Know your Ministry - No. 29 - Home Affairs

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) discharges multifarious responsibilities, the important among them being - internal security, border management, Centre-State relations, administration of Union Territories, management of Central Armed Police Forces, Disaster Management, etc. Though in terms of Entries 1 and 2 of List II – ‘State List’ – in the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution of India, ‘public order’ and ‘police’ are the responsibilities of States, Article 355 of the Constitution enjoins the Union to protect every State against external aggression and internal disturbance and to ensure that the Government of every State is carried on in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution. In pursuance of these obligations, the Ministry of Home Affairs continuously monitors the internal security situation, issues appropriate advisories, shares intelligence inputs, extends manpower and financial support, guidance and expertise to the State Governments for maintenance of security, peace and harmony without encroaching upon the constitutional rights of the States. MHA is headed by a cabinet rank Minister assisted by two MOS.

CENTRAL POLICE ORGANIZATION: Intelligence Bureau, Central Bureau of Investigation, Bureau of Police Research & Development. (BPRD), National Crime Records Bureau, National Investigation Agency, Sardar Vallabhai Patel National Police Academy, Hyderabad, North Eastern Police Academy, Shillong, National Institute of Criminology & Forensic Science. (NICFS),National Disaster Response Force. (NDRF)

CENTRAL ARMED POLICE FORCES: Assam Rifles (AR), Border Security Force (BSF), Central Industrial Security Force (CISF),Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF),Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP),National Security Guard (NSG), Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB)

COMMISSIONS / COMMITTEES SET UP BY THE MINISTRY

National Human Rights Commission (NHRC),National Foundation for Communal Harmony (NFCH) and  Repatriates Co-op. Finance & Development Bank Ltd. (REPCO), Chennai.

The reports of some of the Commissions set up for specific purposes are as follows:

DOCUMENTS IN PUBLIC DOMAIN:

Annual Reports, Policies & Guidelines, Tables for Precedence, National Advisories, Prime Minister’s Reconstruction Plan(PMRP) Reports, Judicial Commission/Inquiry Commission Reports, Mutual Legal Assistance from abroad in Criminal Matters. , Subhash Chandra Bose Aapda Prabandhan Puraskar (National Disaster Management Authority).

JUDICIAL COMMISSION/INQUIRY COMMISSION REPORTS

DEPARTMENTS FUNCTIONING UNDER THE MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS

Department Of Border Management - Deals with the management of borders, including coastal borders, strengthening of border guarding and creation of related infrastructure, border areas development, etc

Department Of Internal Security - Deals  with the Indian Police Service, Central Police Forces, internal security and law & order, insurgency, terrorism, Naxalism, activities of inimical foreign agencies, terrorist financing, rehabilitation, grant of visa and other immigration matters, security clearances, “Protection of Human Rights Act and also matters relating to National integration and Communal Harmony and Ayodhya", etc

Department Of Jammu, Kashmir And Ladakh Affairs - deals with the UTs of Jammu, Kashmir & Ladakh, administration of the Armed Forces(J&K) Special Powers Act,1990 and all matters relating to the UTs of Jammu, Kashmir & Ladakh, including Counter-terrorism within Jammu and Kashmir and coordination in respect of subjects/matters specifically allotted to any other Ministry/Department like coordination with Ministry of Defence as regards manning and managing the line of control between India and Pakistan, but excluding those with which the Ministry of External Affairs is concerned.

Department Of Home - deals with the notification of assumption of office by the President and Vice-President, notification of appointment/resignation of the Prime Minister, Ministers, Governors, nomination to Rajya Sabha/Lok Sabha, Census of the population, registration of births and deaths, etc

Department Of Official Language - deals with the implementation of the provisions of the Constitution relating to official languages and the provisions of the Official Languages Act, 1963.

Department Of States - deals with Centre-State relations, Inter-State relations, administration of Union Territories, Freedom Fighters’ pension, Human rights, Prison Reforms, Police Reforms, etc.

TASKS AHEAD FOR THE MINISTRY

• Take up Legal Reforms and frame more stringent laws to deal with heinous crimes like Murder and Rape or any criminal offences against women.
• Expedite review of Law Commission Recommendations in addressing to crucial Law & Order issues of the State and periodically publish progress on the status of all Judicial/Inquiry reports.
• To expedite all pending Prison and Police Reforms in the speedy disposal of pending cases including detainees lavishing in various prisons across the country without trials.
• Implement all directions and guidelines of Supreme Court related to Criminal Procedures under a suitable statutory framework.
• Introduce Police Complaint Authority related to torture and custodial death of citizens and exercise direct superintendence related to  Centre-State relations and administration of Union Territories,
• Optimize all technological avenues to ensure utmost transparency in dealing with all sensitive affairs related to internal security, border management, management of Central Armed Police Forces and Disaster management.
• Research and Analysis of Crimes and Law & Order related issues harming the safety and confidence of citizens to be taken up based on the secondary data available with NCRB and propose suitable Judicial reforms on Constitutional concepts.
• To institute a separate supreme constitutional authority independent powers and autonomy to deal sensitive heinous matters like Sedition, Terrorism, Extremism, Corruption, Fraud, Black money, Smuggling, Drug trafficking, crimes against women, etc.
• To formulate an Expert Advisory Committee comprising of senior and retired bureaucrats and former High Court/Supreme Court Judges with unblemished track record to guide the government in matters related to Internal Security, Border Management, Human Rights, etc. on an ongoing basis.
• To offload tasks related to Census & Birth/Registration and include special domains like Wilful Loan Default and Bank Fraud, etc into the domain of Ministry of Home Affairs.