India, US to hold homeland security talks

After a gap of two years, India and the United States are expected to hold the Homeland Security Dialogue on February 28, 2024, officials have said. Union home secretary Ajay Bhalla will lead the talks with his US counterpart. The two sides are expected to discuss cooperation in counterterrorism, cyber security, illegal mobility, extradition, aviation security, global supply chain and maritime security among others. The homeland security dialogue was last held in January 2022.

According to North Block officials, senior officers from the two sides will participate in the day-long meeting. India is expected to hand over a list of more than 100 fugitives wanted by law enforcement agencies who have taken shelter in the US, according to those familiar with the details.

New Delhi is likely to raise the use of digital space and how it is being exploited by terrorist groups for propagating radical views, recruitment and funding terrorism. The drug seizures by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) will be shared by the Indian side seeking cooperation from the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). NCB recently seized drugs worth ₹75 crore following inputs from the US DEA. The mastermind behind an international drug cartel was identified as a Tamil film producer, who is on the run.

On cyberattacks, India will highlight attacks on its critical infrastructure such as banks, railways, power & energy and hospitals. In the past, critical infrastructure has been targeted by non-state actors from China, Cambodia, Philippines and Myanmar. In 2022, data from government-run All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) was compromised. Numerous Chinese lending apps and online investment fraud misuse of data of Indians raised questions on data sovereignty, said a senior official.

The use of cryptocurrency by entities to fund illegal activities using dark web, new and emerging forms of terrorism and violent extremism and the use of unmanned aerial systems to commit terrorist acts will also be taken up, the official added.

Last year, National Investigation Agency director general Dinkar Gupta met his Federal Bureau of Investigation counterpart Christopher Wray and raised ongoing investigations in the US into the attack on the Indian consulate in San Francisco by Pro-Khalistan elements. He had highlighted the active nexus between terrorist outfits and terrorist elements with members of organised criminal syndicates, which was spreading to the US as well.