India: Civil Security and Infrastructure Modernisation

On 02 May 2013, the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) approved a budget of Rs 11,000 Crore to modernise the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF)  which include the Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) manning the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) deployed in internal security and LWE tasks, Border Security Force (BSF) manning the recognised International Boundary (IB) with Pakistan and Bangladesh, Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) which is responsible for protection of VAs/ VPs to include airports, industrial installations (PSUs) and critical infrastructure, the Railway Protection Force (RPF) and a host of other armed police forces. This was in response to the 26/11 terrorist strike at Mumbai and the overwhelming number of casualties in the on-going anti-Maoist operations.

Homeland security referred erstwhile as internal security is an extremely diverse field encompassing a mammoth of issues which are intermingled with societal, economic, development and governance, regional and cross border issues.  Major security threats confronting the country are infiltration across Eastern & Western borders, illegal migration, terrorism in Kashmir and North East, Maoist insurgency in parts of Central and southeastern India and rise of urban terrorism. The geographical diversity and multiplicity of threats uniquely place India in a diversified internal security paradigm requiring customised security solutions to meet specific requirements.  

How is Homeland Security Organised?

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) is tasked with major homeland security related functions through a multitude of agencies working under it. The overall responsibility of homeland or internal security rests with the MHA, but sadly there is no single point contact and accountability, as is evident from the blame game that erupts soon after each and every incident and disaster, our country is confronted with. The organisation charts below, depicting the charter/ responsibility bestowed upon these institutions, say it all,

Thrust Areas

• Border Security.
  • Fencing and maritime patrolling- India has land borders of 15,107 kms (spread over 17 states) and a coastline of 7,517km (spread over 13 states and 05 union territories).
  • Integrated Border Check Posts (ICPs) have been earmarked for 13 locations along the borders at an estimated cost of Rs 635 crore.
  • Plans for additional 509 Border Out Posts (BOPs) to include 383 and 126 BOPs along India- Bangladesh and India- Pakistan border respectively, in addition to upgradation of existing infrastructure and communication facilities for 1,411 BOPs.

• Establishment of a National Maritime Domain Awareness Grid - to link up intelligence agencies, Naval units, coastal police, ports, Ministry of Shipping, Agriculture & Departments of Customs & Revenue.

• Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS)  - an approx One Bn USD project to create a nationwide database of crime and criminals, their biometric profiles, thus facilitating collection, storage, retrieval, analysis, transfer and sharing of data and information between police stations at both state and national level.

• NATGRID (National Intelligence Grid) for linking data bases of 21 major security agencies and to include data sources like income tax, banking system, railway and air travel, immigration records etc.
• Corporate and private security agencies - this is one of the largest employer industries in India providing employment to about six million men and women. The total number of security guards is expected to touch 9.5 million over the next three years. The revenue earnings from this industry are at Rs 36,500 Crore in FY 2013 and are expected to grow to Rs 64,00 Crore by FY 2018.

• Unique Identification (UID) project is meant to provide identification for each resident besides acting as basis for efficient delivery of welfare services and monitoring of various programmes/ schemes of the government. This will also check illegal migration and human trafficking.

• City Surveillance projects - all major cities in the country have started work on installing CCTV cameras at key places/ buildings to enable better monitoring and surveillance.

The Market Dynamics.   After the 26/11 Mumbai attack, India has been modernising its homeland security apparatus. This incident triggered key market opportunities and trends in the homeland security sector to include border and maritime security, critical infrastructure protection, which breaks down further into security for power and utility infrastructure, oil and gas infrastructure, mass transportation and airports, first responder C3I and emergency response, safe cities and the new threat to join the paradigm being cyber security. The Indian civil security market is burgeoning as Left Wing Extremism (LWE) and terrorist threats compel the state governments and police forces in the country to upgrade their civil security capabilities. The government’s recent emphasis on natural disaster management and securing of the borders and coastline is as well seen as a growth prospect for this market/ industry. The market earned revenues of $10.69 billion in 2012 and estimates this to more than double to $26.46 billion in 2020 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12 percent. Airport security followed by safe cities are probably the fastest expanding segments, with growth rates of 31.2 percent and 21.4 percent respectively. The demand for equipment and technologies to address the existing capability gaps in India's civil security is attracting global suppliers to the country. Investment plans have been proposed by the central and state police agencies to improve the capabilities of various state police forces in areas such as communications, surveillance, weapon systems, combat uniforms, ammunition, ground vehicles and airlift capabilities. However, with numerous companies offering various products and solutions, the Indian civil security market has become highly fragmented. Price sensitivity among end users in such a fragmented market adds to the challenge. To sustain profits, suppliers are looking to offer end-to-end security solutions. As they do not have an integrated portfolio at present, market participants are quite likely to turn to mergers and acquisitions. Market consolidation will thus allow market players to expand their offers.

Market Connect with Offsets.   The defence offset policy linked to defence acquisitions requires foreign vendors, who receive contracts of more than Rs 300 Crore, to invest 30 percent of the deal value in the Indian market through offset partners. The Offset Policy of 2011 introduced internal security in the list of eligible products and services for discharge of offsets thereby further aiding market development.

Problem Areas

• Although the national security policy is defined by the NSA, procurements for equipping and arming the forces is undertaken separately – by MHA for all Central CPOs and Delhi & UT Police forces and by State Governments for their respective police forces. While interoperability and intelligence sharing remain the buzz words in the business of homeland security, there is no joint manning, equipping and training strategy in place till date.
• Protection and security of critical infrastructure and of vital installations is the responsibility of the concerned ministry/ department/ state government thus resulting in a fragmented approach to their security.
• Procurement procedures- the procurement procedure for homeland security is governed by Public Procurement Policy which is much relaxed as compared to the Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP) but MHA has been falling back on Ministry of Defence (MoD) for major equipment procurements. Case in point is the Full Body Truck Scanner (FBTS) which was initiated in 2003 and has been pending since.
• The possibility of sale of weapons and other equipment to forces antithetical to peace and order has prompted putting in place of strict licensing restrictions. Uncertainty over the ability of defence public sector units (DPSUs) and ordnance factories (OFs) to withstand competition from the private sector has further hindered issuance of fresh licenses and renewal of permits for existing firms.
• An ever evolving security landscape and a procurement policy playing catch-up together mean little certainty over the exact needs of the enforcement machinery.
• Neither the MoD nor the MHA is bound by existing policy to offer guarantee of purchase on systems and equipment. Under the guidelines for licensing production of arms and ammunition, the Government is required merely to make its acquisition plans publicly known.

Conclusion

Internal security is today a more challenging and daunting proposition than ever before. Many Group of Ministers (GoMs) and Task Forces (TFs) have submitted startling findings and made recommendations for undertaking organisational, structural and procedural reforms.  The dynamics of democracy however make the implementation of these extremely difficult as in the case of National Counter Terrorism Centre.

The author is a Senior Fellow at CLAWS. Views expressed are personal.