Public Private Partnership And Internal Security Of India

If you are a security vendor or service provider you must have realised that the internal security and defence sectors are systematically being opened for private participants. Traditionally, these fields were reserved for the governments as its sovereign functions.

Even in India we are witnessing an increasing use of public private partnership (PPP) model for managing internal security and defence related functions of the state. Indian government is increasingly becoming liberal in this regard and is offering a joint partnership for the same.

This is natural as well as the contemporary security issues like Cyber Security and Cyber Forensics are no more within the service domain of Indian Government. These areas require domain specific expertise that only private individuals and organisations can provide, says Praveen Dalal, managing partner of Perry4Law Techno Legal Base (PTLB) and CEO of India’s exclusive techno legal Cyber Security Research, Training and Education Centre in India (CSRTCI). In fact, the entire Homeland Security in India is one such area that would be guided by a PPP Model in future, informs Dalal.

Indian government has said that it is ready to accept participation of private players in internal security area provided they spend at least 5 to 7 per cent of their profits in research and development (R&D) to get cutting edge technology. This is a genuine demand as we have very few research and development centers in India for internal security and homeland security.

For instance, India has a single techno legal cyber security research and development centre managed by PTLB. Similarly, India has a single techno legal cyber forensics research and development centre managed by PTLB. We need more such techno legal institutions in India.

Home Ministry of India and other Ministries of India have launched projects like central monitoring system (CMS), national intelligence grid (Natgrid), Aadhar, crime and criminal tracking network and systems (CCTNS), etc that also need domain specific expertise. Even for these projects, private individuals and organisations are helping Indian government to implement the same.

PPP in India is going to stay for internal security, defence and homeland security related fields. It is for the private companies to capatilise these opportunities.

National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) Of India

Intelligence agencies of India such as Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), Aviation Research Centre (ARC), Intelligence Bureau (IB), National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO) and Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA), etc are working separately and independently in India.

There is no coordination and collaboration between these agencies and at times of crisis this becomes fatal as well. There is no centralised mechanism that can govern and assist in effective and instant collaboration and coordination between these agencies.

In this background, establishment of the National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) was proposed by the Home Minister P. Chidambaram. According to the proposal, the NCTC would function as an umbrella outfit under the Home Ministry with representation from all security and intelligence agencies, including those working directly under the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), the Defence Ministry and the Finance Ministry.

Projects like national intelligence grid (Natgrid), crime and criminal tracking and systems (CCTNS), central monitoring system (CMS), Aadhar project/UID project, etc were also launched to strengthen NCTC. The purpose was to have real time intelligence information sharing among law enforcement and various security agencies.

Neither NCTC nor projects like Natgrid, CCTNS, CMS and Aadhar would be successful if the various intelligence agencies keep on guarding their own turf. The whole purpose of “collective intelligence” would fail if these agencies keep on operating independently.

Further, there is an urgent need to bring these intelligence agencies under Parliament scrutiny and accountability. Presently there is no Parliamentary oversight of these intelligence agencies.