UPSC Mains Previous Year Questions 2019: GS3 Internal Security & Disaster Management | UPSC Mains: Internal Security & Disaster Management PDF Download

Q1: The banning of ‘Jamaat-e-islaami’ in Jammu and Kashmir brought into focus the role of over-ground workers (OGWs) in assisting terrorist organizations. Examine the role played by OGWs in assisting terrorist organizations in insurgency affected areas. Discuss measures to neutralize the influence of OGWs. (Internal Security)
Ans: Terrorism instills an inherent fear in citizens, eroding the perceived control of the state over law and order. This atmosphere of lawlessness creates conditions conducive for terrorist groups to achieve their political objectives. Overground workers (OGWs) play a crucial role in supporting terrorist networks, particularly in areas affected by insurgency.

Roles of OGWs:

• Food and Logistics Support: OGWs aid terror networks in meeting their basic needs.
• Propaganda and Radical Narrative: They provide the ideological backdrop for terrorist outfits.
• Finding New Recruits: OGWs exploit a pool of disgruntled youth to propagate radicalization and recruit new members.
• Coordination with Stakeholders: OGWs collaborate with secessionist leaders and organized crime networks to fulfill political objectives.
• Conduit for Illegal Money: Involves activities such as illegal trade, counterfeit currency, tax evasion, and Hawala transactions. These funds are also used to incite anti-state protests like stone-pelting.
• Assisting in Terror Plans: OGWs contribute to operational planning, provide intelligence information, safety routes, maps, and other essentials for terror operations.

Measures to Counter OGW Influence:

• Address Root Causes of Alienation: Tackle genuine concerns and conduct awareness campaigns to dispel false propaganda.
• Rehabilitate Orphans and Women: Fulfill the state's social welfare duty, countering OGW influence in recruiting new members.
• Intelligence Infrastructure: Establish a system to monitor radicalization attempts by OGWs and recruitment agents to thwart the process early on.
• Human and Electronic Surveillance: Employ surveillance to tap into existing networks and preempt terrorist attempts.
• International Cooperation: Facilitate collaboration to track suspects and terrorist networks globally.
• Fast Track Courts: Implement laws like Public Safety Acts for speedy conviction of terrorists and OGWs through specialized fast-track courts.

However, it is crucial to avoid the misuse of legal provisions by randomly booking youth based on mere suspicion. The most effective defense against terrorism lies in ensuring that people lack the incentive to take up arms against the country by providing equitable political, social, and economic opportunities.

Q2: What is CyberDome Project? Explain how it can be useful in controlling internet crimes in India. (Internal Security)
Ans: The CyberDome project is a research and development center within the Kerala Police Department, designed as a cyber center of excellence for cybersecurity and technology enhancement to bolster effective policing.

Conceived as a public-private partnership, the CyberDome project aims to foster collaboration among various stakeholders in the realm of cybersecurity and proactive handling of cybercrimes.

India has experienced a 457% surge in cybercrime incidents under the Information Technology (IT) Act, 2000, from 2011 to 2016.

Roles and Contributions of CyberDome:

• The project plays a vital role in preventing cybercrimes by establishing a cyber threat-resilient ecosystem, defending against the escalating threat of cyber attacks. This involves close collaboration between the government, private sector, and academia to keep pace with the rapidly changing technological landscape.
• CyberDome acts as an online police patrol with an Anti-Cyber Terror Cell and a cybersecurity training unit. Officers generate real-time intelligence on cyber threats, monitor fugitives' online activities, create a digital repository for stolen and lost vehicles and travel documents, track online payments to prevent money laundering, and issue cyber security advisories.
• It houses centers for social media awareness, child protection on the Internet, internet monitoring, and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in service delivery.
• In collaboration with the RBI, banks, payment gateways, and other wallet groups, CyberDome can address financial fraud.
• The ransomware school within CyberDome aims to understand, analyze, and mitigate ransomware infections, establish standard operating procedures, and raise awareness about ransomware among the public and government departments.
• Utilizing advancements in information technology, CyberDome is expected to assist investigators in obtaining crucial leads in cases related to cyber offenses.
• Employing social engineering as a key component of its policing strategy, CyberDome monitors radical groups engaging in extremist activities online.
• Successfully countering online games like Blue Whale, CyberDome has launched a covert cyber-surveillance and infiltration program to combat child pornography.

Given its success, the CyberDome project holds significant potential to control internet crimes and should be replicated at the national level.

Q3: Indian government has recently strengthed the anti-terrorism laws by amending the unlawful activities (Prevention) Act, (UAPA), 1967 and the NIA Act. Analyze the changes in the context of prevailing security environment while discussing scope and reasons for opposing the UAPA by human rights organisations. (Internal Security)
Ans: 

Amendments to UAPA and NIA Acts for Strengthening India’s Anti-Terror Framework: The Union Government has proposed amendments to the NIA Act and UAPA Act, aiming to enhance the powers of India’s anti-terror agency and broaden the scope of the anti-terror law. This move is intended to bolster India’s internal security apparatus significantly.

Under the amended UAPA Act, the Central Government gains the authority to designate not only organisations but also individuals suspected of having terror links as 'terrorists.' The current provision only allows the declaration of organisations as terrorist entities. This amendment is aligned with the government's zero-tolerance policy towards terrorism.

Simultaneously, the modification to the NIA Act expands the jurisdiction of the National Investigation Agency (NIA). The NIA will now have increased powers to investigate crimes related to human trafficking, counterfeit currency, prohibited arms dealing, and cyber-terrorism. Previously, these areas fell under the jurisdiction of State police, but the NIA can now investigate such crimes regardless of their occurrence location.

These amendments are crucial in the prevailing security environment, particularly concerning terrorism originating from Pakistan. Terrorist organisations have continuously devised new methods to destabilize the region, often forming new outfits when their previous organisations were banned. The designation of individuals as terrorists will empower the government to address such situations more effectively.

Despite the government's emphasis on countering terrorism, human rights organizations argue that these amendments infringe on basic human rights and risk creating a police state.

Concerns include:

• The UAPA lacks a clear definition of a 'terrorist act.'
• The UAPA creates a presumption of guilt for terrorist offenses based on seized evidence, undermining the universal principle of the presumption of innocence.
• The absence of a set procedure for the designation as a terrorist, excluding the judiciary and empowering the executive, blurs the distinction between a terrorist and a terror accused.
• The term 'affecting the interest of India' in the NIA Act is undefined, raising fears within civil society that it might be exploited to curtail freedom of speech and expression.

While acknowledging the need for these changes to address the security environment, the policy framework for dealing with terrorism must balance the state's duty to prevent human rights abuses and ensure victims' greater access to remedies. In addition to counterterrorism efforts, there should be a focus on improving the efficiency of the police force and expediting India's judicial mechanisms.

Q4: Cross-border movement of insurgents is only one of the several security challenges facing the policing of the border in North-East India. Examine the various challenges currently emanating across the India-Myanmar border. Also, discuss the steps to counter the challenges. (Internal Security)
Ans: 

Challenges and Solutions in Managing the India-Myanmar Border: India and Myanmar share a vast 1,643 km land border and maritime boundary in the Bay of Bengal, serving as India’s gateway to South-East Asia.

The India-Myanmar border faces several challenges:

• Cross-Border Terrorism: The region has become a safe haven for numerous insurgent groups, promoting separatist tendencies and causing instability in India.
• Connectivity: Projects like the Kaladan Multi-Modal and IMT Trilateral Highway are underway, but progress at the ground level is slow.
• Free Movement Regime: Loopholes allow insurgents to traffic arms and drugs across the border and find safe havens in Myanmar.
• Boundary Agreement 1967: While the agreement delineated borders, on-ground implementation remains limited.
• Tribal Linkages: Tribes refuse to accept artificial border lines, maintaining strong social-cultural ties across borders.
• Security Forces: Assam Rifles, responsible for guarding the border, is primarily engaged in counter-insurgency, functioning more as a counter-insurgency force than a border-guarding force.
• Infrastructure at Border Check-Points: Insufficient facilities hinder effective border management.
• Difficult Terrain: Geographical challenges make communication and connectivity development difficult.
• Trafficking: The border is highly vulnerable to drug trafficking, and proximity to the 'golden triangle' facilitates trafficking of women and children.
• Rohingya Issue: The influx of Rohingya raises socio-cultural confrontations and burdens local resources.

Steps to address these challenges:

• Strengthen border security by either assigning Assam Rifles the sole mandate for guarding or deploying another force like the Border Security Force (BSF).
• Revise the Free Movement Regime, reducing the permitted distance of unrestricted travel.
• Expedite the construction of Integrated Check-Points (ICP) and other necessary infrastructure.
• Deploy the Comprehensive Integrated Border Management System (CIBMS) for robust and integrated border security.
• Conduct sustained community interaction programs to sensitize border tribal communities and encourage their participation in nation-building.
• Engage meaningfully with Myanmar to address outstanding issues and improve mutual border management.

Q5: Vulnerability is an essential element for defining disaster impacts and its threat to people. How and in what ways can vulnerability to disasters be characterized? Discuss different types of vulnerability with reference to disasters. (Disaster Management)
Ans: The United Nation Office of Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) defines vulnerability as the conditions influenced by physical, social, economic, and environmental factors or processes, increasing the susceptibility of individuals, communities, assets, or systems to the impacts of hazards.

Key Aspects of Vulnerability Assessment:

• Vulnerability assessment requires a systematic and conceptual understanding, describing the main linkages between different risk components. Knowledge of where and how the system is vulnerable, along with the major contributing factors, allows the implementation of effective measures to reduce disaster vulnerabilities.

• Two Approaches:

  • Scientific Approach: Involves practical measurement approaches for vulnerability and disaster risk reduction research.

  • Policy Approach: Provides information on spatial distributions of vulnerability to different natural hazards, guiding authorities in necessary actions.

Types of Vulnerability:

• Physical Vulnerability: Refers to the potential for physical impact on the environment, measured by elements-at-risk (EaR) with a scale from 0 (no damage) to 1 (total damage).

  • Example: A wooden house may resist earthquakes better but be more vulnerable in fires or hurricanes.

• Economic Vulnerability: Examines the potential impacts of hazards on economic assets and processes, affecting different economic sectors.

  • Example: Low-income families often reside in high-risk areas due to affordability constraints.

• Social Vulnerability: Assesses the potential impacts on specific groups, considering public awareness, coping abilities, and institutional support.

  • Example: Women and children may be more vulnerable to disasters compared to men.

• Environmental Vulnerability: Evaluates potential impacts on the environment, including flora, fauna, ecosystems, and biodiversity.

  • Example: Tropical areas with vulnerable populations face higher risks from tropical cyclones than temperate regions.

Q6: Disaster preparedness is the first step in any disaster management process. Explain how hazard zonation mapping will help disaster mitigation in the case of landslides. (Disaster Management)
Ans: 

Disaster Preparedness and Landslide Hazard Zonation Mapping: Disaster preparedness involves measures aimed at anticipating, preventing, mitigating, and responding to the effects of disasters. These efforts, part of an integrated process, enhance the technical and managerial capabilities of governments, organizations, and communities. Disaster preparedness is considered the initial step in disaster management and includes activities such as risk assessment, early warning systems, and the development of life-saving infrastructure.

In particular, hazard zonation mapping is crucial for mitigating risks associated with landslides, a prevalent issue in India, which has experienced 28% of landslide events globally in the past 12 years.

Landslide Hazard Zonation (LHZ) Mapping:

Landslide Hazard Zonation (LHZ) mapping involves categorizing land into homogeneous areas and ranking them based on their potential hazard caused by landslides. These maps, depicting the susceptibility of an area to landslides, enable the development of intervention projects to avoid, prevent, or mitigate the hazard.

These maps play a vital role in supporting decisions related to urban development and land use planning. Effectively utilizing LHZ maps can significantly reduce the potential damage and associated costs of landslides.

Key functions of LHZ maps include identifying and delineating hazard-prone areas, initiating environmental regeneration programs with suitable mitigation measures, and facilitating the adoption of precautionary measures in the planning stages.

Given the ongoing challenges posed by landslides, especially in countries like India with rapidly increasing populations, LHZ mapping is a crucial component in integrated disaster management planning.