{"id":67456,"date":"2026-02-24T18:24:44","date_gmt":"2026-02-24T12:54:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=67456"},"modified":"2026-02-24T18:26:18","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T12:56:18","slug":"mha-prahaar-counter-terror-policy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/24-02-2026\/mha-prahaar-counter-terror-policy","title":{"rendered":"MHA unveils \u2018PRAHAAR\u2019, India\u2019s First National Counter-terror Policy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS2\/Governance; GS3\/Internal Security<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) unveiled<strong> India\u2019s inaugural National Counter-Terrorism Policy and Strategy, titled \u2018PRAHAAR\u2019.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>About<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It is this principled approach which <strong>informs the Indian policy of &#8216;zero tolerance\u2019 against terrorism.\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The counter-terrorism strategy of India, \u2018PRAHAAR\u2019, flows from these ideals:\u00a0<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Prevention<\/strong> of terror attacks to protect Indian citizens and interests;\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Responses,<\/strong> which are swift and proportionate to the threat posed;\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Aggregating internal capacities<\/strong> for achieving synergy in a whole-of-government approach;\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Human rights and \u2018Rule of Law\u2019<\/strong> based processes for mitigation of threats;\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Attenuating the conditions<\/strong> enabling terrorism, including radicalization;\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Aligning and shaping <\/strong>the international efforts to counter terrorism;\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Recovery and resilience<\/strong> through a whole-of-society approach.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Need for such Policy<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Target of Terror Groups:<\/strong> India has been the target of <strong>global terrorist groups <\/strong>such as Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Use of Technology: <\/strong>Handlers from across the border frequently use the latest technologies, including use of drones, for facilitating terror-related activities and attacks in Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Use of Social Media:<\/strong> For propaganda, communication, funding and guiding terror attacks, these terror groups use social media platforms as well as \u2018instant messaging applications\u2019.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Technological advancements like encryption, dark web, crypto wallets etc. have allowed these groups to operate anonymously.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Threat to access CBRNED: <\/strong>Disrupting terrorist efforts to access and use<strong> CBRNED (Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, Explosive, Digital) material <\/strong>remains a challenge for Counter Terrorism (CT) agencies.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Major Highlights of the Policy<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Prevention:<\/strong> India follows a pro-active \u2018Intelligence-Guided\u2019 approach, in which primacy is accorded to intelligence gathering and its dissemination to executive agencies.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Operationalization of Multi Agency Centre (MAC) along with the Joint Task Force on Intelligence (JTFI) in the Intelligence Bureau (IB) remain the nodal platform for efficient and real time sharing.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Response:<\/strong> The local Police is the first responder to any attack, assisted by specialized State and Central anti-terror Forces.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The vulnerable states have created special CT Forces to respond to attacks.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The National Security Guard (NSG)<\/strong> is the nodal national Counter-Terror Force under MHA, for assistance to State Forces in responding to major terror attacks.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The National Investigation Agency (NIA) and State Police Agencies <\/strong>conduct CT investigations in India and high prosecution rates of these investigations ensure a deterrent to future terror incidents.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Aggregating Capacities: <\/strong>There is regular acquisition of latest tools, technology and weaponry, besides training for new skills and tactics for CT Agencies.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Efforts have been made to further modernize the training modules and infrastructure of the training institutes.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Human Rights and Rule of Law Based Processes<\/strong>: India adheres to the \u2018Rule of Law\u2019, where laws are just, applied evenly and protect fundamental rights.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India is also a signatory to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948, besides ratifying the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Attenuating the conditions conducive to Terrorism:<\/strong> Terrorist groups are continuously making efforts to recruit Indian youth.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Once identified, these youths undergo a graded police response, aimed at comprehensively addressing the problem of radicalization and violent extremism.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Legal action is initiated against the individual based on their level of radicalization.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Aligning and Shaping the International Efforts:<\/strong> India has entered into various agreements like Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT), Extradition Treaty\/Extradition Arrangement (ET\/EA), Joint Working Group (JWG) and Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with foreign partners for information sharing and other legal cooperation.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Recovery and Resilience through a whole-of-society approach:<\/strong> Public-private partnership has been a key component helping in faster recovery and resilience in case of a terror attack.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The government engages a team of doctors, psychologists, lawyers and other members of civil society, including NGOs, religious and community leaders, to sensitize and reintegrate the affected community.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Way Forward<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The coordinated multi-agency actions have greatly contributed towards<strong> success in Indian counter terrorism efforts.\u00a0<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>However, there remains a<strong> scope for further cooperation and collaboration among various agencies <\/strong>for intelligence collection and investigation.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>National actions, coupled with international and regional cooperation, are key elements in addressing trans-national terrorism challenges.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8216;Prahaar&#8217;, aims to <strong>criminalize all terrorist acts <\/strong>and deny access to funds, weapons and safe havens to the terrorists, their financiers and supporters.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/news\/national\/india-releases-first-anti-terror-policy-prahaar\/article70666292.ece\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>TH<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><strong> Context <\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) unveiled India\u2019s inaugural National Counter-Terrorism Policy and Strategy, titled \u2018PRAHAAR\u2019. <\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><strong> About <\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> It is this principled approach which informs the Indian policy of &#8216;zero tolerance\u2019 against terrorism.\u00a0 <\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> The counter-terrorism strategy of India, \u2018PRAHAAR\u2019, flows from these ideals:\u00a0 <\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> Prevention of terror attacks to protect Indian citizens and interests;\u00a0 <\/li>\n<p><a href=\" https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/24-02-2026\/mha-prahaar-counter-terror-policy \" class=\"btn btn-primary btn-sm float-end\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-67456","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67456","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=67456"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67456\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":67459,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67456\/revisions\/67459"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=67456"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=67456"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=67456"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}