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Subject: Internal Security

  • ICJ’s latest judgment on Rohingya Genocide

    Judges at the United Nations’ highest court have dismissed preliminary objections by Myanmar to a case alleging for genocide against the Rohingya ethnic minority.

    Who are the Rohingyas?

    • Rohingya Muslims comprise one million out of the 53 million people that live in Myanmar, forming the world’s largest stateless population in a single country.
    • Universally reviled by the country’s Buddhist majority, they have been oppressed by the government since the late 1970s when the government launched a campaign to identify ‘illegal immigrants’.
    • Serious abuses were committed, forcing as many as 250,000 Rohingya refugees to flee to Bangladesh.
    • The 1982 Citizenship Law in former Burma made the Rohingyas stateless people.
    • They have often been called the most persecuted minority in the world.
    • The 1.1 million Rohingya Muslims squeezed precariously into the northwest state of Rakhine, in mainly Buddhist Burma, bordering majority Muslim Bangladesh, are stateless and unwanted.

    Why are they persecuted by Myanmar?

    • To qualify for citizenship, Rohingya applicants had to renounce their identity And accept being labelled as ‘Bengalis’ on all official documents.
    • They also had to prove that they could trace the presence of their family in Rakhine back three generations, something which is extremely difficult as many Rohingya lack documents or had lost them in 2012.

    Why did the Rohingya Crisis happen?

    • Since World War II they have been treated increasingly by Burmese authorities as illegal, interloping Bengalis, facing apartheid-like conditions that deny them free movement or state education.
    • The army “clearing operations” sparked the mass exodus of Rohingyas in both October 2016.
    • In August 2017, were launched after insurgents known as the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) attacked several paramilitary check posts.
    • Rohingya activists claim the insurgents are mainly young men who have been pushed to breaking point by relentless oppression.

    Security Implications

    • The Rohingya issue and its spill over impact on Myanmar`s western peripheral region and security implications figured in the discussions is not clear.
    • In all probability, the import of the ferment caused by the Rohingya migration, efforts of radical Islamists to influence some of the Rohingya youth, and the Pakistan ISI’s attempts to capitalise on the situation.
    • Rising anger in the Muslim world about the plight of the Rohingya has compounded fears of home-grown militancy as well as support from international jihadists.
    • Illegal movement of people, combined with human trafficking and cross-border migration, can weaken Myanmar’s relations with its neighbour Bangladesh and its ASEAN partners.

    What is the case against Myanmar?

    • Last year, the Republic of the Gambia moved the ICJ against Myanmar over alleged violations of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.
    • The Gambia urged the ICJ to direct Myanmar to stop the genocide, ensure that persons committing genocide are punished, and allow the “safe and dignified return of forcibly displaced Rohingya”.
    • The Gambia and Myanmar are parties to the Genocide Convention that allows a party to move the ICJ for violations.
    • Disputes between the Contracting Parties are settled according to Article 9 of the Genocide Convention.

    International support for Gambia’s case

    • The Netherlands and Canada are backing Gambia, saying in 2020 that the country took a laudable step towards ending impunity for those committing atrocities in Myanmar and upholding this pledge.
    • Canada and the Netherlands consider it their obligation to support these efforts which are of concern to all of humanity.

    What next?

    • The ICJ’s ruling sets the stage for court hearings, airing evidence of atrocities against the Rohingya that human rights groups and a UN probe say amount to breaches of the 1948 Genocide Convention.
    • The International Court of Justice rules on disputes between states.
    • It is not linked to the International Criminal Court, also based in The Hague, which holds individuals accountable for atrocities.
    • Prosecutors at the ICC are investigating crimes committed against the Rohingya who were forced to flee to Bangladesh.
    • The ruling of the ICJ is binding on Myanmar, and cannot be appealed. However, no means are available to the court to enforce it.

    Back2Basics:

    BASIS INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT (ICC) INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE (ICJ)
    Relationship with the United Nations Independent; UN Security Council may refer matters to it Primary judicial branch of the UN.
    Members 105 members 193 members (all members of the United Nations).
    Derives authority from The Rome Statute Charter of the United Nations and the Statute of the International Court of Justice.
    Scope of work Criminal matters – investigating and prosecuting crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes Civil matters- settling legal disputes between the member-states and giving advisory opinions on international legal issues
    Jurisdiction Only the member nations of the ICC, which means around 105 countries. Can try individuals. All the member nations of the UN, which means 193 countries. Cannot try individuals and other private entities.
    Composition 1 prosecutor and 18 judges, who are elected for a 9-year term each by the member-states which make up the Assembly of State Parties with all being from different nations 15 judges who are elected for a 9-year term each and are all from different nations.
    Funding Funded by state parties to the Rome Statute and voluntary contributions from the United Nations, governments, individual corporations, etc. Funded by the UN.

     

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  • The West has a chance to wean India off Russian weaponry

    Context

    Perturbed by India’s reluctance to condemn the Russian invasion of Ukraine and keen to bind the country closer in confronting China, Western governments have launched a fresh push to wean India, the world’s biggest importer of arms, off its long dependence on Russian weaponry.

    India’s concerns after Ukraine war

    • India has grown increasingly alarmed about China, following deadly border clashes in 2020.
    • Since the war in Ukraine began, it has also worried about Russia’s reliability as an arms supplier and about the quality of some of its weapons.
    • Diversification away from Russia: India, though insistent that it has every right to choose its own suppliers, is already diversifying away from Russia. 
    • The share of weapons it imports from Russia has fallen sharply, to around 50% between 2016 and 2021, down from 70% during the previous five-year period.
    • Western help for diversification: It has welcomed Western help in fulfilling its ambition to make more of its own weapons.

    Joint arms production plan

    • As the West cannot compete with Russia on price and remain reluctant to share their most cutting-edge technology, they are counting on joint arms production.
    • Western leaders have been vocal about their willingness to help India arm itself.
    • At a ministerial meeting in Washington in April, American officials discussed helping India to make advanced weapons, including reconnaissance aircraft and a system for combating aerial drones.
    • On visits to Delhi that month, Boris Johnson, Britain’s prime minister, and Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission’s president, also proposed joint arms ventures.
    • Despite avowed interest from both sides, such a shift faces many challenges.

    Challenges

    • Dominance of PSUs: India’s arms industry, technically open to private investment since 2001, has long been hampered by the dominance of a small number of state-owned giants such as Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).
    • Inefficiencies: State-owned arms-makers remain notoriously inefficient.
    • They also retain long-running tie-ups with Russia, making Western governments wary of accepting India’s demands for the transfer of more advanced technology.
    • Low presence of private sector: The share of defence production in the hands of the private sector, which is a more natural partner for big Western defence manufacturers, is about a fifth—scarcely higher than it was five years ago.
    • Lack of industrial capacity and skill: Both the state and private sector still lack the industrial capacity and skilled workers to produce highly specialised defence technology at scale—especially military aircraft.
    • Trust issue: While Western companies worry about inadvertent technology transfers to Russia, India worries about the reliability of its Western partners.
    • Past record: Many see America, which in the past has imposed sanctions on India for its nuclear-weapons programme, as a fickle supplier.
    • More recently America refused to sell India its Patriot missile system, prompting India to fall back on a Russian alternative and thereby put itself at risk of American sanctions once more.

    Way forward

    • Liberalisation of defence sector: As a step to liberalise the industry as part of his push towards self-reliance, in 2020 India raised the limit on foreign ownership of defence firms from 49% to 74%.
    • Ordinance Factory Board was dissolved into small units to corporatize the entity.
    • Lockheed Martin, a big American defence manufacturer, last year approved the manufacture of wings for the f-16 fighter jet by its joint venture with Tata.
    • The company has also pledged to produce a more advanced fighter, the f-21, in India, provided it wins a multi-billion-dollar contract to supply 114 fighter jets.
    • Big deals like those would provide incentives for foreign governments to approve more technology transfer and for Western manufacturers to make the investments needed to spur India’s indigenisation drive.

    Conclusion

    Russia’s war and China’s muscle-flexing have opened a door for India and the West to walk through, but crossing the threshold will require some resolve on both sides.

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  • Functioning of the National Investigation Agency (NIA)

    The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has taken over the probe into the terrible beheading of a person in Udaipur by Jihadi radicalists.

    What is the NIA?

    • Headquartered in Delhi, the NIA has its branches in Hyderabad, Guwahati, Kochi, Lucknow, Mumbai, Kolkata, Raipur, Jammu, Chandigarh, Ranchi, Chennai, Imphal, Bengaluru and Patna.
    • It is a central agency mandated to investigate all the offences affecting:
    1. Sovereignty, security and integrity of India
    2. Friendly relations with foreign states
    3. Offences under the statutory laws enacted to implement international treaties, agreements, conventions and resolutions of the United Nations, its agencies and other international organisations
    • The offense include terror acts and their possible links with crimes like smuggling of arms, drugs and fake Indian currency and infiltration from across the borders.
    • The agency has the power to search, seize, arrest and prosecute those involved in such offences.

    When did the NIA come into being?

    • In the wake of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack in November 2008, which shocked the entire world, the then United Progressive Alliance government decided to establish the NIA.
    • In December 2008, former Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram introduced the National Investigation Agency Bill.
    • The agency would deal with only eight laws mentioned in the schedule and that a balance had been struck between the right of the State and duties of the Central government to investigate the more important cases.
    • The agency came into existence on December 31, 2008, and started its functioning in 2009.
    • Till date, the NIA has registered 447 cases.

    What are the scheduled offences?

    The list includes the

    1. Explosive Substances Act,
    2. Atomic Energy Act,
    3. Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act,
    4. Anti-Hijacking Act,
    5. Suppression of Unlawful Acts against Safety of Civil Aviation Act,
    6. SAARC Convention (Suppression of Terrorism) Act,
    7. Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against Safety of Maritime Navigation and Fixed Platforms on Continental Shelf Act,
    8. Weapons of Mass Destruction and their Delivery Systems (Prohibition of Unlawful Activities) Act and
    9. Relevant offences under the Indian Penal Code, Arms Act and
    10. Information Technology Act
    • In September 2020, the Centre empowered the NIA to also probe offences under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act that are connected to terror cases.

    How wide is NIA’s jurisdiction?

    • The law under which the agency operates extends to the whole of India.
    • It also applies to:
    1. Indian citizens outside the country;
    2. Persons in the service of the government wherever they are posted;
    3. Persons on ships and aircraft registered in India wherever they may be;
    4. Persons who commit a scheduled offence beyond India against the Indian citizen or affecting the interest of India.

    How does the NIA take up a probe?

    • As provided under Section 6 of the Act, State governments can refer the cases pertaining to the scheduled offences registered at any police station to the Central government (Union Home Ministry) for NIA investigation.
    • After assessing the details made available, the Centre can then direct the agency to take over the case.
    • State governments are required to extend all assistance to the NIA.
    • Even when the Central government is of the opinion that a scheduled offence has been committed which is required to be investigated under the Act, it may, suo motu, direct the agency to take up/over the probe.

     

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  • UAPA necessary to act against terrorists: Minister

    A Union Minister has said it was necessary to have certain laws like the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) so that action could be taken against terrorists and those who “behead other people”.

    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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  • India’s new VPN Rules

    On April 28, Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) passed a rule mandating VPN (virtual private network) providers to record and keep their customers’ logs for 180 days.

    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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  • Explained: BSF powers and jurisdiction

    A blueprint that defines the extended jurisdiction of the Border Security Force (BSF) and its new logistical requirements in frontier States has been prepared and is soon expected to be submitted to the Union Home Ministry.

    What is the news?

    • While in Punjab, West Bengal and Assam, the BSF jurisdiction, from the border towards the hinterland, was enhanced from the earlier 15 km to 50 km.
    • In Gujarat the same limit has been reduced from 80 km to 50 km, while in Rajasthan the limit has been kept unchanged at 50 km.

    Do you know?

    BSF currently stands as the world’s largest border guarding force. It has been termed as the First Line of Defence of Indian Territories.

    About Border Security Force (BSF)

    • The BSF is India’s border guarding organization on its border with Pakistan and Bangladesh.
    • It comes under the Ministry of Home Affairs.
    • It was raised in the wake of the 1965 War on 1 December 1965 for ensuring the security of the borders of India and for matters connected therewith.
    • The BSF has its own cadre of officers but its head, designated as a Director-General (DG), since its raising has been an officer from the Indian Police Service (IPS).

    What are the new modifications?

    • The MHA has exercised the powers under the Border Security Force Act of 1968.
    • It has thus outlined the area of BSF’s jurisdiction.

    Powers exercised by BSF in its jurisdiction

    BSFs jurisdiction has been extended only in respect of the powers it enjoys under:

    1. Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC)
    2. Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920 and
    3. Passport Act, 1967

    Arrest and search

    • BSF currently has powers to arrest and search under these laws.
    • It also has powers to arrest, search and seize under the NDPS Act, Arms Act, Customs Act and certain other laws.

    Sanctions behind such powers

    • Scarcely populated borders: At that time, border areas were sparsely populated and there were hardly any police stations for miles.
    • Trans-border crimes: To prevent trans-border crimes, it was felt necessary that BSF is given powers to arrest.
    • Manpower crunch: While police stations have now come up near the border, they continue to be short-staffed.

    Various issues at Borders

    1. Encroachment
    2. Illegal incursion
    3. Drug and cattle smuggling

    Impact on State Police jurisdiction

    • Such moves are aimed to complement the efforts of the local police.
    • Thus, it is an enabling provision.
    • It’s not that the local police can’t act within the jurisdiction of the BSF.
    • The state police have better knowledge of the ground.
    • Hence BSF and local Police can act in cooperation.

    Criticism of the move

    • At a basic level, the states can argue that law and order is a state subject and enhancing BSF’s jurisdiction infringes upon powers of the state government.
    • In 2012, then Gujarat CM and the present PM had opposed a central government moves to expand BSF’s jurisdiction.

     

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  • Need for a National Security Doctrine

    Context

    All major powers undertake a periodic (every 4-5 years) review of their evolving national security objectives. The government of India, on the other hand, has neglected to undertake any such exercise, in the past 75 years.

    India’s defence budget for FY 2022-23

    • In 2022-23, the Ministry of Defence has been allocated Rs 5,25,166 crore.
    • This includes expenditure on salaries of armed forces and
      civilians, pensions, modernisation of armed forces, production establishments, maintenance, and research and development organisations.
    • According to the Stockholm International Peace
      Research Institute (SIPRI), India was the third largest defence spender in absolute terms in 2020
      after USA and China.
    • In the last decade (2012-13 to 2022-23), the budget of the Ministry of Defence has grown at an annual average rate of 8.6%, while total government expenditure has grown at 10.8%.
    • Defence expenditure as a percentage of GDP declined from 2.3% in 2012-13 to 2% in 2022-23.

    Neglect of defence expenditure in India

    • Defence expenditure as non-plan expenditure: Independent India saw defence expenditure being relegated to the “non-plan” category, within the ambit of a Soviet-inspired, central economy.
    • Pension bill linked to defence budget: In another anomaly, the pension bill of veteran soldiers — a separate charge on the exchequer — was linked to the defence budget.
    • Neglect of modernisation needs: And the growing pension bill was given as an excuse for the dwindling funds available for force-enhancement and hardware replacement/modernisation.
    • As a result, the finance ministry, instead of finding ways and means of raising essential, additional funds for national defence demanded that they evolve measures for reducing the pension bill.

    Two issues with our national security approach

    1] Lack of periodic review

    • Every nation faces the eternal “guns vs butter” dilemma.
    • Periodic review: All major powers undertake a periodic (every 4-5 years) review of their evolving national security objectives, the options available, and the economic/military means available for achieving them.
    • Apart from providing fiscal guidance, this process also facilitates the evolution of a national security strategy. 
    • China, has, since 2002, been issuing, with unfailing regularity, a biennial “Defence White Paper”, which encapsulates all of the foregoing, and is available on the Internet; for the information of foes and friends, alike.
    • The government of India, on the other hand, has neglected to undertake any such exercise, in the past 75 years.
    • India is amongst the few major powers which has failed to issue a National Security Strategy or Doctrine.

    2] Lack of organisation reforms

    • A second fact that we need to face is that our armed forces have remained in a Second World War time-warp, as far as their organisation and doctrines are concerned.
    • Lack of political will and internal resistance: Attempts at organisational reform have come to naught due to lack of political will as well as internal resistance from the services; with the constitution of a Chief of Defence Staff and creation of a Department of Military Affairs providing the latest examples.

    Way forward

    • Given the transformed nature of warfare, down-sizing of the Indian army, by substituting manpower with smart technology and innovative tactics, has become an imperative need.

    Agnipath Scheme

    • Recently announced Agnipath scheme provides for the recruitment of youths in the age bracket of 17-and-half to 21 years for only four years with a provision to retain 25 per cent of them for 15 more years.
    • Later, the government extended the upper age limit to 23 years for recruitment in 2022.
    • The personnel to be recruited under the new scheme will be known as Agniveers.

    Suggestions for Agneepath Scheme

    • 1] Not the best time to introduce reform: Given the parlous security situation, on the country’s northern and western borders as well as the ongoing domestic turbulence, this is not the best time to cast the armed forces — already short of manpower — into turmoil, with a radical and untried new recruitment system.
    • 2] The scheme is suitable for the army only: Such a scheme, in its present form, is suitable only for the army, whose large infantry component is not excessively burdened with technology.
    • In case of the navy and air force,  at least 5-6 years are required before a new entrant can acquire enough hands-on experience to be entrusted with the operation or maintenance of lethal weapon systems and complex machinery and electronics.
    • 3] Trial before implementation: A radical change of this nature should have been subjected to a trial before service-wide implementation.
    • Ideally, a few units of the regular or Territorial Army could have been earmarked as a testing ground, and feed-back obtained.
    • 4] Legal backing to post-demobilisation employment: Experience of the past has shown that the home ministry has resisted induction of ex-servicemen into the armed-police and para-military forces, on the grounds that it would spoil the career path of their own cadres.
    • Neglect by the state government: Similarly, state governments and other agencies have blatantly ignored the reservations mandated for ESM.
    • Therefore, if the Agnipath scheme has to offer a meaningful promise of post-demobilisation employment or education, this must be mandated by an Act of Parliament, on the lines of the “GI Bill” enacted by the US Congress.

    Conclusion

    A scheme on the lines of Agnipath, appropriately constituted, and focused on enhancing “combat effectiveness” rather than “effecting savings” or “generating employment,” could have triggered a reformative process. But the above given caveats need to be borne in mind in this context.

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  • Explained: Critical Information Infrastructure

    The Union Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) has declared IT resources of ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and UPI managing entity NPCI as ‘critical information infrastructure’.

    Try this PYQ:

    In India, the term “Public Key Infrastructure” is used in the context of

    (a) Digital security infrastructure

    (b) Food security infrastructure

    (c) Health care and education infrastructure

    (d) Telecommunication and transportation infrastructure

     

    [wpdiscuz-feedback id=”2d4o8z90sm” question=”Please leave a feedback on this” opened=”1″]Post your answers here.[/wpdiscuz-feedback]

    What is Critical Information Infrastructure (CIC)?

    • The Information Technology Act, 2000 explicitly gives definition of CIC.
    • It defines CIC as a computer resource, the incapacitation or destruction of which shall have debilitating impact on national security, economy, public health or safety.
    • It basically aims to protect the digital assets.
    • The government, under the Act, has the power to declare any data, database, IT network or communications infrastructure as CII.
    • Any person who secures access or attempts to secure access to a protected system in violation of the law can be punished with a jail term of up to 10 years.

    Why is CII classification and protection necessary?

    • IT resources form the backbone of countless critical operations in a country’s infrastructure.
    • Given their interconnectedness, disruptions can have a cascading effect across sectors.

    What led to the classification of CICs?

    • In 2007, a wave of denial-of-service attacks, allegedly from Russian IP addresses, hit major Estonian banks, government bodies – ministries and parliament, and media outlets.
    • It was cyber aggression of the kind that the world had not seen before.
    • The attacks played havoc in one of the most networked countries in the world for almost three weeks.

    Recent incidents of CIC incapacitation

    • In October, 2020 as India battled the pandemic, the electric grid supply to Mumbai suddenly stopped.
    • It hit the mega city’s hospitals, trains and businesses.
    • Later, a study by a US firm claimed that this power outage could have been a cyber-attack, allegedly from a China-linked group.
    • The government, however, was quick to deny any cyber-attack in Mumbai. But prospects cannot be denied.
    • The incident underlined the possibility of hostile state and non-state actors probing internet-dependent critical systems in other countries, and the necessity to fortify such assets.

    How are CIIs protected in India?

    • Created in January 2014, the National Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Centre (NCIIPC) is the nodal agency.
    • It takes all measures to protect the nation’s critical information infrastructure.
    • It is mandated to guard CIIs from “unauthorized access, modification, use, disclosure, disruption, incapacitation or distraction”.
    • NCIIPC monitors and forecasts national-level threats to CII for policy guidance, expertise sharing and situational awareness for early warning or alerts.

     

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  • The Cyber factor in the Russia-Ukraine war

    Context

    After 100 days of Ukraine crisis, Russia is yet to achieve what can be termed as a decisive victory in any sector of the current conflict.

    Reasons for the lacklustre performance of Russia

    • Several reasons have been adduced by experts in the West for the lacklustre performance of the Russian army.
    • Lack of motivation: There is a lack of motivation and the poor morale of the Russian forces sent to Ukraine.
    • Outdated weaponry: Russian weaponry being outdated and ineffective to fight an informationalised war under modern conditions.
    • Leadership issue: Russian commanders have also proved inept in devising plans and taking appropriate decisions in battlefield conditions against a determined enemy.

    Important role of cyber warfare

    • Given that cyber is often touted as the Fifth Dimension of warfare, it may be worthwhile to examine whether this indeed is the first major conflict in which ‘cyber’ is playing a crucial role, allowing a weaker nation with cyber capabilities to use it to its advantage.
    • A former Chief of the National Security Agency of the U.S., in his memoirs had said that although cyberspace is a man-made domain, it had become critical to military operations on land, sea, air and in space.
    • A former U.S. Secretary of Defence a few years ago,, even talked of a possible ‘cyber Pearl Harbour to paralyze nations and create a profound sense of vulnerability’.
    • The Russian military oligarchy is indeed among the world leaders in digital disruption and cyber-methodology.
    • One could have reasonably presumed that even before the conflict commenced, Russia would have swamped Ukraine with an avalanche of digital attacks.
    • Ukraine, for its part, has its own digital army, including a corps of digital weapons.

    Limits of cyber warfare

    • There are several publicised instances earlier, of alleged Russian operatives waging a cyberwar against Ukraine.
    • Both sides now possess and use malware such as data-wipers which have proved highly effective.
    • On the day the Russian invasion of Ukraine began, Russian cyber units are believed to have successfully deployed destructive malware against several Ukrainian military targets.
    •  A series of distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks against Ukrainian banking and defence websites occurred simultaneously.
    • As far as the conduct of the war is concerned, the string of small-scale cyberattacks cannot be said to have had any material impact on the conduct or outcome of the conflict.
    • Hence, the cardinal question is why given that Ukraine has put up such a heroic defence — and to a considerable extent stalled the Russian offensive — Russia has not embarked on a massive all-out cyber-offensive.
    • If that be the case, then much of the speculation that cyberattacks in the event of a war provide a perpetrator the capability to enact another ‘Pearl Harbour’ seems highly unrealistic.

    Conclusion

    It is very likely, and possibly a fact, that there are major difficulties in planning and executing massive cyberattacks on a short timeline to ensure higher efficacy of kinetic attacks.

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  • Analysing the Agnipath scheme

    Context

    Recently, the Agnipath scheme for recruitment of short-term contracted soldiers was announced.

    About Agnipath Scheme

    • This will be the only form of recruitment of soldiers into the three defence services from now.
    • The scheme aims at strengthening national security and for providing an opportunity to the youth to serve in the armed forces.
    • Recruits under the scheme will be known as ‘Agniveers’.
    • After completing the four-year service, they can apply for regular employment in the armed forces.
    • They may be given priority over others for various jobs in other government departments.
    • The move is expected to decrease the average age profile of armed forces personnel from the current 32 to 24-26 years over a period of time.

    Benefits of the Agnipath Scheme

    • Lower the average age: The average age in the forces is 32 years today, which will go down to 26 in six to seven years, the scheme envisions.
    • Youthful armed forces will allow them to be easily trained for new technologies.
    • Employment opportunities: It will increase employment opportunities and because of the skills and experience acquired during the four-year service such soldiers will get employment in various fields.
    • High-skilled workforce: The scheme will also lead to the availability of a higher-skilled workforce to the economy which will be helpful in productivity gain and overall GDP growth

    Financial constraints and challenges

    • Directing funds towards modernisation: It has been argued that the savings in the pensions bill — which will show up on the books only after a couple of decades — would be directed towards the modernisation of defence forces.
    • The armed forces do not have that kind of time available to them to postpone their already long-delayed modernisation.
    • Shortage: The Indian Air Force is already down to 30 squadrons of fighter jets against the 42 squadrons it needs, and the Indian Navy is at 130 ships when its vision was to be a 200-ship navy; the Indian Army is already short of 1,00,000 soldiers.
    •  Instead of expanding the economy to support the military, the Government has resorted to shrinking the military.

    Issues with the short-term recruitment

    • No theoretical modelling: As the short-term recruitment policy has neither been theoretically modelled nor tried out as a pilot project, the exact consequences of the move will only be known as they play out.
    • Adverse effect on professional capabilities: But its adverse effect on the professional capabilities of the armed forces is certain.
    • It starts with the very high turnover of young soldiers, the increase in training capacities and infrastructure and the augmentation of the administrative setup for greater recruitment, release, and retention of soldiers.
    • An armed forces boasting of a poor teeth-to-tail ratio is further increasing the tail.
    • Impact on operational capabilities: The tooth-to-tail ratio (T3R), in military jargon, is the amount of military personnel it takes to supply and support (“tail”) each combat soldier (“tooth”).
    • The Indian Air Force and the Indian Navy employ their airmen and sailors in very specialised roles, which require technical skills, and a high degree of training and experience.
    • Because the short-term contractual soldier model (the Agniveer scheme) is going to take a few years to fully play out at an organisational level, the actual degradation of operational capability will only be known then.
    • Class-based recruitment abolished: In the Agnipath proposal, the class-based recruitment has been replaced with an all-India all-class recruitment.
    • It will strike at the core of the organisational management, leadership structures and operating philosophy of the Indian Army.
    • Even though the soldiers in the Indian Army are professionally trained, they also draw their motivation from their social identity  — where each soldier cares for his reputation among the peers in his caste group or his village or his social setting.
    • To replace that with a pure professional identity of a soldier will bring its own challenges in a tradition-bound army.
    • Training challenges: There will be major problems in training, integrating and deploying soldiers with different levels of experience and motivations.
    • An organisation which depends on trust, camaraderie and esprit de corps could end up grappling with rivalries and jealousies amongst winners and losers, especially in their final year of contract.
    • Legal challenges: Even though the Government has kept the contract at four years to deny the Agniveer gratuity and is not counting the contractual period towards regular service, these provisions are bound to be challenged legally.
    •  Over time, this will lead to the salary and pension budget creeping back up again.
    • Political imbalance: The Agnipath scheme also does away with the idea of a State-wise quota for recruitment into the Army, based on the Recruitable Male Population of that State which was implemented from 1966.
    • This prevented an imbalanced army.
    • Academic research shows that the high level of ethnic imbalance has been associated with severe problems of democracy and an increased likelihood of civil war.
    • Impact on motivation: A short-term contractual soldier, without earning pension, will be seen as doing jobs after his military service that are not seen to be commensurate in status and prestige with the profession of honour.
    • Impact on motivation: It will reduce the motivation of those joining on short-term contracts while diminishing the “honour” of a profession which places extraordinary demands on young men.
    • Social unrest: There are numerous examples of demobilised soldiers leading to increased violence against minorities.
    • This could happen in India as the youth who are not given regular recruitment after four year’s service would turn to violence.

    Conclusion

    The Government’s yearning for financial savings runs the risk of reducing the honour of a profession, the stability of a society and the safety of a country.

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