Amit Shah Inaugurates Anti-Terrorism Conference 2024, Announces Key Measures to Strengthen India’s Counter-Terrorism Efforts

New Delhi: Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah inaugurated the two-day “Anti-Terrorism Conference-2024,” organized by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in New Delhi today. In his address, Shah unveiled NIA’s motto, released a new Standard Operating Procedure (SoP) for investigations under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), and facilitated 11 NIA medal winners. Distinguished dignitaries, including Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan, Director of Intelligence Bureau Tapan Kumar Deka, Deputy National Security Advisor Pankaj Singh, and NIA Director General Sadanand Vasant Date, were present at the event. Senior police officers from states and Union Territories, as well as experts in law, forensics, and technology, attended the conference.

In his keynote address, Shah stressed that NIA’s role extends beyond investigations, emphasizing the need to strengthen India’s anti-terror framework at every level. “Under NIA’s leadership, anti-terror efforts should be coordinated and communicated effectively, ensuring that cases are robustly represented in courts,” he said.

Highlighting India’s progress in counter-terrorism, Shah remarked on the advancements made under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government since 2014. “PM Modi’s call for ‘Zero Tolerance against Terrorism’ has become a global standard,” he stated, adding that a comprehensive ecosystem has been built in India to tackle terrorism. He also announced that the Ministry of Home Affairs would soon introduce a National Counter-Terrorism Policy & Strategy to address terrorism, terrorists, and supporting networks.

Shah acknowledged the unique challenges in combating terrorism, citing the need for inter-state and international collaboration due to terrorism’s borderless nature. He expressed confidence that the conference would not only foster discussions but also produce actionable insights that would be implemented from local police stations to the highest levels of security. “From the beat officer to the Director General of NIA, awareness and readiness must be uniform across the board,” he emphasized.

He also spoke on the evolving measures India has adopted to dismantle terrorism financing and support networks. Since 2019, amendments to the NIA Act have expanded the agency’s jurisdiction to investigate cases abroad, while UAPA amendments empower authorities to designate individuals and organizations as terrorists and seize their assets. “A multi-faceted 25-point plan introduced in 2020 targets all aspects of terror financing, from jihadist terrorism to illegal arms smuggling and currency counterfeiting,” Shah noted.

The Home Minister highlighted initiatives such as NATGRID and NIA’s use of artificial intelligence tools like NCORD, NIDAAN, and MANAS to streamline intelligence gathering and enhance security responses. “A centralized database system has been developed, bringing together intelligence resources to effectively combat terror activities,” he said, adding that 15 organizations have been classified as terrorist groups, with seven additional designations recently made.

Shah commended the NIA for its high success rate in prosecuting cases under the UAPA, achieving nearly a 95% conviction rate. “Terrorism is an invisible enemy without borders; to combat it, our young officers must be equipped with the latest technological tools,” he stressed.

Describing the three newly introduced criminal laws as transformative, Shah urged states to fully implement these reforms across prisons, forensic departments, courts, and law enforcement. “Once operational, these laws will place India’s criminal justice system among the most modern in the world,” he asserted. He also highlighted the shift towards a “Duty to Share” approach in information sharing, emphasizing a “Whole of Government” effort to tackle emerging threats like cryptocurrency-linked terror financing.

In his concluding remarks, Shah urged states to embrace counter-terrorism as a shared responsibility, reinforcing the central government’s commitment to building an anti-terror ecosystem under PM Modi’s leadership. He expressed optimism that India would continue to make strides in rooting out terrorism with an unyielding resolve.