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Subject: Internal Security

  • 21 Years of BrahMos Missile

    On June 12, 2001 the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile was first tested from a land-based launcher in Chandipur.

    What is BrahMos Missile System?

    • BrahMos is a joint venture between India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Russia’s NPO Mashinostroyeniya.
    • The missile derives its name from the Brahmaputra and Moskva rivers.
    • Beginning with an anti-ship missile, several variants have since been developed.
    • It is now capable of being launched from land, sea, sub-sea and air against surface and sea-based targets and has constantly been improved and upgraded.

    Its capabilities

    • BrahMos is a two-stage missile with a solid propellant booster engine.
    • Its first stage brings the missile to supersonic speed and then gets separated.
    • The liquid ramjet or the second stage then takes the missile closer to three times the speed of sound in cruise phase.
    • The missile has a very low radar signature, making it stealthy, and can achieve a variety of trajectories.
    • The ‘fire and forget’ type missile can achieve a cruising altitude of 15 km and a terminal altitude as low as 10 m to hit the target.

    Background and development

    • The early 1980s the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme was conceived and led by Dr A P J Abdul Kalam.
    • It started developing a range of missiles including Prithvi, Agni, Trishul, Akash and Nag, with a wide spectrum of capabilities and ranges.
    • In the early 1990s, India’s strategic leadership felt the need for cruise and guided missiles.
    • The need was felt primarily following the use of cruise missiles in the Gulf War.
    • An Agreement was signed with Russia in Moscow in 1998 by Dr Kalam, who headed the DRDO.
    • This led to the formation of BrahMos Aerospace, a joint venture between DRDO and NPO Mashinostroyenia (NPOM), the Indian side holding 50.5% and the Russians 49.5%.

    Tests and induction

    • In 1999, work on development of missiles began in labs of DRDO and NPOM after BrahMos Aerospace received funds from the two governments.
    • The first successful test in 2001 was conducted from a specially designed land-based launcher.
    • The missile system has since reached some key milestones, with the first major export order of $375 million received from the Philippines Navy this year.

    Strategic significance

    • Cruise missiles such as BrahMos, called “standoff range weapons”, are fired from a range far enough to allow the attacker to evade defensive counter-fire.
    • What makes the missile system unparalleled is its extreme accuracy and versatility.
    • With missiles made available for export, the platform is also seen as a key asset in defence diplomacy.

    Variants of Brahmos

    • Versions currently being tested include ranges up to 350 km, as compared to the original’s 290 km.
    • Versions with even higher ranges, up to 800 km, and with hypersonic speed are said to be on cards.
    • Efforts are also on to reduce the size and signature of existing versions and augment its capabilities further.
    • Versions deployed in all three Armed forces are still being tested regularly, and so are versions currently under development.
    1. LAND-BASED: The land-based BrahMos complex has four to six mobile autonomous launchers, each with three missiles on board that can be fired almost simultaneously. They are described as ‘tidy’ as they have very few components.
    2. SHIP-BASED: The Navy began inducting BrahMos on its frontline warships from 2005. These can hit sea-based targets beyond the radar horizon. The Naval version has been successful in sea-to-sea and sea-to-land modes.
    3. AIR-LAUNCHED: On November 22, 2017, BrahMos was successfully flight-tested for the first time from a Sukhoi-30MKI against a sea-based target in the Bay of Bengal. It has since been successfully tested multiple times.
    4. SUBMARINE-LAUNCHED: This version can be launched from around 50 m below the water surface. The canister-stored missile is launched vertically from the pressure hull of the submarine and uses different settings for underwater and out-of-the-water flights.

     

     

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  • Next-Generation Corvettes for Indian Navy

    The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) has given the Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) for the procurement of next-generation Corvettes for the Indian Navy at an approximate cost of Rs 36,000 crore.

    What is a Corvette?

    • A Corvette is the smallest class of naval ships and it falls below the warship class of a frigate.
    • These are highly agile ships and are categorised as missile boats, anti-submarine ships, coastal patrol crafts and fast attack naval vessels.
    • The word corvette itself is derived from French and Dutch origin.
    • During World War II, the term Corvette was used to describe vessels which had anti-submarine roles assigned to them.
    • Modern Corvettes can go up to 2,000 tons in displacement which helps in keeping them agile.

    What kind of Corvettes does the Indian Navy possess?

    • The Indian Navy at present has the Kamorta Class Corvettes, which are also known as Project 28.
    • These ships have an anti-submarine role and are manufactured at Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers in Kolkata.
    • The four Kamorta Class Corvettes that the Indian Navy possesses are named INS Kamorta, INS Kadmatt, INS Kiltan and INS Kavaratti.
    • The first of these was commissioned in 2014 and the last one in 2020.

    What new capabilities will the new generation Corvettes have?

    • The next-generation Corvettes will be manufactured for various roles like surveillance missions, escort operations, deterrence, surface action group operations, search and attack and coastal defence.
    • It is worth noting that these roles will be in addition to the anti-submarine roles being already performed by the existing Corvettes in the Navy.
    • Corvettes will be constructed based on new in-house design of the Indian Navy using latest technology of ship buildings.
    • They would contribute to further the government’s initiative of Security and Growth for all in the region (SAGAR).

     

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  • Chief of Defence Staff (CDS)

    Setting the stage for appointment of the next Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), the government has amended Service Rules of the Army, Navy and Air Force.

    The post of CDS has also been lying vacant since the demise of Late. Gen. Bipin Rawat.

    What is the update in rules?

    • The govt has allowed retired Service Chiefs and three-star officers eligible for consideration for the country’s top military post.
    • However, with an age limit that the retired officer should not have attained 62 years on the date of appointment.
    • Retired Service chiefs are largely ruled out, especially so for the present consideration.

    Office of the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS)

    • The CDS is a high military office that oversees and coordinates the working of the three Services, and offers seamless tri-service views and single-point advice to the Executive.
    • On long-term it provides for defence planning and management, including manpower, equipment and strategy, and above all, “joint manship” in operations.
    • In most democracies, the CDS is seen as being above inter-Service rivalries and the immediate operational preoccupations of the individual military chiefs.
    • The role of the CDS becomes critical in times of conflict.

    Duties and Functions of the CDS

    The Ministry of Defence has outlined various functions and duties for the post of CDS:

    • To head the Department of Military Affairs in Ministry of Defence and function as its Secretary.
    • To act as the Principal Military Advisor to Raksha Mantri on all Tri-Service matters.
    • To function as the Permanent Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee
    • To administer the Tri-Service organizations/agencies/commands.
    • To be a member of Defence Acquisition Council chaired by Raksha Mantri.
    • To function as the Military Advisor to the Nuclear Command Authority.
    • To bring about jointness in operation, logistics, transport, training, support services, communications, repairs and maintenance, etc of the three Services.
    • To implement Five-Year Defence Capital Acquisition Plan and Two-Year roll-on Annual Acquisition Plans, as a follow up of Integrated Capability Development Plan.
    • To bring about reforms in the functioning of three Services with the aim to augment combat capabilities of the Armed Forces by reducing wasteful expenditure.

    Why need CDS?

    • Tri-services coordination: The creation of the CDS will eventually lead to the formation of tri-service theatre commands intended to create vertical integration of the three forces.
    • Single-point military advisory: The CDS will be a single-point military adviser to the government and synergise long term planning, procurements, training and logistics of the three Services.
    • Efforts saving: This is expected to save money by avoiding duplication between the Services, at a time of shrinking capital expenditure within the defence budget.
    • Military diplomacy: This is today supporting conventional diplomacy. That can’t be done by different Services.

     

     

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  • UAPA

    The Supreme Court recently put freeze on sedition proceedings under the Section 124A (sedition law) of the IPC for persons who have also been charged under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) of 1967 in the same case or separately.

    What is the news?

    • This freeze has rejected bails for some journalist and JNU activists who also face charges under the UAPA (for anti-India sloganeering and activites).
    • Now they have been accused of making anti-national activities during the Delhi Riots.

    Why is UAPA significant?

    • An amendment made in 2019 has made the Act even more powerful.
    • Now it can designate individuals, and not just associations, as ‘terrorists’.

    Unlawful (Activities) Prevention Act (UAPA)

    • The UAPA is aimed at effective prevention of unlawful activities associations in India.
    • Its main objective was to make powers available for dealing with activities directed against the integrity and sovereignty of India
    • It is an upgrade on the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act TADA, which was allowed to lapse in 1995 and the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) was repealed in 2004.
    • It was originally passed in 1967 under the then Congress government led by former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
    • Till 2004, “unlawful” activities referred to actions related to secession and cession of territory. Following the 2004 amendment, “terrorist act” was added to the list of offences.

    Major feature: Designation of Terrorists

    • The Centre had amended UAPA, 1967, in August 2019 to include the provision of designating an individual as a terrorist.
    • Before this amendment, only organisations could be designated as terrorist outfits.
    • Section 15 of the UAPA defines a “terrorist act” as any act committed with intent to threaten or likely to threaten the unity, integrity, security, economic security, or sovereignty of India or with intent to strike terror or likely to strike terror in the people or any section of the people in India or in any foreign country.
    • The original Act dealt with “unlawful” acts related to secession; anti-terror provisions were introduced in 2004.

    Who makes such designation?

    • The UAPA (after 2019 amendment)seeks to empower the central government to designate an individual a “terrorist” if they are found committing, preparing for, promoting, or involved in an act of terror.
    • A similar provision already exists in Part 4 and 6 of the legislation for organizations that can be designated as a “terrorist organisations”.

    How individuals are declared terrorists?

    • The central government may designate an individual as a terrorist through a notification in the official gazette, and add his name to the schedule supplemented to the UAPA Bill.
    • The government is not required to give an individual an opportunity to be heard before such a designation.
    • At present, in line with the legal presumption of an individual being innocent until proven guilty, an individual who is convicted in a terror case is legally referred to as a terrorist.
    • While those suspected of being involved in terrorist activities are referred to as terror accused.

    What happens when an individual is declared a terrorist?

    • The designation of an individual as a global terrorist by the United Nations is associated with sanctions including travel bans, freezing of assets and an embargo against procuring arms.
    • The UAPA, however, does not provide any such detail.
    • It also does not require the filing of cases or arresting individuals while designating them as terrorists.

    Removing the terrorist tag

    • The UAPA gives the central government the power to remove a name from the schedule when an individual makes an application.
    • The procedure for such an application and the process of decision-making will is decided by the central government.
    • If an application filed by an individual declared a terrorist is rejected by the government, the UAPA gives him the right to seek a review within one month after the application is rejected.
    • The central government will set up the review committee consisting of a chairperson (a retired or sitting judge of a High Court) and three other members.
    • The review committee is empowered to order the government to delete the name of the individual from the schedule that lists “terrorists” if it considers the order to be flawed.
    • Apart from these two avenues, the individual can also move the courts to challenge the government’s order.

     

     

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  • Use of statecraft for long-term solutions to security problems

    Context

    In many countries, both the authorities and security agencies are beginning to acknowledge the importance of resorting to statecraft as a vital adjunct to the role played by the security agencies.

    The important role of statecraft in security

    •  Statecraft involves fine-grained comprehension of inherent problems; also an ability to quickly respond to political challenges.
    • It further involves strengthening the ability to exploit opportunities as they arise, and display a degree of political nimbleness rather than leaving everything to the security agencies.
    • It entails a shift from reposing all faith in the security establishment to putting equal emphasis on implementation of policies and programmes.
    • Two prime examples which provide grist to the above proposition are the prevailing situation in Jammu and Kashmir and the continuing problem involving Maoists.
    • The need to use statecraft to deal with quite a few other internal security problems — some of which have lain dormant for years — is also becoming more manifest by the day.

    Security issues in various regions

    • Jammu and Kashmir: While Jammu and Kashmir has been a troubled region ever since 1947, the situation has metamorphosed over the years.
    • No proper solution has emerged to a long-standing problem.
    •  Irrespective of the reasons for the latest upsurge in violence, what is evident is that Jammu and Kashmir has again become the vortex of violence.
    • Evidently, the doctrine of containment pursued by the Jammu and Kashmir police and security agencies is not having the desired effect.
    • In Jammu and Kashmir today, as also elsewhere, there is no all-in-one grand strategy to deal with the situation.
    • The missing ingredient is statecraft which alone can walk in step with the changing contours of a long-standing problem.
    • Punjab: The recent discovery of ‘sleeper cells’ in the Punjab clearly indicates the potential for the revival of a pro-Khalistan movement — which once ravaged large parts of the Punjab.
    • While pro-Khalistani sentiment is present in pockets in the United Kingdom and in Europe, it has not been in evidence in India for some time.
    • Hence, the recent attack by pro-Khalistan elements on the headquarters of the Punjab Police Intelligence wing in Mohali was a rude shock to the security establishment.
    • The incident is a reminder that militancy in the Punjab has not been permanently extinguished, and will need deft statecraft to nip it in the bud.
    • North-east: In India’s North-east, more specifically in the States of Assam and Nagaland, there are again incipient signs of trouble which, for the present, may need use of statecraft rather than the security forces. 
    • In Assam, the United Liberation Front of Asom–Independent (ULFA-I) is trying to revive its activities after a long spell of hibernation.
    • Likewise in Nagaland, where the National Socialist Council of Nagalim (I-M) has recently initiated a fresh push for a solution of the ‘Naga political issue’, the situation is pregnant with serious possibilities.
    • Both instances merit the use of statecraft so that the situation does not get out of hand.
    • South India: In the South, intelligence and police officials appear concerned about a likely revival of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)-sponsored activities in Tamil Nadu.
    • This stems from a possible revival of LTTE-sponsored militancy in Sri Lanka following the recent economic crises and uncertainty there.
    • This situation again needs deft statecraft to prevent a resurgence of the past.

    Conclusion

    India faces several challenges today, but the answer to this is neither grand strategy nor grand simplifications nor resort to higher doses of security. A properly structured set of policies, having liberal doses of statecraft in addition to a proper set of security measures, is the best answer to India’s needs, now and in the future.

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  • SC tests phones for Pegasus Spyware

    The Supreme Court has said its technical committee had so far received and tested 29 mobile devices suspected to be infected by Pegasus malware.

    Why in news?

    • It was alleged that the government used the Israel-based spyware to snoop on journalists, parliamentarians, prominent citizens and even court staff.

    What is Pegasus?

    • Pegasus is a spyware developed by NSO Group, an Israeli surveillance firm that helps spies hack into phones.
    • In 2019, when WhatsApp sued the firm in a U.S. court, the matter came to light.
    • In July 2021, Amnesty International, along with 13 media outlets across the globe released a report on how the spyware was used to snoop hundreds of individuals, including Indians.
    • While the NSO claims its spyware is sold only to governments, none of the nations have come forward to accept the claims.

    Threats created by Pegasus

    • What makes Pegasus really dangerous is that it spares no aspect of a person’s identity.
    • It makes older techniques of spying seem relatively harmless.
    • It can intercept every call and SMS, read every email and monitor each messaging app.
    • Pegasus can also control the phone’s camera and microphone and has access to the device’s location data.
    • The app advertises that it can carry out “file retrieval”, which means it could access any document that a target might have stored on their phone.

    Dysfunctions created

    • Privacy breach: The very existence of a surveillance system, whether under a provision of law or without it, impacts the right to privacy under Article 21 and the exercise of free speech under Article 19.
    • Curbing Dissent: It reflects a disturbing trend with regard to the use of hacking software against dissidents and adversaries. In 2019 also, Pegasus software was used to hack into HR & Dalit activists.
    • Individual safety: In the absence of privacy, the safety of journalists, especially those whose work criticizes the government, and the personal safety of their sources is jeopardised.
    • Self-Censorship: Consistent fear over espionage may grapple individuals. This may impact their ability to express, receive and discuss such ideas.
    • State-sponsored mass surveillance: The spyware coupled with AI can manipulate digital content in users’ smartphones. This in turn can polarize their opinion by the distant controllers.
    • National security: The potential misuse or proliferation has the same, if not more, ramifications as advanced nuclear technology falling into the wrong hands.

    Snooping in India:  A Legality check

    For Pegasus-like spyware to be used lawfully, the government would have to invoke both the IT Act and the Telegraph Act. Communication surveillance in India takes place primarily under two laws:

    1. Telegraph Act, 1885: It deals with interception of calls.
    2. Information Technology Act, 2000: It was enacted to deal with surveillance of all electronic communication, following the Supreme Court’s intervention in 1996.

    Cyber security safeguards in India

    • National Cyber Security Policy: The policy was developed in 2013 to build secure and resilient cyberspace for India’s citizens and businesses.
    • Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In): The CERT-In is responsible for incident responses including analysis, forecasts, and alerts on cybersecurity issues and breaches.
    • Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C): The Central Government has rolled out a scheme for the establishment of the I4C to handle issues related to cybercrime in the country in a comprehensive and coordinated manner.
    • Budapest Convention: There also exists Budapest Convention on Cybercrime. However, India is not a signatory to this convention.

    Issues over government involvement

    • It is worth asking why the government would need to hack phones and install spyware when existing laws already offer impunity for surveillance.
    • In the absence of parliamentary or judicial oversight, electronic surveillance gives the executive the power to influence both the subject of surveillance and all classes of individuals, resulting in a chilling effect on free speech.

    Way forward

    • The security of a device becomes one of the fundamental bedrock of maintaining user trust as society becomes more and more digitized.
    • Constituting an independent high-level inquiry with credible members and experts that can restore confidence and conduct its proceedings transparently.
    • The need for judicial oversight over surveillance systems in general, and judicial investigation into the Pegasus hacking, in particular, is very essential.

    Conclusion

    • We must recognize that national security starts with securing the smartphones of every single Indian by embracing technologies such as encryption rather than deploying spyware.
    • This is a core part of our fundamental right to privacy.
    • This intrusion by spyware is not merely an infringement of the rights of the citizens of the country but also a worrying development for India’s national security apparatus.

     

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  • Project WARDEC: India’s upcoming AI-powered Wargame Centre

    The Army Training Command signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Gandhinagar-based Rashtriya Raksha University (RRU) to develop a ‘Wargame Research and Development Centre (WARDEC)’ in New Delhi.

    What is Project WARDEC?

    • The project ‘WARDEC’ will be a first-of-its-kind simulation-based training centre in India that will use artificial intelligence (AI) to design virtual reality war-games.
    • The Wargame Research and Development Centre will be used by the Army to train its soldiers and test their strategies through “metaverse-enabled gameplay”.
    • The wargame models will be designed to prepare for wars as well as counter-terror and counter-insurgency operations.

    Where will the centre come up and when?

    • The centre will come up in a military zone in New Delhi, confirmed RRU officials privy to the development.
    • The RRU will join hands with Tech Mahindra to develop the centre in the coming three to four months.
    • The RRU, an institute under the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), specialises in national security and policing.
    • Located in Gandhinagar’s Lavad village, it is an “institute of national importance” – a status granted to it by an Act of Parliament.

    How will these simulation exercises play out?

    • Soldiers will test their skills in the metaverse where their surroundings will be simulated using a combination of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR).
    • In metaverse, the players will get a realistic experience of the actual situation.
    • If a weapon weighing 5 kg drops or the air pressure falls, they will feel it like anyone would in a live situation, real-time.
    • The game would play out player versus player, player versus computer or even computer versus computer.

    How will the centre help the Army?

    • The Army intends to use the war-game centre to train its officers in military strategies.
    • Indian Army will provide data to set the backdrop of the gameplay, so that participants get a realistic experience.
    • In Army, it is often said that the enemy can ambush you from 361 directions, where 360 sides are around the soldier, and one is above in case there is an airdrop.
    • So, wargame simulation helps the Army think of all possible scenarios.

    What promise does AI-based wargame simulation hold?

    • Apart from the armed forces, the BSF, CRPF, CISF, ITBP and SSB can also use the metaverse-enabled simulation exercises for better training.
    • The use of AI can provide a totally immersive training experience as it can simulate a battlefield close to reality and map several eventualities in the probable event of a war.

    How many countries use such wargaming drills?

    • Since the 9/11 attacks, use of information technology-enabled wargaming is preferred by several countries like the US, Israel, the UK to prepare for possibilities in case of terror attacks or war.
    • In March 2014, several world leaders, including former German chancellor Angela Merkel, former US president Barack Obama and Chinese president Xi Jinping had played a war simulation game.
    • It was during the Hague Summit about how to react in case of a nuclear attack.
    • In that case, the target of the nuclear attack was a fictional country named Brinia.

     

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  • Back in news: Chief of Defence Staff (CDS)

    The Union government is reassessing the concept of the post of Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) and the Department of Military Affairs (DMA) leading to a delay in the appointment to the post.

    The post of CDS has also been lying vacant since the demise of Late. Gen. Bipin Rawat.

    Office of the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS)

    • The CDS is a high military office that oversees and coordinates the working of the three Services, and offers seamless tri-service views and single-point advice to the Executive.
    • On long-term it provides for defence planning and management, including manpower, equipment and strategy, and above all, “joint manship” in operations.
    • In most democracies, the CDS is seen as being above inter-Service rivalries and the immediate operational preoccupations of the individual military chiefs.
    • The role of the CDS becomes critical in times of conflict.

    Duties and Functions of the CDS

    The Ministry of Defence has outlined various functions and duties for the post of CDS:

    • To head the Department of Military Affairs in Ministry of Defence and function as its Secretary.
    • To act as the Principal Military Advisor to Raksha Mantri on all Tri-Service matters.
    • To function as the Permanent Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee
    • To administer the Tri-Service organizations/agencies/commands.
    • To be a member of Defence Acquisition Council chaired by Raksha Mantri.
    • To function as the Military Advisor to the Nuclear Command Authority.
    • To bring about jointness in operation, logistics, transport, training, support services, communications, repairs and maintenance, etc of the three Services.
    • To implement Five-Year Defence Capital Acquisition Plan and Two-Year roll-on Annual Acquisition Plans, as a follow up of Integrated Capability Development Plan.
    • To bring about reforms in the functioning of three Services with the aim to augment combat capabilities of the Armed Forces by reducing wasteful expenditure.

    Why need CDS?

    • Tri-services coordination: The creation of the CDS will eventually lead to the formation of tri-service theatre commands intended to create vertical integration of the three forces.
    • Single-point military advisory: The CDS will be a single-point military adviser to the government and synergise long term planning, procurements, training and logistics of the three Services.
    • Efforts saving: This is expected to save money by avoiding duplication between the Services, at a time of shrinking capital expenditure within the defence budget.
    • Military diplomacy: This is today supporting conventional diplomacy. That can’t be done by different Services.

     

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  • Plans underway on Creation of Integrated Battle Groups

    The Indian Army is in advanced stages of putting together Integrated Battle Groups (IBGs) by reconfiguring its combat formations.

    What are IBGs?

    • IBGs are brigade-sized, agile, self-sufficient combat formations, which can swiftly launch strikes against an adversary in case of hostilities.
    • Each IBG would be tailor-made based on Threat, Terrain and Task and resources will be allotted based on the three Ts.
    • They need to be light so they will be low on logistics and they will be able to mobilise within 12-48 hrs based on the location.
    • An IBG operating in a desert needs to be constituted differently from an IBG operating in the mountains.
    • The key corps of the Army is likely to be reorganized into 1-3 IBGs.

    Objective of IBG

    • Holistic integration to enhance the operational and functional efficiency, optimize budget expenditure, facilitate force modernization and address aspirations

    Structure of the IBG

    • While a command is the largest static formation of the Army spread across defined geography, a corps is the largest mobile formation.
    • Typically each corps has about three brigades.
    • The idea is to reorganise them into IBGs which are brigade-sized units but have all the essential elements like infantry, armoured, artillery and air defence embedded together based on the three Ts.
    • The IBGs will also be defensive and offensive. While the offensive IBGs would quickly mobilise and make a thrust into enemy territory for strikes, defensive IBGs would hold ground at vulnerable points or where enemy action is expected.

    Why need IBGs?

    • After the terrorist attack on the Parliament, the Indian military undertook massive mobilization but the Army’s formations which deep inside took weeks to mobilise losing the element of surprise.
    • Following this, the Army formulated a proactive doctrine known as ‘Cold Start’ to launch swift offensive but its existence was consistently denied in the past.
    • Its existence was acknowledged for the first time by (Late) Gen Rawat in January 2017.

     

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  • How India’s new VPN rules change the Status Quo?

    Recently, the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (Cert-In) issued new directives that require Virtual Private Network (VPN) providers to store user data for five years.

    What is VPN?

    • VPN describes the opportunity to establish a protected network connection when using public networks.
    • It encrypts internet traffic and disguise a user’s online identity.
    • This makes it more difficult for third parties to track your activities online and steal data.
    • The encryption takes place in real time.

    How does a VPN work?

    • A VPN hides your IP address by letting the network redirect it through a specially configured remote server run by a VPN host.
    • This means that if you surf online with a VPN, the VPN server becomes the source of your data.
    • This means your Internet Service Provider (ISP) and other third parties cannot see which websites you visit or what data you send and receive online.
    • A VPN works like a filter that turns all your data into “gibberish”. Even if someone were to get their hands on your data, it would be useless.

    Why do people use VPN?

    • Secure encryption: A VPN connection disguises your data traffic online and protects it from external access. Unencrypted data can be viewed by anyone who has network access and wants to see it. With a VPN, hackers and cyber criminals can’t decipher this data.
    • Disguising whereabouts: VPN servers essentially act as your proxies on the internet. Because the demographic location data comes from a server in another country, your actual location cannot be determined.
    • Data privacy is held: Most VPN services do not store logs of your activities. Some providers, on the other hand, record your behaviour, but do not pass this information on to third parties. This means that any potential record of your user behaviour remains permanently hidden.
    • Access to regional content: Regional web content is not always accessible from everywhere. Services and websites often contain content that can only be accessed from certain parts of the world.
    • Secure data transfer: If you work remotely, you may need to access important files on your company’s network. For security reasons, this kind of information requires a secure connection. To gain access to the network, a VPN connection is often required.

    What does the new CERT-IN directive say?

    • VPN providers will need to store validated customer names, their physical addresses, email ids, phone numbers, and the reason they are using the service, along with the dates they use it and their “ownership pattern”.
    • In addition, Cert is also asking VPN providers to keep a record of the IP and email addresses that the customer uses to register the service, along with the timestamp of registration.
    • Most importantly, however, VPN providers will have to store all IP addresses issued to a customer and a list of IP addresses that its customers generally use.

    What does this mean for VPN providers?

    • VPN services are in violation of Cert’s rules by simply operating in India.
    • That said, it is worth noting that ‘no logs’ does not mean zero logs.
    • VPN services still need to maintain some logs to run their service efficiently.

    Does this mean VPNs will become useless?

    • The Indian government has not banned VPNs yet, so they can still be used to access content that is blocked in an area, which is the most common usage of these services.
    • However, journalists, activists, and others who use such services to hide their internet footprint will have to think twice about them.

    Why such move?

    • Crime control: For law enforcement agencies, a move like this will make it easier to track criminals who use VPNs to hide their internet footprint.
    • Curbing dark-net activities: Users these days are shifting towards the dark and deep web, which are much tougher to police than VPN services.

    Back2Basics: Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-IN)

    • CERT-IN is an office within the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.
    • It is the nodal agency to deal with cyber security threats like hacking and phishing. It strengthens the security-related defense of the Indian Internet domain.
    • It was formed in 2004 by the Government of India under the Information Technology Act, 2000 Section (70B) under the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology.

     

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