Navy chief emphasises coordination between country's intelligence agencies to ward off internal threats
Oct 12, 2023
New Delhi [India], October 12 : Chief of Naval Staff (CNS) Admiral R Hari Kumar on Thursday emphasised the need to have strong coordination between different intelligence agencies that are currently operating in the country in order to ensure the internal security of the country.
"There are 14 intelligence agencies currently operating in Bharat with different and sometimes overlapping mandates. There is a need to continue working closely towards enabling seamless exchange of information," Admiral R Hari Kumar said while addressing the NSG Raising Day Counter Terrorism Seminar held at DRDO Bhawan here.
He said that the first line of defence against any sub-conventional threats is timely and accurate intelligence.
"I want to emphasize on 4 'I's. ... Intelligence, Innovation, Integration, and Interagency coordination... The first line of defence against any subconscious threat is timely and accurate intelligence," the Chief of Naval Staff said.
He said that India in recent years, has become more adept at gathering and using intelligence.
"The G-SAT 7 for the Indian Navy is one such example that has allowed to transfer of imagery in real-time over secure networks," Admiral Kumar said.
He said that the Indian Navy is pursuing the National Maritime Domain Awareness or the NMDA project.
On India's international security landscape, Admiral Kumar said that the country is traversing through a contested present into a completely uncertain future.
"Look at Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Somalia, Sudan, Ukraine, Russia and now Israel-Palestine. The character of war is undoubtedly changing... The future is hinged on cooperative efforts to fight challenges that threaten our nation. We can accomplish prosperity, security and growth for all only if we collaborate...," the Chief of Naval Staff said.
At the seminar, MA Ganapathy, National Security Guard Director General, said that India needs to keep up its preparation for extreme scenarios.
"Through this seminar, we will also hold discussions on such extreme scenarios and form an SOP (Standard operating procedure), "Ganapathy said.
