Modi reviews working of crime tracking network, NATGRID

Union Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi gave presentations on NATGRID, a robust intelligence gathering mechanism to be set up to track any terror suspect and incident, and CCTNS, a synchronise online initiative for tracking crime and criminals by integrating 15,000 police stations across the country.

 Both the initiatives are yet to be fully operationalised and the Prime Minister was told that works are on for their early completion, official sources said.

As per the Home Ministry proposal, the NATGRID, which is still in nascent stage, in different phases will connect data providing organisations and users besides developing a legal structure through which information can be accessed by the law enforcement agencies.

In the first phase, 10 user agencies and 21 service providers will be connected, while in later phases about 950 additional organisations will be connected and another over 1,000 organisations in the subsequent years. These data sources include records related to immigration entry and exit, banking and financial transactions and telecommunications. 

The agencies include Intelligence Bureau, local police and revenue and customs departments. While the clearance for Rs 3,400-crore project from the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) came in 2011, execution of the project slowed down after the exit of Home Minister P Chidambaram in July 2012.