The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Monday (February 23, 2026) released the country’s first-ever anti-terror policy, emphasising that other than terror sponsored from across the border, “criminal hackers and nation states continue to target India through cyber-attacks.”
The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Monday (February 23, 2026) released the country’s first-ever anti-terror policy, emphasising that other than terror sponsored from across the border, “criminal hackers and nation states continue to target India through cyber-attacks.”
National Counter Terrorism Policy and Strategy had been finalised and would be released soon. The policy underlines that “India does not link terrorism to any specific religion, ethnicity, nationality or civilisation.” However, it notes that the country has long been affected by “sponsored terrorism” from across the border, with “Jihadi terror outfits as well as their frontal organisations” continuing to plan, coordinate, facilitate and execute terror attacks in India.
“India has been on the target of global terrorist groups such as Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), which have been trying to incite violence in the country through sleeper cells,” it states, adding that violent extremists operating from foreign countries have hatched conspiracies to promote terrorism.
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“Their handlers from across the border frequently use the latest technologies, including the use of drones, for facilitating terror-related activities and attacks in Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir. Increasingly, terrorist groups are engaging organised criminal networks for logistics and recruitment to execute and facilitate terror strikes in India,” the policy says.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah had announced on November 7, 2024, that a National Counter Terrorism Policy and Strategy was being drafted to fight terrorism and its ecosystem. A National Policy and Action Plan for Left Wing Extremism (LWE) was introduced in 2015.
Following the April 22, 2025, Pahalgam terror incident, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) conducted meetings with anti-terror units of all States and apprised them of the measures aimed at preventing and pre-empting such attacks.
It further states that for propaganda, communication, funding and guiding terror attacks, these terror groups use social media platforms as well as ‘instant messaging applications’ and technological advancements such as encryption, dark web, crypto wallets etc, enabling them to operate anonymously.
“Disrupting/Intercepting terrorist efforts to access and use CBRNED (Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, Explosive, Digital) materials remains a challenge for Counter Terrorism (CT) agencies. The threat of state and non-state actors misusing drones and robotics for lethal purposes remains another area of concern,” it flags.
