the either Indian Foreign Service or to the Indian Police Service, and serve at the discretion of the Prime Minister of India. The National Security Advisor (NSA) is tasked with regularly advising the Prime Minister of India on all matters relating to internal and external threats and opportunities to India, and Oversees strategic and sensitive issues on behalf of the Prime Minister . The NSA of India also serves as the Prime Minister's Special Interlocutor with China as well as the envoy to Pakistan and Israel on security affairs. The NSA receives all intell...

  Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) It is the apex body for executive action on matters of national security. CCS is responsible for Political oversight and decision making on national security ensuring the democratic principle of civilian and political control of the apparatus. The composition of the CCS is Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi – Chairperson Minister of Defence - Rajnath Singh. Minister of Home Affairs - Amit Shah. Minister of Finance - Nirmala Sitharaman Minister of External Affairs - Subrahmanyam Jaishankar The National Security Adviser , the Cabinet Secretary and the Defence Secretary have also been attendees of the CCS meetings. National Security Council It is an executive government agency tasked with advising the Prime Minister's Office on matters of national security and strategic interest . It was established by the former Prime Minister of India Atal Bihari Vajpayee on 19 November 1998, with Brajesh Mishra as the first National Security Advisor. Prior t...

Prime Minister Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) – Regulating & Make law, any decision among Security headed by PM. National Security Council (Advisory to CCS). Strategic Policy Group (Headed by cabinet secretary). Nuclear Command Authority (Executive advice Political Council). Strategic Forces Command (Headed by Military General. Implement of Nuclear Command Authority order). Ministry of Defence Indian Army Indian Navy Indian Air Force National Coast Guard (Paramilitary). Central Armed Police Forces Border Security Force (BSF) Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) – Physical security of Critical Infrastructure & also personal Bodyguard. Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) Indo-Tibetan Border Police Force (ITBP) Sashatra Seema Bal (SSB) Assam Rifles National Security Guard (NSG) – Immediate command Activity (Ex: Highjack) Paramilitary Special Protection Group (SPG) Rapid Action Force (Riot & Crowd Control) . COBRA - CO mmando B attalion for R esolute A ction . (Command...

Communication networks are a part of Critical Information Infrastructure (CII) and are crucial for the connectivity of other critical infrastructure, viz. Energy; Transportation (air, surface, rail & water); Banking & Finance; Telecommunication; Defence; Space & Satellite; Law enforcement, security & intelligence; Sensitive Government Organisations ; Public Health; Water supply; Critical manufacturing; E-Governance (Aadhar, IRCTC, Power Grid) etc. Threats to communication networks can be both through the network as well as to the network. The cyber-attacks coordinated from remote locations have potential to compromise these communication networks and disrupt critical infrastructure which depends on them. In India, where various threats are already present in the form of terrorism, insurgency, naxalism, hostile nations etc., the protection of communication network pose significant challenges to internal security. Critical Infrastructure (CI) - “ Those facilities, systems...

Patrol and Monitor the social media regularly – Special Cell for Social Media Coordination with social media service providers – Response for removal of posts; Identity of users. Protocols for information gathering – Privacy & Puttaswamy Case. SOP to response to the grievance of social media posts (Reports & Flags). In Germany, social networks  could pay up to $60 million in fines  if hate speech isn‘t removed within 24 hours. Round the clock monitoring of social media. National policy on social media must be developed  – 3 tier mechanism & Code of conduct released. A proper data protection law with an effective enforcement mechanism would ensure recognition for India as a trustworthy global destination for  data-based businesses and privacy-conscious consumers while also protecting the Right to Privacy of the people in India. Cyber law provisions need to be revised  as the current approach of the Indian law is very narrow. International agreements...

Security and law enforcement agencies can use social media platforms in the following ways for internal security to use data available freely on social media platforms to gauge the mood of citizens on issues , predict patterns and possible flash points of disturbances , and prevent and react to cyber-crimes. to build actionable intelligence which may support human intelligence efforts which could be shared across agencies, with built in safeguards to ensure that there is no encroaching upon the privacy of citizens. Warning and Trend Prevision Tool: The ability to forestall future strategic and tactica l contexts is of paramount importance in order to reduce the possibilities to be caught by surprise by threats and increase the resilience to them. Institutional Communication Tool. Influence, Propaganda and Deception Tool. The use of Social Media allows not only to communicate, share or capture information, analyse socio-political dynamics and anticipate economic-financial trend, but als...

Social Media and Social Networks in actual terms differ as Social Media is a communication channel that transmits information to a wide audience and is usually a one-way street (One to Many). While Social Networks facilitate the act of engagement between likeminded people, groups or communities. (Group of people come together). Participation: Social media encourages contributions and feedback from everyone who is interested. It blurs the line between media and audience. Openness: Most social media services are open to feedback and participation . They encourage voting, comments and the sharing of information. Conversation: Whereas traditional media is about “broadcast” (content transmitted or distributed to an audience) social media is better seen as a two-way conversation. Community: Social media allows communities to form quickly and communicate effectively, sharing common interests. Connectedness : Most kinds of social media thrive on their connectedness , making use of links to ot...

  India's National Security Issues and Indian Media Record: India's Nuclear Weapons Test 1998 : The Indian media went berserk in politicising the issue. It chimed that there were no national security threats in evidence justifying it. Within seven months the Kargil War took place. Pakistani Proxy War in J&K : The media has been totally irresponsible. India's strategic sensitivities are constantly ignored and there is a competition to adopt extreme liberalist views. One theme often stressed is of Kashmiri alienation. Had that been so, Pakistan by now would have inflicted a Bangladesh on India. Kargil War : Instead of marshalling the nation into a cohesive force, the Indian media playing partisan political roles at the height of the war, were busy stoking controversies as to how it happened. Agra Summit : The summit had more to do with India's national security interests than political diplomacy. The Indian Media went berserk in focusing and projecting General Musharr...

  “The force of the newspaper is the greatest force in civilization. Under republican government, newspapers form and express public opinion . They suggest and control legislation. They declare wars. They punish criminals, especially the powerful. They reward with approving publicity the good deeds of citizens everywhere. The Newspapers control the nation because they represent the people. “ - William Randolph Hearst. Media Any communication channel through which any kind of information, news, entertainment, education, data, promotional messages etc. c an be disseminated is called media. Mass media refers to communication devices, which can be used to communicate and interact with a large number of audiences in different languages. Be it the pictorial messages of the early ages, or the high-technology media that are available today, mass media has become an inseparable part of our lives. Media can be broadly classified as: Print Media (Newspapers, Magazines, Books and Brochures, Bi...

National Cyber Security Coordination Centre Objective: To help the country deal with malicious cyber-activities by acting as an Internet traffic monitoring entity that can fend off domestic or international attacks The National Cyber Coordination Centre (NCCC) is an operational cybersecurity and e-surveillance agency in India. It is jurisdictionally under the Ministry of Home Affairs. It coordinates with multiple security and surveillance agencies as well as with CERT-In of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. Components of the NCCC include a cybercrime prevention strategy, cybercrime investigation training and review of outdated laws. Functions It will be India’s first layer for cyber threat monitoring and all communication with government and private service providers would be through this body only. The NCCC will be in virtual contact with the control room of all ISPs to scan traffic within the country, flowing at the point of entry and exit, including the interna...