India’s First National Counter-Terrorism Policy PRAHAAR

• Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) released PRAHAAR, India’s first comprehensive national counter-terrorism policy.

About PRAHAAR

• It formalises a “zero tolerance” approach and establishes a coordinated, intelligence-driven mechanism to address both traditional and emerging security threats.
• The policy aims to dismantle terror infrastructure by criminalising terrorist acts and depriving perpetrators of funding, weapons, and safe havens.
• Secular Approach: It explicitly states that India does not associate terrorism with any specific religion, ethnicity, or nationality.
• Coordination: The Multi Agency Centre (MAC) and the Joint Task Force on Intelligence (JTFI) under the Intelligence Bureau (IB) lead intelligence sharing; NSG and NIA manage response and prosecution.
• Focus Areas: The policy targets misuse of drones, cybercrime threats, and strengthens protection of power, railways, aviation, space and atomic sectors.

Seven Pillars of PRAHAAR

1. (P) Prevention: Proactive, intelligence-led measures to disrupt threats before they materialise.
2. (R) Responses: Swift and proportionate counter-terror actions across all levels of government.
3. (A) Aggregating: Consolidation of internal capacities to enable synergy across all administrative levels.
4. (H) Human Rights: Ensuring all operations include legal safeguards and rule-of-law-based processes.
5. (A) Attenuating: Targeted de-radicalisation programs and addressing socio-economic vulnerabilities.
6. (A) Aligning: Strengthening global cooperation to counter transnational terrorism through diplomacy.
7. (R) Recovery & Resilience: A “whole-of-society” approach to community rebuilding after incidents.

Source: TH | NDTV

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. What is PRAHAAR policy?
PRAHAAR is India’s first comprehensive national counter-terrorism policy launched by the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Q. What does PRAHAAR stand for?
It represents Prevention, Responses, Aggregating, Human Rights, Attenuating, Aligning, and Recovery & Resilience.

Q. Which agency leads intelligence coordination under PRAHAAR?
The Multi Agency Centre (MAC) under the Intelligence Bureau leads intelligence sharing.

Q. Why is “Human Rights” included in PRAHAAR?
To ensure counter-terror operations follow legal safeguards and rule of law.