NEW DELHI - Indian Defence Ministry sources say a road map is being drawn for a network-centric homeland security environment that will link all of the country's information and intelligence gathering systems.
Speaking at a seminar here, M.M. Pallam Raju, the minister of state for defense, said that new centers for rapid response are being set up in key cities all over the country. Equipment and weapon systems are being upgraded. Security parameters are being established. Critical infrastructure and industrial centers will receive special protection, and the capabilities of military, intelligence and paramilitary staffs are being enhanced.
Raju called for greater "synergy among the plethora of intelligence agencies to prevent another 26/11-Mumbai-like terror attack," referring to the Nov. 26, 2008, terrorist attacks on that Indian city.
The government is already building a unified technical intelligence-gathering center, the National Technical Research Organisation, under which all technical input from multiple sources, including the defense forces, will be integrated.
"There are significant opportunities for private industry to partner in the homeland security and sub-conventional warfare space," Raju said. "The allocation for India's homeland security agencies was increased by 25 percent in the 2009-2010 budget. Paramilitary forces under the Ministry of Home Affairs include about 1 million personnel and have a budget of $4.3 billion for the year 2009-10. The equipment and training of all these must be upgraded and modernized in order to have an effective counter-insurgency internal security force."
The Army's Future Combat Systems (FCS) program is ready to test a few components that soldiers may have in their hands by 2010.
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