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SECURITY FORCES DEALING WITH INTERNAL THREATS - Coggle Diagram

- - - - October 2021 Centre notification under the BSF Act
        
        .The BSF’s operational jurisdiction was expanded from 15 km to 50 km from the border in Punjab, West Bengal and Assam.
        
        2.In Gujarat, the BSF’s jurisdiction was decreased from 80 km to 50 km.
        
        3.For Rajasthan, the operational area of the BSF remained the same at 50 km
        
        Arguments from the States (Punjab and West Bengal)
        
        Expansion Oversteps Powers: expansion from 15 km to 50 km infringes on their jurisdiction over law and order. Using Article 131, Punjab filed a lawsuit against the Union government, claiming that the increase in jurisdiction violates the Constitution. State governments are constitutionally responsible for maintaining public order and exercising police powers.
        
        Note: Article 131 vests the Supreme Court with original jurisdiction over disputes occurring between states or between states and the Centre.
        
        Violation of Federal Principles: The move is seen as a breach of federalism, where state powers should be respected.
        
        Legislative Action: Both states have passed resolutions in their assemblies opposing the BSF’s expanded jurisdiction.
        
        Arguments from the Central Government
        
        Enhanced Border Security: The increase to 50 km is justified to improve border patrol effectiveness.
        
        Standardizing Operations: The expansion aims to unify the operational area across different states for consistency.
        
        Perspective of the Supreme Court
        
        Legal Examination: The Supreme Court is reviewing whether the expansion encroaches upon state government’s domain.
        
        Constitutional Balance: The court is assessing the balance of powers between the central and state governments under the constitutional framework.
- - - - Hybrid warfare is an emerging, but ill-defined notion. It generally refers to the use of unconventional methods as part of a multi-domain warfighting approach. These methods aim to disrupt and disable an opponent’s actions without, engaging in open hostilities.
      - • The methods adopted by it are a combination of activities, including disinformation, economic manipulation, use of proxies and insurgencies, diplomatic pressure and military actions
        
        For example, Russia’s use of gas and lending instruments in the Ukrainian conflict.
      - • It tends to target areas which are highly vulnerable and where maximum damage can be caused with minimum effort.
      - It usually involves non-state actors indulging in subversive roles supported by states in order to give the latter some plausible deniability
        
        Other examples closer to the idea of hybrid warfare are Iran’s activity in Syria and ISIL’s activities in Syria and Iraq.
      - India has been at the receiving end of variants of Hybrid Warfare. Firstly, from Pakistan in the form of state sponsored terrorism and the other through cyber-threats from China akin to the one associated with Zhenhua.
      - But increasing inclination towards Hybrid Warfare from both state and non-state actors can lead to following issues:
      - New forms of terrorist attacks: The idea of Hybrid Warfare encourages new forms of terrorist attacks suchas ‘lone-wolf’ attacks and creation of ‘sleeper cells’.
        
        Cyber-attacks: An adversary can pressure the government to concede to its demands by threatening devastating cyber-attacks aimed at the civilian population. Examples include attacks on networks governing hospitals orelectricity and water supplies.
      - Artificial Intelligence and National Security
        
        o Dual-use nature of AI applications: Many AI applications are dual-use, meaning they have both military and civil applications. This makes controlling the flow of such technologies extremely difficult.
        
        o Absence of global coalitions for AI based tools on lines of Wassenaar Arrangement or Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR).
        
        • Unavoidable presence of AI: Artificial intelligence is now touching upon aspects of human life not only in economic domain but also in social domain.
        
        o Integration of AI into a product may not be immediately recognizable i.e. it may not alter the physical structure of a system, but incorporation of AI, changes the overall functioning of the system. For example, it would be very difficult to decipher if a drone is being controlled remotely or with an AI based system.
        
        Opportunities AI can create vis-a-vis National Security
        
        . Large scale structured data combined with the available computational power can generate significant actionable intelligence.
        
        • Creating autonomous and semi-autonomous systems: These systems collectively increase the geographical reach of the military operations. For example, autonomous systems can be employed to further increase border security without endangering the lives of soldiers.
        
        • Logistical ability: AI may have future utility in the field of military logistics. For instance, it can ensure continuous observation of border infrastructure and provide intelligent inputs with respect to need for repairs.
        
        • Cyber operations: AI is likely to be a key technology in advancing military cyber operations both in offensive and defensive capacity.
        
        • Replacing humans in ‘dull, dangerous or dirty’ work: Depending on the task, autonomous systems are capable of augmenting or replacing humans, freeing them up for more complex and cognitively demanding work. For example, AI can be used in conducting long-duration intelligence collection and analysis or cleaning up environments contaminated by chemical weapons.
        
        In 2018, government constituted a task force under Natarajan Chandrasekharan comprising representatives from the government, services, academia, industry, professionals and start-ups to preparea road map for Artificial Intelligence for national security purposes.
        
        INTEGRATED THEATRE COMMAND (ITC)
        
        it is a unified command under
        which all the resources of the Army, the Navy and the Air Force are pooled, depending on the threat perception.
        
        The commands could be geographical — like looking at a border with a particular country — or thematic, like a command for all maritime threats
        
        Theatre commands enhance synergy among the forces, and also reduces duplication of resources. Several nations in the world have theatre commands, including the United States and China
        
        The Indian armed forces currently have 17 commands. There is one joint command in Andaman and Nicobar
        Islands.
        
        It is the first Tri-Service theatre command of the Indian Armed Forces, based at Port Blair in Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India. The other tri-service command, the Strategic Forces Command (SFC), looks after the delivery and operational control of the country’s nuclear assets.
        
        ADVANTAGE OF ITC:
        
        Unified command: Of the three Services under one designated commander will allow for prompt and precise decision making and will remove unnecessary tri-services one-man-up ships.
        
        Optimum utilisation: The allocation of military hardware, in terms of weapon systems, command, control and communication equipment and combat support elements will be theatre specific and result in optimisation of the resources
        
        Availability of the resources: The logistic resources that are equipment can be procured, maintained and prepositioned for quick mobilisation and apt application during the envisaged, short-duration, high-intensity war.
        
        Coordination among the forces: It goes without saying, that the theatre commands will afford better coordination,intelligence sharing, apt advice and seamless conduct of operations in a given theatre of operation
        
        proposed theatre commands and headquarters
        
        1) Western Theatre Command facing Pakistan -proposed headquarters in Jaipur)
        
        2) Northern Theatre Command facing China -proposed headquarters in Lucknow)
        
        3) Maritime Theatre Command for threats in the Indian Ocean Region -proposed headquarters in Coimbatore, Karwar, or Thiruvananthapuram.
        
        Plans include making Mumbai the first common defence station for all three services and establishing more joint logistics nodes nationwide to enhance logistical integration, streamline supply chains, and facilitate officer postings across services.
        
        Agnipath Scheme
        
        The scheme runs on a short-service manpower model, where 75% of the recruited soldiers will leave the service in 4 years. However, 25% of them will be allowed to continue.
        
        challenges with the Agnipath Scheme
        
        1) Lack of Focus on Psychological Motivation: The basis for soldier discipline, and his motivation and psychology as a team player is related to his/her individual conscience and character. This character builds up unit camaraderie which gives a soldier strength on the battlefield.
        
        2) Technical Capabilities not Enough: Technology-based measures, in terms of weapon platforms and systems, can always be confronted with technology-based counter-measures (as seen in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict). The fact that the Agniveers possess a better technical threshold will be futile unless there is camaraderie and unit cohesion.
        
        3) Competition between Agniveers: Due to the question of retention versus rejection, the Agniveers would try to outdo each other. This can go contrary to the goal of developing unit cohesion.
        
        challenges faced by India’s defense
        
        Reduced Squadron Strength: The IAF’s current squadron strength is 32, far below the desired number, with a slow growth plan to reach 35 in ten years.
        
        Budgetary Limitations: The defense budget is under pressure due to electoral commitments. For example, in 2023-24, the defense capital acquisition budget was short by ₹13,746 crore from the requested amount.
        
        Low R&D Expenditure: India’s research and development spending in defense is low at 0.7% of GDP, compared to China’s 2.54%. Globally, India ranks 53rd in R&D spending, while China spent $421 billion in 2022.
        
        Change in Military Strategy: Post the Russia-Ukraine war, India’s military strategy has shifted from preparing for short, intense conflicts to envisioning extended warfare scenarios.
        
        Government’s Initiatives
        
        Innovations For Defense Excellence (iDEX): A key initiative to foster innovation in defense, enhancing self-reliance.
        
        Service-Specific Competitions: The IAF’s Baba Mehar Singh competition, for example, promotes the development of unmanned aerial vehicles.
        
        Ordnance Factory Board Restructuring: This move is aimed at improving efficiency in defense manufacturing, a significant step in defense sector reform.
        
        Private Sector Participation: Emphasizing on private sector involvement, with 25% of R&D funds dedicated to private companies.
        
        The Atmanirbhar Bharat Drive: It is promoting self-reliance in defense, includes restricting certain imports and boosting local manufacturing, leading to an encouraging rise in India’s defense exports. For example, in 2022-23, India’s defense exports reached a record high of approximately Rs 16,000 crore, a tenfold increase from Rs 1,521 crore in 2016-17.
  - - - The Indian military plans to create Integrated Theatre Commands (ITC).
      - They will appoint a Vice Chief of Defence Staff (VCDS) and a Deputy Chief of Defence Staff (DCDS).
      - The CDS role, created in August 2019, aims to improve jointness among the armed forces. General Bipin Rawat was the first CDS, succeeded by Lt Gen Anil Chauhan in October 2022.
      - The Maritime Theatre Command may be based in Coimbatore, though Karwar was initially preferred.
      - The goal is to enhance combat efficiency and address security threats from China, Pakistan, and terrorism.
    - - Enhance Jointness: New posts like Vice CDS and Deputy CDS are proposed to improve jointness among the armed forces and enhance composite combat capability.
      - Support CDS: They aim to support the CDS in managing his extensive responsibilities, which include being a four-star general, government secretary, and principal adviser to the Defence Minister.
      - Improve Efficiency: The goal is to streamline inter-service cooperation and improve overall combat efficiency.