National Security Strategies Conference 2025: SOP on Protests and Agitations

National Security Strategies Conference-2025

Union Home Minister Amit Shah has directed the Bureau of Police Research & Development (BPR&D) to prepare a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to deal with mass agitations and protests driven by vested interests by studying past protests and their funding patterns.

Key Points: National Security Strategies Conference

Purpose of the SOP:

• To prevent and effectively manage mass agitations in the future.
• Focus on protests influenced by vested interests and financial backing.

Analysis of Past Protests:

• BPR&D will study all major post-Independence protests, especially those after 1974.
• It will examine:

• Reasons behind the protests.
• Financial aspects (sources of funding).
• Final outcomes of the protests.
• “Behind-the-scene players” influencing such movements.

Involvement of Agencies:

• State police departments provide old case files and CID reports.
• Financial investigation agencies like:

• Enforcement Directorate (ED),
• Financial Intelligence Unit-India (FIU-IND),
• Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT),
  to track protest funding sources.

Coordination with Religious Gatherings:

• BPR&D to work with state police to study incidents like stampedes at religious congregations.
• Create SOPs for monitoring and regulating large gatherings.

National Security Agencies’ Role:

NIA, BSF, and Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) to develop strategies to:

• Identify unknown terror networks.
• Handle issues like Khalistani extremism and organized crime, especially in Punjab.
• Disrupt domestic criminal networks operating from inside jails.

Intelligence-Based Approach:

• A multi-agency task force to design a framework for preventing mass agitations.
• Includes coordination between central and state agencies for real-time intelligence sharing.

Significance:

• Aims to strengthen internal security and prevent violent mass agitations.
• Helps in tracking foreign and domestic funding of protests.
• Enhances coordination between law enforcement and intelligence agencies.

 About Financial Intelligence Unit – India (FIU-IND):

Introduction:

• Established: 18 November 2004
• Headquarters: New Delhi
• Administrative Control: Under the Department of Revenue, Finance Ministry, Government of India.
• Primary Role:

• Acts as the central national agency for receiving, processing, analyzing, and disseminating information related to suspicious financial transactions.
• Plays a key role in India’s fight against money laundering, terrorism financing, and economic crimes.

Functions of FIU-IND:

Collection of Financial Intelligence:

Collects information from reporting entities such as:

• Banks,
• Financial institutions,
• Intermediaries,
• Stock exchanges,
• Insurance companies,
• Casinos, etc.

These entities are required to submit:

• Suspicious Transaction Reports (STRs)
• Cash Transaction Reports (CTRs)
• Cross Border Wire Transfer Reports (CBWTRs)
• Non-Profit Organisation Transaction Reports (NTRs)

Analysis of Reports:

Conducts data mining and analysis to identify:

• Money laundering patterns,
• Terror financing routes,
• Illicit financial flows.

Dissemination of Intelligence:

After analysis, the FIU-IND shares actionable intelligence with:

• Enforcement Directorate (ED),
• Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI),
• National Investigation Agency (NIA),
• Income Tax Department,
• Police forces,
• Other regulatory bodies like SEBI, RBI, IRDAI.