States should have a uniform policy on law and order

States should have a uniform policy on law and order

Subject : Security

Context : Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that States should have a uniform law and order policy as certain crimes such as cross-border terrorism and cybercrimes transcend regional and international boundaries.

Concept :

• The Home Minister also called for the centralisation of data on terror and other crimes and said that each State would have a National Investigation Agency (NIA)office by 2024.
• The agency had been accorded extra-territorial jurisdiction and additional powers to confiscate property in terror-related cases in order to tackle terror activities.
• The Home Minister also urged the States to use the National Intelligence Grid (NATGRID)which brings datasets of 11 agencies on a common platform.
• He also highlighted the importance of the border and coastal States to make more concerted efforts with the Central agencies and security forces to ensure border and coastal security and that the government was working on the principle of “one data, one entry”.

About NATGRID

• National Intelligence Grid (NATGRID) is an attached office of Ministry of Home Affairs
• It has been created as an IT platform to assist the intelligence and law enforcement agencies in ensuring national and internal security, with the ultimate aim to counter terror.
• NATGRID, an integrated intelligence grid which will connect databases of core security agencies, gathered pace in 2016
• NATGRID will have data related to all immigration entry and exit, banking and financial transactions, credit card purchases, telecom, individual taxpayers, air flyers, train travellers besides others to generate intelligence inputs.
• The 11 agencies which will be able to access the NATGRID data on real-time basis are:
  • Central Bureau of Investigation
  • Directorate of Revenue Intelligence,
  • Enforcement Directorate
  • Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs
  • Central Board of Direct Taxes (for the Income Tax Department)
  • Cabinet Secretariat
  • Intelligence Bureau
  • Directorate General of GST Intelligence
  • Narcotics Control Bureau
  • Financial Intelligence Unit, and
  • National Investigation Agency

• Initially, no state agencies will be given direct access to the NATGRID data.
• However, whenever any relevant information is required, they can approach the NATGRID through any of the user agencies.

For further details about NIA, Refer – https://optimizeias.com/nia-2/