What India’s consolidated PRAHAAR strategy document entails
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:
- P — Prevention of terror attacks to protect Indian citizens and interests
- R — Responses (swift and proportionate to the threat)
- A — Aggregating internal capacities for synergy in a whole-of-government approach
- H — Human rights and Rule of Law-based processes for threat mitigation
- A — Attenuating conditions enabling terrorism (including radicalisation)
- A — Aligning and shaping international efforts to counter terrorism
- R — Recovery and resilience through a whole-of-society approach
Key Details
- Released by: Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), February 23, 2026
- Legal document status: Policy and strategy document (not an Act of Parliament); provides doctrine-level guidance for all counter-terror stakeholders
- Lead investigation agency: National Investigation Agency (NIA)
- Principal legal regime: Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 (UAPA)
- First responders: Local police, followed by specialised state and central anti-terror forces
- NSG (National Security Guard): identified as the nodal national counter-terror force under MHA; created under NSG Act, 1986
- New threat dimensions addressed: crypto-based terrorist financing, dark web operational planning, drone use by terror groups against critical infrastructure
- Cross-border terror focus: specifically addresses externally-supported terror networks, infiltration management, and proxy war dimensions
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.
Key Details
- Established: December 31, 2008, by the NIA Act, 2008 (passed in the immediate aftermath of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks)
- Headquarters: New Delhi
- Jurisdiction: Entire territory of India; can take over investigation of scheduled offences from state police forces; can also investigate offences committed outside India against Indian citizens or India's interests (after 2019 amendment)
- Scheduled offences: UAPA-related offences, explosive offences, nuclear and radiological threats, hijacking, cyber-terrorism, trafficking of persons and arms (after 2019 amendment)
- NIA Amendment Act, 2019: Expanded jurisdiction to include scheduled offences committed outside India; added human trafficking, cyber-terrorism, and CBRN threats to the schedule
- Supervision: Ministry of Home Affairs; Director General is the head
- Distinction from CBI: CBI requires state government consent to investigate within a state (Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946); NIA does not need such consent for scheduled offences
- Conviction rate: NIA has maintained a conviction rate of over 90% in prosecuted cases (a key performance metric cited in PRAHAAR's mandate for "effective prosecution")
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.
Key Details
- Originally enacted: 1967 (to deal with secessionist movements; initially focused on "unlawful activities" threatening sovereignty and integrity of India)
- Key amendments:
- 2004 amendment: Added "terrorist activities" chapter; brought in after Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) was repealed; introduced definitions of "terrorist act," "terrorist gang," "terrorist organisation"
- 2008 amendment (post-26/11): Enhanced investigation powers; up to 180 days of detention without chargesheet (with court permission); property attachment powers
- 2019 amendment: Empowered government to designate individuals (not just organisations) as terrorists; gave NIA power to attach property of designated persons; extended UAPA to offences committed outside India
- Key provisions:
- Section 15: Definition of "terrorist act" (a broad definition covering acts threatening security, unity, or sovereignty; economic security; public order using specified weapons or methods)
- Section 35–36: Designation of "unlawful organisations" and "terrorist organisations"
- Section 43A–43F (added 2008): NIA investigation powers, bail provisions, extended detention
- Bail under UAPA: Very restrictive; court must be satisfied that the accused is "prima facie not guilty" — a higher threshold than ordinary bail jurisprudence
- Landmark case: NIA v. Zahoor Ahmed Shah Watali (2019) — Supreme Court held that courts must not evaluate evidence at bail stage in UAPA cases; only a prima facie assessment is required, further restricting bail
- Constitutional challenge: UAPA's individual designation power challenged in Supreme Court (2019 amendment); case ongoing as of 2026
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