The proposed National Counter Terrorism Centre may not afterall be an umbrella organisation holding control of various arms of intelligence with the Union home ministry re-working its proposal to allay the concerns of the Prime Ministers Office and various ministries and agencies. The PMO has not given its consent to the concept of the NCTC as drawn out in the discussion paper submitted by the MHA 2010, but has orally conveyed to the MHA that it has agreed to discuss the setting up of the counter-terrorism centre.
The MHA is preparing a brief note to approach the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) to get an in principle approval for the setting up of the NCTC by the year-end, promising to go back to the CCS at every stage.
Taking lessons from its recent experience of setting up the National Intelligence Grid, which witnessed turf wars with various ministries and agencies resisting sharing information, the MHA is planning to suggest the NCTC will act as a “‘fusion” centre where all “terror-related” information will flow in and would be “analysed” by a group of experts. The NCTC will work not only to “pre-empt” terror attacks but also help in “post blast” analysis and seamless sharing of information between various agencies. The Natgrid will not be subsumed by the NCTC but would provide the critical information to the centre, when required, and the task of intelligence gathering will remain with the various agencies which would work as usual. The proposed NCTC is expected to be put under the charge of the home ministry.
“There is agreement that we need an NCTC. The finer details can be worked out gradually. We will go back at every stage and get an approval,” a government official said.
The MHA is planning to hold meetings with experts and retired officials, including former home secretaries and chiefs of intelligence agencies to hear their views and proceed step by step.
“What needs to be ensured that there is no duplication of work. When there are inputs, it is the local police and agencies who will need to act,” an official explained.