The National Intelligence Grid or NATGRID is an integrated intelligence master database structure for counter-terrorism purposes which connects 21 databases of various core security agencies under the Government of India. NATGRID aims to mitigate a vital deficiency — lack of real time information, which was considered to be one of the major hurdles in detecting US terror suspect David Headley's movement across the country during his multiple visits between 2006 and 2009.
NATGRID was conceptualised in 2009 in the aftermath of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, revived in 2016 and became operational at the end of 2020. It is based in Bengaluru and is accessible only to security agencies. It is a platform to facilitate secure intelligence-sharing between the National Investigative Agency (NIA) and State Anti-Terror Squads and enables the police and investigating agencies to securely access government and private databases in real time. It is being developed as a measure to help security agencies such as the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Research & Analysis Wing (RAW) etc. in tackling crime and terror threats in the country.
NATGRID is a state-backed surveillance database that gives security agencies access to all kinds of data about a citizen, including details of driving licence, vehicle registration, bank records, Aadhaar registration, FASTag, hospital data, airline data, tax records, bank records, and also details of social media accounts which share posts on a particular issue, telecom and internet usage.
Additionally, NATGRID’s advanced analytics tool “Gandiva” can reportedly be used for facial recognition of criminals and potential suspects. Gandiva, NATGRID’s AI-driven intelligence query tool, adds a single point search and can match the image of a suspect with photo identity documents such as telecom KYC, vehicle registration or driving licence etc.
The Home Ministry has been advocating the use of NATGRID by State police and Central agencies to collect intelligence and speed up investigation of criminal cases. The platform gathered pace after investigating agencies and the state police were recently asked to scale up the use of NATGRID in all investigations.
Access to NATGRID is now available to Superintendent of Police (SP) rank officers. NATGRID is linked to the CCTNS ( Crime and Criminal Tracking Network & Systems database covering around 14,000 police stations. Presently NATGRID is receiving 45,000 requests per month.
The NATGRID leverages Information Technology to connect approved User Agencies (security/law enforcement) with designated Data providers (Airlines, Banks, SEBI, Railway, Telecom etc.) with a view to enhance the country’s counter- terrorism capability. As per recent information, Govt. has linked the intel grid to National Population Register, agencies can access details of 119 crore residents
https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/govt-links-intel-grid-to-national-population-register-agencies-can-access-details-of-119-crore-residents/article70437004.ece
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