India goes digital, so do crimes, and now so does the mission against them!
On February 23, 2026, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs put forward a document named “PRAHAAR.” This document outlines how the nation intends to respond to terror threats moving forward. Instead of efforts that have no unified basis, coordination will now decide steps. It’s broader than the simple philosophy of prevent, detect and disrupt.
So, what even is ‘PRAHAAR?’
Prahaar is a project that sees terror not as a crime but as a wider threat to safety. Instead of just arrests, the plan has a multifaceted system based on insights from spying, tough laws, working across borders, and involving local groups, but it still draws a hard line against every kind of attack.
Clearly, India says terror holds no tie to one faith, origin, culture, or people. Yet trouble arrives often, shaped by support from neighbors beyond its frontier.
What threats ‘PRAHAAR’ Identifies?
Out in the open, the paper calls cross-border state-backed terror a steady main threat to India, and rightly so. It also points out how overseas outfits now lean more on homegrown networks, using local supply routes, support systems, and familiarity with the land when striking.
You’re thinking correctly, it points directly at worldwide terrorist networks like Al-Qaeda and ISIS, saying these groups aim to ignite unrest and upheaval in India using hidden operatives. Another detail points at jihadist organizations, along with their public-facing fronts, still working behind the scenes to organize, support, and carry out violent strikes pinpointing various areas of the country.
Flying machines now play a part, spotted often near Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir, where cross-border operators slip them into use for harmful acts. New tools are made and woven into efforts that push unrest beyond the boundary line.
Report reveals that extremist networks…
An eye-opening report reveals that extremist networks rely on social apps, private chat services, coded messages, hidden online zones, along with digital money holders for spreading ideas, gathering resources and sharing plans, all while staying unseen. Thanks to the Internet’s anonymous structures!
So no matter how many efforts you give in to track them, these methods help maintain secrecy across their actions. Hackers working for crime groups keep coming back, while countries with bad intent stay active too.
Nowhere before has the government spelled out dangers from CBRNED substances so clearly in one official paper.
Understanding the Intelligence First Approach?
Aiming straight at early intervention, ‘Prahaar’ runs on smart detection. This kind of intelligence gives shape to its backbone, carving each step before the harm spreads.
Inside the Intelligence Bureau, the Multi-Agency Centre sits alongside the Joint Task Force on Intelligence and these hubs now channel live anti-terrorism data across federal units and regional law enforcement teams. One feeds into another through constant digital links, as information flows without long delays because systems connect directly. State officers receive updates at nearly the same instant as national staff and speed hails from shared access built right into daily operations. And also, real-time alerts move faster when structures are linked under one roof.
Know all about the Operational Response…
When big terror strikes happen, the job of leading the response falls to the National Security Guard and handling evidence and legal follow-up goes to both the NIA and local law enforcement units across states. One team rushes in, while others piece things together after; action and inquiry can co-exist together rather than being like distant dreams.
Coordination occurs without one center controlling everything, and yes, each agency holds part of the process and not the whole picture.
What’s needed now is consistent methods across teams, linked by centralized control via MAC so things move faster than they did during earlier strikes.
What’s the legal basis behind ‘PRAHAAR?’
Still standing strong, India’s main tool against terror remains the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, known as UAPA. Alongside it come fresh additions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam. These are all part of this three-tier mix now.
To maintain fairness, the approach builds in several layers where courts can step in and press authority, while making sure people still have paths to challenge decisions. This move shows how officials aim to weigh safety needs against personal freedoms.
Do you realize what this could mean? India could look like a country where lawyers step in early, right from when FIRs are filed, they stay through prosecution, helping shape stronger cases while possibly lifting conviction numbers along the way.
Can we expect international coordination?
Now faced with terror that so does not respect borders, the approach relies on agreements to hand over suspects, shared legal support pacts, teams that operate across nations, and also systems built for swapping intelligence reports.
India keeps arguing for labeling terrorists globally through the UN and alongside this, domestic actions need support from joint efforts across regions and nations.