PRAHAAR: India's First National Counter-Terrorism Policy and Strategy
India's Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) unveiled "PRAHAAR" — the country's first comprehensive National Counter-Terrorism Policy and Strategy — on February 23, 2026.
PRAHAAR is a doctrine-level framework for preventing, responding to, and recovering from terrorism across all its manifestations: cross-border terror, cyber-enabled terrorism, drone-based threats, radicalisation, and financing.
The policy adopts a seven-pillar framework and a "whole-of-government, whole-of-society" approach, rejecting any linkage of terrorism with religion, ethnicity, or nationality.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) is identified as the lead agency for terror investigations, with the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 (UAPA) as the principal legal regime.
New dimensions include mandates for periodic cyber vulnerability audits, tackling terrorist use of cryptocurrency and the dark web, and regulating drone threats to critical infrastructure.
PRAHAAR: Full Form, Seven Pillars, and Institutional Architecture
PRAHAAR is an acronym encoding its seven strategic pillars:
PRAHAAR consolidates India's counter-terrorism doctrine, which was previously distributed across multiple laws, policies, and agency mandates, into a single unified strategic document for the first time.
National Investigation Agency (NIA): Powers, Jurisdiction, and Legal Basis
The NIA is India's premier federal counter-terrorism investigation agency, with jurisdiction to investigate scheduled offences across state boundaries without requiring state government consent.
PRAHAAR formally recognises NIA as the nodal investigation agency — this codifies NIA's primacy within the counter-terror ecosystem and potentially sets the stage for expanded powers or resource allocations.
UAPA: The Principal Legal Regime for Counter-Terrorism
The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 is India's primary anti-terrorism law, conferring broad powers to designate organisations and individuals as terrorists, detain suspects, and prosecute terror-related offences.
PRAHAAR designates UAPA as the "principal legal regime" — this is significant because it rules out any movement toward a standalone anti-terrorism law (like the repealed POTA) and instead anchors the legal framework in the existing UAPA structure.
Emerging Terror Threats: Cyber, Drones, and Crypto Financing
PRAHAAR dedicates significant attention to emerging and technology-enabled threats that traditional counter-terrorism frameworks were not designed to address.
Key Details
Drone Threats:
- Drone-based attacks by non-state actors have emerged as a significant threat; the 2021 Jammu Air Force station attack was the first confirmed drone strike on an Indian military installation
- Drones are used for surveillance, weapons delivery, and smuggling (drugs, arms across the LoC)
- PRAHAAR mandates periodic audits of critical infrastructure vulnerability to drone threats and coordinates with the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and MHA for counter-drone policy
- Drone (Amendment) Rules, 2021: established registration and licensing framework for drones; anti-drone technology deployment authorised for specified agencies
Cryptocurrency and Terror Financing:
- Financial Action Task Force (FATF): India is a member; FATF's Recommendation 15 addresses virtual asset regulation; India's compliance reviewed in FATF mutual evaluation
- Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA): recently extended to cover "virtual digital assets" (cryptocurrencies) through Finance Act 2023 amendments; ED (Enforcement Directorate) can now investigate crypto-linked terror financing
- Dark web use: encrypted networks used for operational planning, recruitment, and propaganda dissemination; PRAHAAR mandates enhanced capabilities for monitoring and disrupting dark web operations
- CERT-In (Indian Computer Emergency Response Team, under MeitY): nodal agency for cybersecurity incident response; PRAHAAR mandates coordination with CERT-In for cyber-terror incidents
Cybersecurity:
- Cyber-terrorism defined under UAPA (2008 amendment) and IT Act Section 66F: includes cyber attacks on critical information infrastructure
- PRAHAAR mandates: periodic vulnerability audits for critical infrastructure, coordinated emergency drills, strengthened CERT-In and NTRO (National Technical Research Organisation) capabilities
PRAHAAR's incorporation of these emerging threats reflects the evolution of India's security environment — the 2021 Jammu drone attack, the rise of cryptocurrency-based hawala networks, and cyber intrusions into power grids have all highlighted gaps in the existing framework.
- PRAHAAR released: February 23, 2026, by Ministry of Home Affairs
- First national counter-terrorism policy in India's history
- Seven pillars: encoded in the acronym PRAHAAR
- Lead investigation agency: NIA (National Investigation Agency)
- NIA established: December 31, 2008 (NIA Act, 2008); post-26/11 Mumbai attacks
- NIA Amendment Act, 2019: expanded jurisdiction to offences outside India; added human trafficking, cyber-terrorism to scheduled offences
- UAPA originally enacted: 1967; key amendments: 2004, 2008, 2019
- UAPA 2019 amendment: enabled designation of individuals (not just organisations) as terrorists
- NSG (National Security Guard): nodal national counter-terror force; established under NSG Act, 1986
- Jammu Air Force station drone attack: 2021 (first confirmed drone strike on Indian military installation)
- Crypto-terror financing coverage: PMLA extended to virtual digital assets via Finance Act, 2023
- FATF Recommendation 15: covers virtual asset regulation; India is FATF member
- Bail threshold under UAPA: court must be satisfied accused is "prima facie not guilty" — higher bar than ordinary bail