NEW DELHI, October 14 — The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), in coordination with the National Investigation Agency (NIA), on Wednesday inaugurated the 9th National Conference of Heads of Anti-Terrorism Squads (ATS) and Special Task Forces (STF) in New Delhi, deliberating on evolving asymmetric security threats and inter-agency coordination mechanisms.
Addressing the apex gathering of central intelligence officials, state police leaders, and paramilitary delegates, the Union Home Secretary emphasized operationalizing an interconnected national counter-terror architecture to counter weaponized cross-border drone incursions, darknet terror financing via unhosted cryptocurrency wallets, and radical digital recruitment vectors. The conference reviewed Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) governing immediate multi-jurisdictional evidence preservation under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 (UAPA).
The NIA confirmed that live database linkages have been operationalized connecting state ATS teams directly to the National Automated Fingerprint Identification System (NAFIS) and the Inter-Operable Criminal Justice System (ICJS 2.0). Enhanced coordination with the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU-IND) was mandated to swiftly freeze terror assets.
The statutory architecture of the National Investigation Agency (constituted under the NIA Act 2008, amended in 2019 to investigate scheduled offences committed overseas against Indian interests), the substantive scope of the UAPA 1967, the multi-agency intelligence network NATGRID, and police modernisation mandates under the 7th Schedule (Police and Public Order as State List subjects) are foundational topics across UPSC Civil Services (GS-III: Internal Security & Border Management) and CAPF (Assistant Commandant) exams.