All state capitals to soon have intelligence dissemination centres
Govt decided to set up subsidiaries of Multi Agency Centre, on line of US Homeland Security, in all state capitals. Blasts in Guwahati | Aag lagao: LeT to Mumbai killers
By Vishwa Mohan, TNN |
NEW DELHI: The Centre on Thursday decided to quickly set up subsidiaries of the Multi Agency Centre (MAC) -- a nodal agency within Intelligence Bureau (IB) which, on the line of US Homeland Security, is responsible for coordination and dissemination of information -- in all state capitals.
Though Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Srinagar, Kolkata and Ahmedabad already have such subsidiaries (SMACs), other state capitals will have them soon. SMACs will also serve as a data bank of terrorists and extremists including naxalites.
SMACs will process and analyse local intelligence inputs in coordination with the nodal agency in Delhi. The subsidiaries will also be linked with the local areas through the Police Network (POLNET) project which is being implemented by inter-linking all the police stations across the country.
The decision to expedite the setting up of SMACs was taken in the first meeting of MAC chaired by home minister P Chidambaram on Thursday -- hours before he left for Guwahati which, incidentally, witnessed first serial blasts of his month-old tenure in home ministry.
MAC became operational on Wednesday when the government, through an executive order, gave it the legal backing for exchanging intelligence among all the agencies, including that of a state, directly without going into procedural hassles.
Home ministry sources said that at the meeting, it was decided that MAC would eventually integrate the nodal agency with POLNET in such a way that it will allow all states and major urban areas to collect and disseminate information among central, state and local agencies involved in combating terrorism.
The US Homeland Security, set up post 9/11, also has a similar information network connecting all 50 states, five territories, Washington D.C. and 50 major urban areas.
An official said once MAC becomes fully operational, the country would be saved from the kind of coordination problem faced by different agencies before the Mumbai terror attacks -- which reportedly took place despite the central agencies having specific intelligence inputs.
As part of other counter terror measures, the government also notified the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and Unlawful Activities Prevention (Amendment) Acts through official notifications on Thursday.
The formal notification paved the way for the constitution of NIA. The NIA will have concurrent jurisdiction empowering the Central government to probe terror attacks in any part of the country, covering offences including challenge to the country's sovereignty and integrity, bomb blasts, hijacking of aircraft and ships and attacks on nuclear installations.
Though Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Srinagar, Kolkata and Ahmedabad already have such subsidiaries (SMACs), other state capitals will have them soon. SMACs will also serve as a data bank of terrorists and extremists including naxalites.
SMACs will process and analyse local intelligence inputs in coordination with the nodal agency in Delhi. The subsidiaries will also be linked with the local areas through the Police Network (POLNET) project which is being implemented by inter-linking all the police stations across the country.
The decision to expedite the setting up of SMACs was taken in the first meeting of MAC chaired by home minister P Chidambaram on Thursday -- hours before he left for Guwahati which, incidentally, witnessed first serial blasts of his month-old tenure in home ministry.
MAC became operational on Wednesday when the government, through an executive order, gave it the legal backing for exchanging intelligence among all the agencies, including that of a state, directly without going into procedural hassles.
Home ministry sources said that at the meeting, it was decided that MAC would eventually integrate the nodal agency with POLNET in such a way that it will allow all states and major urban areas to collect and disseminate information among central, state and local agencies involved in combating terrorism.
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The US Homeland Security, set up post 9/11, also has a similar information network connecting all 50 states, five territories, Washington D.C. and 50 major urban areas.
An official said once MAC becomes fully operational, the country would be saved from the kind of coordination problem faced by different agencies before the Mumbai terror attacks -- which reportedly took place despite the central agencies having specific intelligence inputs.
As part of other counter terror measures, the government also notified the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and Unlawful Activities Prevention (Amendment) Acts through official notifications on Thursday.
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The formal notification paved the way for the constitution of NIA. The NIA will have concurrent jurisdiction empowering the Central government to probe terror attacks in any part of the country, covering offences including challenge to the country's sovereignty and integrity, bomb blasts, hijacking of aircraft and ships and attacks on nuclear installations.
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