Unaccountable Natgrid Is Not A Panacea For Intelligence Failures Of India

Intelligence Failures in India are in abundance. This is not necessarily due to the fault of Intelligence Agencies of India but in majority of cases this happen due to non sharing of intelligence information among themselves in a timely manner. Overall, Intelligence Infrastructure of India is in a bad shape.

This is the reason why Projects like National Intelligence Grid (NATGRID), National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC), etc assume significance. These are ambitious Projects that must be implemented in a Constitutional and Planned manner. Here lies the real problem.

While NCTC is out of picture for some more years yet NATGRID Project is based upon “Faulty Premises” and “Improper Management”.

Home Minister P. Chidambaram is pressing hard for the NATGRID Project upon the premises that it would solve all the Intelligence and Terrorism related problems. This is not true. NATGRID Project cannot and would not stop terrorist attacks and it would play almost no role in the absence of good Intelligence Gathering and Analysis Capabilities. It can supplement intelligence capabilities but never supplant the same.

Secondly, NATGRID Project of India is badly implemented. There is no sign of any sort of “Accountability and Transparency” in the dealing of NATGRID Project. Even Parliamentary Scrutiny is missing and in an environment where E-Surveillance has already gripped India, this is a bad news.

There is no “Public Information” about NATGRID Project nor are there any “Procedural Safeguards” that can prevent the possible misuse of this E-Surveillance Project. Civil Liberties are at stake as there is no protection of Human Rights in Cyberspace.

Home Minister P. Chidambaram must understand that NATGRID Project of India is “Not a Panacea” for all National Security problems in India. If at all NATGRID Project would work, it must be made more “Systematic and Planned”. Of course, it must also be “Constitutional”. Presently NATGRID Project is not meeting any of the abovementioned requirements.

CCS Did Not Approve Natgrid Project Absolutely

National Intelligence Grid (NATGRID) Project of India is still in troubled waters as lack of Privacy Laws and Data Protection Laws has put it in doldrums. Media reports are full of rumours that the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) has cleared the NATGRID Project. However, this is not true as CCS has just granted the “in principle approval” to NATGRID Project and nothing more.

In the past as well in principle approval was given to NATGRID Project but it was not able to proceed as it lacks the basic Planning, Management and Legal Framework. Even today and after the in principle approval of CCS, NATGRID Project is still without any Legal Framework and Parliamentary Oversight.

Further, the CCS has granted its approval to NATGRID Project for “Limited Purposes” only. CCS has allowed NATGRID to operate for “Limited Phases” only that also where the same can operate within the limits of present Legal Framework. For subsequent stages, NATGRID has “not been approved” till “Suitable Amendments” are made in the Laws of India.

Experts in India have been saying that NATGRID Project of India must comply with Civil Liberties in order to be Legal and Constitutional. Fortunately, the CCS has also “Endorsed” this view and this is the reason why it did not give permission for subsequent and “Final Phases” of NATGRID Project. The CCS has just cleared first two “non-controversial phases” and it is still holding back nod for later phases that require Legal Alterations

The real problem with India is that it is not respecting Human Rights in Cyberspace. We have no E-Surveillance Policy in India and Lawful Interception Law in India is missing. Phone Tapping in India is not done in a Constitutional manner and Laws like Information Technology Act 2000, Official Secrets Act, Indian Telegraph Act 1885, etc are “no more constitutional” and deserve to be repealed.

It is only now that India has started paying attention towards issues like Privacy Laws but even these efforts lack Protection of Civil Liberties in Cyberspace and Protection of Privacy Rights in the Information Era.

NATGRID Project of India would not be finished before Five Years in these circumstances. This is despite the claims of Home Minister P. Chidambaram. If NATGIRD Project is finished before that time period and within the present Legal Framework it means only two things. Either the CCS has “forsaken” the Civil Liberties of India Citizens or Home Ministry is operating the NATGIRD Project “Illegally and Unconstitutionally” and without the knowledge of CCS.

Right To Privacy In India In Pipeline

Privacy law in India is the need of the hour. This is more so where privacy rights in India are frequently violated through various e-surveillance projects of Indian government. India has no dedicated privacy law. The Supreme Court of India interpreted it by expanding the scope of Article 21 of the Constitution.

Meanwhile, Indian government launched projects like Aadhar, National Intelligence Grid (NATGRID), Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS), National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC), Central Monitoring System (CMS), Centre for Communication Security Research and Monitoring (CCSRM), etc. None of them are governed by any Legal Framework and none of them are under Parliamentary Scrutiny.

These projects have also raised serious privacy violations issues as well that have still not been redressed by Indian government.

Realising that this may cause problems in future, the Law Ministry of India is working on a proposal to make right to privacy a fundamental right in the Indian Constitution. This is the right approach as without privacy safeguards all the recently launched projects of Indian government are “unconstitutional”.

We are working on making right to privacy a fundamental right. It is likely to be tabled in the monsoon session of Parliament. However, it's difficult to commit the timeframe, law minister Veerappa Moily said.

The right to privacy would include the right to confidentiality of communication, confidentiality of private or family life, protection of his honour and good name, protection from search, detention or exposure of lawful communication between individuals, privacy from surveillance, confidentiality of banking, financial, medical and legal information, protection from identity theft of various kinds, protection of use of a person's photographs, fingerprints, DNA samples and other samples taken at police stations and other places and protection of data relating to individual.

Many of these are already observed at a practical level. For example, it's a part of professional ethics of a lawyer or a doctor not to reveal details about clients or patients. The same applies for the banking sector. Apart from strengthening norms for interception of communication, the proposed Act will guarantee an individual's right to privacy. It's similar in the way the Constitution guarantees existing fundamental rights like right to equality, right to freedom of expression etc," explained a senior law ministry official.

The proposed legislation must be enacted keeping in mind the techno legal aspects. Technology would create serious challenges before Indian government and necessary provisions must be incorporated to deal with the same in future.

National Intelligence Grid Of India In Doldrums

National intelligence grid (Natgrid) is a pilot project of Home Ministry of India. Natgrid has been launched to tackle growing terrorist attacks and terrorism cases in India. Besides, Natgrid can also be used to prevent serious crimes and cyber crimes.

Natgrid project is accompanies by national counter terrorism centre (NCTC) of India. However, till now neither Natgrid nor NCTC has been able to see the light of the day. Bureaucratic hurdles and lack of proper planning is the main reason why these crucial projects are not even able to take a start.

After 26/11, India vowed it would never be caught napping again and the ambitious idea of National Intelligence Grid was born. It was widely believed to be Home Minister P. Chidambaram's visionary plan, a powerful real-time 24X7 networking of 21 databases to stitch all information and raise alarm. It has now been almost two years and there is no sign of any implementation of Natgrid project.

There seems to be two main reasons for non functional Natgrid and NCTC projects. The first is the fear that Home Ministry would become all powerful Ministry to deal with intelligence related works. If sensitive information is left at the disposal of Home Ministry other Ministries may not like the idea. Further, this is the reason why NCTC project has not moved an inch forward.

The second reason for the failure of Natgrid and NCTC projects is absence of privacy, data security and data protection safeguards in these projects. In a zeal to deal with terrorism related cases, Home Minister P Chidambaram ignored the civil liberties requirements altogether. To make the matter worst we have no e-surveillance policy in India and our intelligence agencies and law enforcement agencies are practically governed by no law and without any Parliamentary oversight. Thus, fears of privacy violations have also plagued Natgrid and NCTC projects.

Although the intentions of Home Ministry are good yet they have not been executed in a planned and coordinated manner. In these circumstances the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) may not clear these much needed projects. I wish the Home Ministry would take care of all these issues so that both Natgrid and NCTC may be operational in India.