Topic: Various security forces and agencies and their mandate
5. India needs a comprehensive and coordinated approach among its security agencies amidst ever-changing counter-terrorism and security challenges. Discuss (250 Words)
Difficulty level: Moderate
Reference: The Hindu
Why the question:
Security agencies and their working are part of GS Paper 3. The need for synergy and coordination among agencies has been highlighted by India’s Home Minister as well as the parliamentary committee report.
Key Demand of the question:
Explain why security agencies need to coordinate especially state and central agencies and how can they do so.
Directive word:
Discuss – This is an all-encompassing directive – you have to debate on paper by going through the details of the issues concerned by examining each one of them. You have to give reasons for both for and against arguments.
Structure of the answer:
Introduction:
Give a brief introduction of India’s security architecture including the intelligence agencies.
Body:
Highlight the various lacuna in India’s security coordination e.g. non-effective implementation of NatGrid, weakness of multi-agency center (MAC). Also, show how changing the security situation needs much more synergy between various agencies especially the coordination between centre and state.
Afterward, give suggestions for better coordination between agencies such as integration of networks (e.g. currently 429 SMAC nodes and 251 district-police offices are connected to the MAC/SMAC Network), codification of India’s security doctrine, etc.
You may refer to an article on this in Orfonline
Conclusion:
Conclude with a futuristic view about coming threats especially from the cyber domain.
