HM Amit Shah to attend 9th National Security Strategies Conference in New Delhi tomorrow

The 9th National Security Strategies Conference, scheduled for January 18-19, 2025, in New Delhi, represents a critical pillar in India's evolving internal security architecture. Union Home Minister Amit Shah's attendance underscores the political priority accorded to national security coordination at the highest executive level. This annual conference, organized under the aegis of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), serves as the premier strategic forum where the leadership of central armed police forces (CAPFs), state police forces, intelligence agencies, and paramilitary organizations converge to assess threats, share intelligence, and harmonize operational doctrines. Historically, such structured inter-agency coordination mechanisms gained momentum after the 1999 Kargil War, which exposed critical gaps in intelligence sharing and inter-service coordination. The Kargil Review Committee (2000) and the subsequent Group of Ministers (GoM) report on national security (2001) recommended institutionalized mechanisms for regular strategic dialogue among security stakeholders. The National Security Strategies Conference evolved as a direct implementation of these recommendations, complementing other forums like the Unified Command structure in Jammu & Kashmir and the Multi-Agency Centre (MAC) for real-time intelligence fusion. The hybrid format — combining physical and virtual participation — reflects lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic, ensuring continuity of strategic deliberations regardless of geographical or health constraints. With over 850 officers participating, including Directors General of Police (DGPs) from all states and Union Territories, heads of CAPFs (CRPF, BSF, ITBP, CISF, SSB, NSG, AR), and senior officials from the Intelligence Bureau (IB), Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW), and National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO), the conference embodies the "whole-of-government" approach to security. Constitutionally, internal security falls under the State List (Entry 1, List II, Seventh Schedule), but the Union bears responsibility for national security, border management, and deployment of central forces under Article 355 (duty to protect states from internal disturbance) and Article 356 (President's Rule). The MHA, headed by the Home Minister, acts as the nodal ministry coordinating these efforts. The conference operationalizes this constitutional framework by enabling the Centre to guide states on emerging threats — such as left-wing extremism (LWE) in the Red Corridor, cross-border terrorism from Pakistan, insurgency in the Northeast, cyber threats, narcotics trafficking, and radicalization — while respecting federal sensitivities. Key thematic sessions typically cover: modernization of police forces under the Scheme for Modernisation of Police Forces (MPF); border infrastructure development under the Border Infrastructure and Management (BIM) scheme; counter-drone technologies; use of artificial intelligence in predictive policing; and coordination with the National Investigation Agency (NIA) for terror financing probes under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), 1967. The conference also reviews implementation of the "SMART Policing" initiative — Strict and Sensitive, Modern and Mobile, Alert and Accountable, Reliable and Responsive, Techno-savvy and Trained — launched by PM Modi in 2014. The significance extends beyond operational coordination. It signals India's commitment to a proactive, intelligence-led security posture amid a volatile neighbourhood — Pakistan's proxy war, China's border assertiveness, Myanmar's instability, and the Taliban's return in Afghanistan. Domestically, it addresses the nexus between organized crime, terrorism, and developmental deficits in LWE-affected districts (now reduced from 90 to 45 under the SAMADHAN doctrine). Economically, secure borders and internal stability are prerequisites for projects like the India-Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral Highway, BBIN connectivity, and the Act East Policy. Future implications include deeper integration of technology — AI-driven threat analytics, satellite-based border surveillance (BOLD-QIT), and the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network & Systems (CCTNS) — and legislative reforms like the proposed overhaul of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), and Indian Evidence Act through the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA), 2023. The conference will likely set the agenda for the 2025-26 security calendar, including the annual DGPs/IGPs Conference and the No Money for Terror (NMFT) Ministerial Conference, reinforcing India's role as a net security provider in the Indo-Pacific.