New Delhi: Union Home Minister Amit Shah has called for wider deployment of artificial intelligence (AI) in the country’s security architecture to process intelligence inputs and identify responses to emerging threats. He also instructed security agencies to adopt a firm approach towards infiltration.
Addressing the opening session of the ninth National Security Strategies Conference 2026 in New Delhi on Monday, Shah asked agencies to prepare separate standard operating procedures for various national-security challenges. The SOPs, he said, should be framed on the basis of AI-assisted analysis of data and intelligence shared through the Multi Agency Centre (MAC) platform.
Joint Action Against Terror
Shah underlined the importance of closer coordination among agencies in dealing with terrorism and radicalisation. He also called for detailed and effective investigations in cases filed under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
The Home Minister directed officials to improve the execution of the Ministry of Home Affairs’ PRAHAAR scheme. He further stressed the need to speed up trials by securing the return of fugitives to India and using legal provisions that permit proceedings in the absence of accused persons, as reported by The New Indian Express.
The MHA said over 850 participants are taking part in the conference, which is being held in a hybrid format. Ministers of State for Home Affairs, the Union Home Secretary, Deputy National Security Advisers, and chiefs of the Central Armed Police Forces and Central Police Organisations are attending the meeting physically.
Directors General of Police from the states and Union Territories, young officers engaged in frontline policing and specialists from different fields are participating through virtual mode.
The first day’s discussions centred on a range of security concerns, including counter-terrorism, the integration of intelligence and its use through the MAC system, narcotics control, identification and deportation of illegal migrants, cybercrime and proxy warfare backed by Pakistan.
New Threats On Day-Two Agenda
Ahead of the conference’s inauguration, Shah visited the Martyrs’ Column and laid a wreath to honour Intelligence Bureau personnel who died while defending India’s security and territorial integrity.
The MHA said the second day will feature discussions on dangers arising from sub-aerial systems and possible countermeasures. Other subjects on the agenda include safeguarding the blue economy, the national-security consequences of information warfare and the creation of a comprehensive biosecurity framework.
The conference has been organised every year in hybrid mode since 2021, following directions from Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It brings together police and security officers working at the grassroots level, senior officials and experts from specialised domains to develop practical responses to evolving national-security challenges.