CONTEMPORARY ISSUES Study Materials

Contemporary Issues

TECHNOLOGY FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT

• The idea of “Smart Policing,” promoted by the government, is a redesigned strategic approach that uses cutting-edge applications of analysis, technology, and evidence-based methods to integrate more “science” into police operations.

• Crime Detection: facial recognition, digital evidence, technology & AI for improved data collection.

• Law enforcement and the intelligence community are now using an ever-expanding range of biometric (and behavioural) features in addition to facial recognition and DNA. They are heartbeats, speech recognition, wrist veins, iris recognition, gait analysis, and even

palmprints.

• Layered Voice Analysis (LVA) is a useful method for detecting fraud.

• ShotSpotter technology, which employs sensors to detect gunfire and analysts to follow the data and immediately report it to police.

• “Panther, the Thermal Weapon Sight, is an all- weather and all-terrain 24-hour system that gives a soldier on duty night vision that is superior to day vision.

• Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has created a through-barrier imaging radar known as “Divyachakshu” (divine eye), which is currently undergoing development testing.

• Facial Recognition Technologies are being used by various authorities. TSCOP and Crime and Criminal Tracking Network & Systems (CCTNS) in Telangana, Punjab Artificial Intelligence System (PAIS) in Punjab, Trinetra in Uttar Pradesh, Police Artificial Intelligence System in Uttarakhand, Automated Facial Recognition System (AFRS) in Delhi, and Automated Multimodal Biometric Identification

System (AMBIS).

• Many countries worldwide are using facial recognition and biometrics, in-car and body cameras for police, drones and aerial surveillance, and crowdsourcing crime reporting and emergency applications to ensure public safety.

 License plate recognition systems are machine learning systems designed to identify numbers on plates and link with vehicle owners.

 Smart solutions such as biometrics, facial recognition, smart cameras, and video surveillance systems are growing use of Artificial Intelligence (AI).

 According to a recent study by Deloitte, smart technologies such as AI could help cities reduce crime by 30 to 40 percent and reduce response times for emergency services by 20 to 35 percent.

 AI systems are frequently used to analyse images, text and speech, assess risks or determine probabilities, generate content, optimise processes, and automate workflow.

• Mobile Forensics: Using technology, it is possible to identify a criminal’s digital footprint. Critical data can be recovered via mobile forensics, including contacts, images, SMS, videos, emails, site browser history, location data, and social media messages.

• Improved Record Keeping

• Delhi Police has now introduced a phonetic keyboard system with a Hindi voice typing facility which enhanced police functioning in terms of storing accurate digital data quickly, accurately, and efficiently.

• Call Detail Record (CDR) is a thorough log of each telephone call that travels through a phone exchange or other piece of telecommunication devices.

• Predictive Policing

• Delhi’s CMAPS (Crime Mapping Analytics and Predictive System) to pinpoint “crime hotspots”.

• “Integrated People Information Hub” is used by the Hyderabad police to identify persons who are more inclined to conduct crimes

• Surveillance, Analysis & Monitoring:CCTVs, GPS, body cameras on police personnel.

• Police can map the locations of the traffic stops and crash investigations they conduct.

• Crime analysts can also employ GPS technology to better organise shift staffing and patrol assignments, as well as to detect new patterns in crime locations.

• Kolkata Police has allocated approximately 1 crore to purchase 500 body cams for police stations

• Automatic License Plate Recognition (ALPR), is software that automatically reads automobile licence

plates by conducting complex optical character recognition on photographs. In 2021, the Gurugram (Haryana) Police recovered more than 50 stolen vehicles with the help of ANPR technology.

Robots:

Human-like robot “KP-BOT” was created by Asimov Robotics and Kerala Police Cyberdome. It contains a camera with facial recognition software.

Drones:

Gather aerial intelligence.

Undertake search and rescue operations.

Crowd monitoring: used during COVID lockdowns to monitor.

Thermal imaging or 3D mapping tools to provide areas being surveyed with GPS-enhanced precision.

Challenges

Cost: Technology can be expensive to purchase and maintain, especially for developing nations.

Reliability: There is a risk that new technologies may not work as expected or may be biased.

Perpetuate discrimination: in predictive algorithmic mechanisms.

Privacy: There are concerns about the potential for misuse of technology to violate people’s privacy.

Ethics: There are ethical concerns about the use of technology in crime prevention, such as whether it is appropriate to use surveillance or predictive policing.

Human factors: There is a risk that law enforcement officials may not be properly trained or motivated to use new technologies effectively.

Way Forward

Research and Development: to ensure cost effectiveness.

Competitive models- Indian Police Foundation (IPF)’s Smart Policing Index provided insights on the application of the project.

Recognition: FICCI Smart Policing Award given to Rashtriya Raksha University’s implementation of an advanced data analytics system that leverages Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning algorithms.

Capacity Building

Legality: to ensure privacy rights upheld

Awarness: among people and sensitization of personnel for ease of use and to enhance trust in people.

Ukraine- Russia Crisis

• “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere”-

Martin Luther King Jr.

• When peace and security of any region is threatened, the entire world feels its impact in multiple ways. The recent Ukrainian conflict showed how its ripple effects could adversely impact the whole world.

•
Together, Russia and Ukraine export nearly a third of the world’s wheat and barley, but this conflict had prevented grain from leaving the ‘breadbasket of the world’ and led to food crisis in various African and Asian countries.

• The conflict has also fuelled an energy crisis in the world. In Europe, oil and gas supply has been dwindling. India has also been affected as the Russia-Ukraine war led to a disruption in international energy supply, making the energy import much more expensive

DEFENCE PRODUCTION AND EXPENDITURE IN INDIA

Defence Expenditure

• Between 2024 and 2025, India, the world's fifth-largest military spender in 2025, saw an 8.9% growth in military spending from $86.1 billion in 2024 to $92.1 billion in 2025

2024	2025	Increase in the year 2025 over 2024
$86.1 billion	$92.1 billion	8.9%

Defence Imports

• Department of Defence Production (DDP), Ministry of Defence grants import licence to provide companies for import of items.

• The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) is the highest decision-making body in the Indian Ministry of Defence on matters relating to capital acquisition for the Armed Forces. It is chaired by the Defence Minister and comprises of senior members of the Ministry of Defence, the Armed Forces, and the Ministry of Finance. It was established in 1996, following the Kargil War, to streamline and expedite the defence procurement process.

• Capital procurement of defence equipment are undertaken from various domestic as well as foreign vendors, based on threat perception, operational challenges and technological changes so as to keep the Armed Forces in a state of readiness and to meet the entire spectrum of security challenges.

• India continues to be the world's second-largest importer of significant weapons, making up 8.2% of all arms imports between 2021 and 2025, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

    India’s top import destinations are

    Russia- 40%

    France- 29%

    Israel- 15%

• Dhirendra Singh Committee Report, 2015: The Committee was setup to review the country’s defence procurement policy and procedures. It gave the following recommendations-

• Increase indigenous content: This would help to boost the Indian defence industry and reduce the country’s reliance on imports.

• Promote strategic partnerships: With foreign defence companies to enable technology transfer to India and boost the development of the Indian defence industry.

• Streamline the procurement process: To make it more efficient and transparent. This would help to reduce delays and cost overruns.

• Improve offset policy: It requires foreign defence vendors to reinvest a portion of the contract value in India’s defence sector as a condition of winning a contract. The committee recommended that the Indian government improve its offset policy to make it more attractive to foreign defence companies. This would help to generate additional investment and technology transfer to India.

• Strengthen R&D: This would help to reduce India’s dependence on foreign technology and boost the development of indigenous defence products.

Defence Exports

• Booming Exports

• India’s defence exports have reached an all-time high, surging from Rs. 686 Crore in FY 2013-14 to nearly Rs. 16,000 Crore in FY 2022-23.

• This remarkable 23-fold increase reflects India’s progress in the global defence manufacturing sector.

• Diversification of Supply and Destination for a

Resilient Export Framework

• With exports reaching more than 85 countries, India’s defence industry has shown its capability of design and development to the world, with 100 firms exporting defence products at present.

• Export Procedures Simplified

• Export procedures have been simplified and made industry-friendly with end-to-end online export authorisation curtailing delays and bringing Ease of Doing Business.

• Indigenization

• India, once known primarily as a defence equipment importer, now exports a wide range of major platforms, including aircraft like the Dornier-228, artillery guns, Brahmos Missiles, PINAKA rockets & launchers,

radars, simulators, armoured vehicles, etc.

• Rising Global Demand

• The global demand for India’s indigenous products, such as the LCA-Tejas, Light Combat Helicopters, Aircraft Carriers, and MRO activities, is also on the rise.

India’s Policies to Achieve Self Reliance in Defence

• India’s defence production, which was over Rs. 46,000 crores in 2014, has now increased highest ever to over Rs.

1.5 lakh crore in 2025.

• India's defence exports reached a record Rs. 23,500 crores in 2025, up from less than Rs. 1,000 crores in 2014.

• In FY 2023–2024, indigenous defence output reached a record ₹1,27,434 crore, a 174% increase from ₹46,429 crore in 2014.

• Defence production (Rs in crore):

Yea	2014	2025
Defence Production	46,000	15,00,000
Defence Export	1000	23,500
Indigenous Defence Output	46,429	1,27,434

• Following are the initiatives/ steps taken by Government for indigenisation of manufacturing of technology- intensive defence equipment and weapons and for creating a domestic defence production eco-system:

• Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP 2020)

• It is promulgated to maximize acquisition of defence equipment through indigenous sources and promote domestic manufacturing.

• Government of India has ensured that the most preferred option for capital acquisition is ‘Buy Indigenously Designed Developed and Manufactured (IDDM)’ category equipment followed by ‘Buy (Indian)’ category.

• The ‘Make’ categories are designed to promote self-reliance by encouraging increased participation from the Indian industrial sector, including private enterprises.

• Timely Defence Procurement and Accelerated Decision-Making: A Project Management Unit has been established to facilitate contract management and streamline the acquisition process.

• Updated Offset Guidelines: Greater priority will be given to the production of fully assembled defence products rather than individual components.

 Several multipliers have been introduced to provide incentives for fulfilling offset obligations.

 Additionally, offset clauses will not be applicable in government-to-government deals, single- vendor contracts, or Intergovernmental Agreements (IGA).

• Streamlining Trial and Testing Procedures: The evaluation process will focus solely on the physical assessment of core operational parameters.

• Cost Reduction Measures: Leasing has been introduced as a new acquisition category alongside the existing ‘Buy’ and ‘Make’ options, allowing for periodic rental payments instead of substantial upfront capital investment.

• Government Funding for ‘Aatmanirbharta in Defence’

• The provisions of Government funding have been introduced for Make-In India, Technology Development Fund (TDF) and Innovations for

Defence Excellence (iDEX) projects.

• TDF Scheme executed by DRDO supports indigenous development of components, products, systems and technologies by MSMEs and Start-ups.

• Funding under TDF scheme was enhanced from Rs 10 crore to Rs 50 crore per Project, and the same under iDEX Prime scheme has been enhanced from Rs 1.5 crore to Rs 10 crore.

• Indigenisation Efforts

• Four ‘Positive Indigenisation Lists’ of defence equipment and platforms for which there would be an embargo on the import.

• To promote indigenous design, funds have been earmarked in the ratio 67:33 in FY 2023-24 between Domestic and Foreign procurement in the Capital Acquisition Budget of the Ministry of Defence (MoD).

• In addition, the MoD has also directed for spending an amount of Rs 1,500 crore towards procurement from start-ups.

• Nil Transfer of Technology (ToT) fees are being charged from DcPPs/PAs/LSI

• FDI of more than 49% is not allowed.

• Overall Enhancement in Indigenous Content (IC).

• Defence Offset Policy: Under the current Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP) 2020, the offset obligation is 30% of the contract value for all capital acquisitions above INR 300 crore. Foreign vendors can fulfill their offset obligations through a variety of means, including:

• Direct investment in Indian defence companies.

• Transfer of technology to Indian defence companies.

• Export of Indian defence products and services.

• Development of infrastructure in the Indian defence sector.

Partnering with Private Entities

The ‘Development cum Production Partner (DcPP)’ model of DRDO is implemented where-in Industry is taken up as DcPP in system development projects. Both development and production units are manufactured by industry along with life cycle support.

DRDO test facilities have been opened to the industries for utilisation.

Industries have been provided with free access for DRDO patents.

• Defence Industrial Corridors

• Two Defence Industrial Corridors have been set up in Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu to catalyse indigenous production of defence and aerospace-related items.

R&D & Skill Development

• Defence R&D has been opened up for industry, start-

ups and academia with 25% of defence R&D budget earmarked for the purpose.

 DRDO is skilling youth (Internships, apprenticeship, electives in B.Tech, M.Tech courses) to make ready for Defence industries.

Improving Defence Procurement

Challenges of Defence Procurement in India

• Monopoly of the public sector stifling competition and innovation

• Lacking structured plan for timely foreign procurement

• Lack of institutional mechanism

• Limited capability to assimilate technology

• Limited R&D base

• Lack of adequate skilled manpower

• Corruption Scams: Bofors, August Westland Chopper

• Bureaucratic Delays- leading to increase in cost of acquisition

• The offset policy has been criticized for being complex and bureaucratic. Some critics argue that the policy has made it more expensive for India to acquire defence equipment. Others argue that the policy has not been effective in promoting the development of indigenous defence technologies.

Measures to Improve Defence Procurement

• Need to do competency mapping of the private sector & nurture their growth accordingly.

• Development of capabilities of micro, small, and medium enterprises.

• Improved Procurement –

• Faster procurement cycles, self-certification to save time and synchronize procurement cycles.

• Introduction of an end-to-end digitized procurement system with accountability and timelines strictly defined.

• Time-bound production targets must be supported by timely procurement with budgetary support.

• India’s strong IT industry needs to be leveraged for the defence sector.

• Focus has to be on achieving state of the art technologies rather than mere self-reliance.

• Rules need to be more transparent.

COVID-19 PANDEMIC AND NATIONAL SECURITY CONCERNS OF INDIA

• The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on India, both in terms of public health and national security.

• The pandemic has exposed vulnerabilities in India’s healthcare system and has exacerbated existing social and economic problems which can manifest in security issues.

• The pandemic has also created new challenges for

India’s security forces, who are now responsible for enforcing lockdowns and curfews, and for providing humanitarian assistance to affected communities.

• Following Internal Security Concerns have been brought to life by the COVID-19 pandemic-

• Trigger Social Unrest: Pandemics can contribute to societal destabilization and in extreme cases it may accelerate the processes that lead to state failure. It can also lead to propping up for terrorist/ hostile groups due to power vaccum. For instance, in 2020, there were protests by migrant workers in Mumbai.

• Biological Weapons: Combatants may deliberately target public health and spread disease to weaken and demoralize an enemy population. Some researchers from China claimed that the deadly SARS-CoV-2, the virus behind Covid-19, was deliberately engineered as a

“bioweapon” by China.

• International Disputes: Over appropriate policy responses in a number of areas, including freedom of movement for people and goods. Also, it can lead to mass migration due to health insecurity.

• Intellectual property rights held by international pharmaceutical companies on COVID-19 vaccines is behind festering two-year-old dispute at the World Trade Organisation involving India, U.S., South Africa and the EU.

• Affected Law and Order Machinery

• Police/ armed forces personnel affected and their

numbers diminished.

• Strict lockdowns need to be enforced for a large population by reduced number of police.

• Contact tracing and dealing with a desperate population.

• Policing during the Covid-19 pandemic increasingly turned to excessive force.

• It also impacted the mental health of the police personnel.

• Cyber-crimes:

• Increasing number of hospitals, research hubs and medical centers were targeted for information, intelligence and system accessibility.

• As physical interaction reduced, the online presence increased leading to greater vulnerabilities.

• In the context of COVID-19 is ‘Fearware’, where the cyber attackers are exploiting the fear of coronavirus to cause the victim to fall prey to cyber-attacks. Malware attack is used ‘Corona Virus Maps’ – It’s a malware infecting Personal Computers to steal passwords.

• Non-traditional threats:

• India’s biggest security challenge in the post pandemic period could be non-traditional threats of internal security such as migration, water, identity

crises, conflict arising from unemployment, etc.

 The Union Home Ministry’s data shows that 244 terror attacks took place in J&K in 2020.

• Economic Impact

• Lockdowns and quarantine stifle economic activity leading to financial insecurity for individuals, and for the nation which impacts long term societal welfare.

• The State of Working India Study conducted by Azim Premji University study indicated the impact of COVID-19 where from March to October 2020, households experienced a significant loss of income, with an average decline of 22 percent in cumulative income.

Climate Change and Security

• Climate Change: It is referred to as the process involving changes in the usual weather patterns of a place in particular and the planet as a whole. By the end of the current century, average temperature over the Indian region is expected to rise by 4.4 degree Celsius leading to intensifying extreme weather like heat and cold waves, dust storms and extreme precipitations, which directly affects the death tolls in addition to the impact on overall life quality in the country.

• It is a potent threat multiplier exacerbating existing threats like ongoing conflicts, transnational water disputes, food and water insecurity, etc. The United Nations notes that “the greatest threat to global security: climate change is not merely an environmental problem”.

Climate Change Impact on India: As per the Ministry of Earth Sciences

• Indian Ocean Warming: The surface temperature of the tropical Indian Ocean has increased by 1degree Celsius during the period 1951–2015, which was higher than the global average rise in temperature of the sea surface

• Precipitation Changes: rainfall during the summer monsoon season over India has decreased by 6 percent during 1951–2015. India is experiencing more intense dry and wet spells.

• Droughts: due to decreasing rainfall.

• Sea Level Rise: Due to the increased frequency of ice melting in the Arctic and thermal expansion of ocean water threatens India’s long coast line.

• Tropical Cyclones: increased intensity and frequency.

• Changes in the Himalayas: The Hindu Kush Himalayas (HKH) has witnessed a temperature rise of

1.3 degree Celsius during 1951–2014. The Himalayas have been experiencing declining snowfall and fast melting glaciers in recent decades.

Internal Security Issues Due to Climate Change in India

• Climate change is often said to be a potent threat multiplier that will exacerbate conditions like poverty, environmental degradation, political instability, existing

conflicts and social volatility. Its impact on developing countries, like India, is going to be disproportionate compared to the developed societies. This is because, more than half of the people in the developing world lives in rural communities and are dependent on agriculture which is prone to climate shocks.

 Increased Responsibility on the Military: The Indian military, with its considerable size of 1.4 million personnel and extensive expertise in Humanitarian Aid and Disaster Relief (HADR), is already witnessing an increase in the regular mandate. The Indian military’s HADR activities are not restricted to India but extend to entire South Asia and the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). This means the military personnel are spending more time and efforts away from their primary job of securing the borders.

 Resource Crunch and Conflicts: India is already the ‘13th most water-stressed country in the world’. NITI Aayog in 2018 reported that by 2030, water crisis is expected to lead to a loss of nearly six percent in the country’s GDP. Tamil Nadu faced massive protests after the worst drought in 140 years leading to riots.

 Climate Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons: As per World Bank, South Asia may witness approximately 40 million internal migrants by 2050. Many of India’s neighbours are incredibly ill-positioned when it comes to bearing the brunt of climate change.

 Operational Readiness of the Military: Threats to military installations due to climate change e.g. During cyclone Hudhud, the Indian Navy suffered a loss of INR 2000 crore due to infrastructure damage and in 2014 Kashmir floods, border fencing of 50 km was damaged along the Line of Control (LoC). Climate change is going to increase erratic and unpredictable weather conditions, thereby increasing the frequency of flash floods and cloud bursts and posing considerable threat to military equipment and bases deployed around India’s most challenging borders.

 Diminished Financial Resources: The military has already been experiencing a shrinking fiscal space as the defence spending, as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), has reduced from 2.5 percent of GDP in 2010-11 to 2.1 percent of GDP in 2020-21. Further, while expenditure on pensions is increasing, the capital outlay in the budget has decreased.

 Human Induced Weather Modifications and Water Weapons: China has a proven capability of successfully modifying weather especially cloud seeding for managing precipitation. This could potentially disrupt the natural flow of three major rivers flowing from Tibet into India

i.e. Indus, Ganga and Brahmaputra. China’s dam

on the Yarlun Tsangpo (Brahmaputra) river will provide immense water storage capacity to China, therefore, becoming a potential weapon and a strategic leverage over India. For instance, during the 2017 Doklam standoff, China had stopped sharing river data with India.

WAY FORWARD

• Global Efforts: It is necessary to recognize climate change as a core security issue. Majority of the international community must be convinced that the unstable climate threat must be met with greater urgency and ambition.

• Micro Level Database to monitor vulnerable areas pre and post disasters and enable effective localized decision making. E.g., EnviStats.

• Risk Assessments and Audits of the military establishments and infrastructure to climate change through prediction models and undertaking mitigation methods. Early warning mechanisms need to be integrated into both strategic and operational planning.

Disaster Games: The best way to prepare for the impact of climate change on the military is to conduct disaster games along the line of war games and military exercises to analyse the potential implications of increasing number and severity of disasters on military operations, the p