New Delhi [India], January 9 : Launching India's first National IED Data Management System (NIDMS), Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday said it will become the next-generation security shield against terrorism and prove to be extremely important in the coming days for the investigation of all types of terrorist incidents occurring in the country as well as for the analysis of their various aspects securing country's internal security system in three major ways.
Shah made the statement while virtually inaugurating NIDMS at National Security Guard (NSG) Garrison in Gurugram's Manesar-- marking a significant step towards strengthening India's counter-IED (Improvised Explosive Device) and internal security architecture. The event was attended by the Union Home Secretary, the Director of the Intelligence Bureau (IB), the Director General of NSG, the Director Generals of Central Armed Police Forces, and the Director Generals of Police of various states.
Developed by the NSG, NIDMS is a secure, national-level digital platform aimed at enabling the systematic collection, collation, and dissemination of data related to Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs).
"NIDMS will prove to be extremely important in the coming days for the investigation of all types of terrorist incidents occurring in the country and for the analysis of their various aspects. Further, NIDMS will become the next-generation security shield against terrorism," Shah said in his address.
The minister mentioned that the Ministry of Home Affairs has generated various types of data in the past years, but until now they were in silos-- separate from each other.
"Now, we are making efforts to connect all these data sources with one another and to develop an advanced Artificial Intelligence-based software for their analysis. Today's launch of NIDMS will accelerate this process and prove to be an important milestone in the direction of making the country safe from terrorism," the BJP leader said.
Shah said that with the launch of NIDMS today, a two-way, comprehensive, integrated, and online data platform will become available to the National Investigation Agency (NIA), Anti-Terrorism Squads (ATS) across the country, state police forces, and all Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs).
He said that data on any explosion or IED incident occurring at any location can be included in this system.
By utilising this data, the minister pointed out, necessary guidance can be obtained during investigations in every state. "NIDMS will prove extremely important in investigating terrorist activities, understanding trends in explosions, and formulating effective strategies against them."
He said that the database available with NSG contains data on all bomb explosions from 1999 to date. "Through NIDMS, this data will now be made available to police forces across the country and relevant agencies."
Shah said, "NIDMS will become a robust platform for accurately analysing the patterns of bomb explosions that have occurred in the country so far, the modus operandi (MO), and the explosives used."
"It will provide significant help in establishing inter-linkages between incidents--based on MO and circuit methods--as well as in understanding overall trends and insights."
Noting that NIDMS is a "secure national digital platform" through which accurate and organised analysis of bomb explosion-related incidents across the country can be conducted, Shah said, this platform will strengthen the process of collecting, standardising, integrating, and securely sharing IED-related data.
He said that NIDMS will serve as a single-click access window for data scattered across different case files for investigation agencies and anti-terror organisations.
"This will enable immediate access to the data for central and state investigation agencies, anti-terrorism organisations, and all CAPFs. This platform will also benefit the country's internal security system in three major ways."
The Home Minister said that, through 'One Nation, One Data Repository', data scattered across departments will now be available to every police unit as a national asset.
"This will bring about a very positive change in both the speed and quality of prosecution, and we will also be able to easily identify patterns. He said that understanding patterns will enable scientific evidence-based prosecution. Moreover, coordination between agencies will be established in a much better way. This will be an extremely important effort to deliver the right information to the right place at the right time," he said.
The Home Minister also lauded the NSG, terming it a strong pillar of our country's internal security.
Due to the valour, unique skills and unwavering dedication of NSG personnel, Shah said, our citizens are able to sleep peacefully.
He said that whether it is responding accurately and swiftly to an attack anywhere, maintaining constant preparedness for anti-hijack operations, conducting bomb disposal operations, or facing any other challenge, in every field, NSG has not only delivered outstanding performance but has also achieved successful results every time.
Shah further said that NSG's regional hubs will now operate from different parts of the country--Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, and Ahmedabad.
In addition, the minister said, a new hub is being established in Ayodhya.
"This will significantly reduce the time taken by the NSG to reach any location. Once all these hubs become operational--especially after the Ayodhya hub becomes active--the NSG will be able to reach any corner of the country within one to one-and-a-half hours in an emergency," said Shah.