PRAHAAR Counter-Terror Strategy Unveiled, Extradition Portal Launched

Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah inaugurated the Conference on 'PRAHAAR – CT Policy and Strategy' in New Delhi on 28 September 2026 and launched a new Extradition Portal. The conference, organised by the Union Home Ministry, set out a counter-terrorism framework built on seven pillars, and Shah called for institutionalising it for the next ten years with an automated response mechanism at every level. Between 2019 and 2026, 288 fugitive criminals were brought back from 36 countries. The item matters for exams because it links counter-terrorism policy, the UAPA and extradition machinery.

What Happened

Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah inaugurated the Conference on 'PRAHAAR – CT Policy and Strategy' in New Delhi on 28 September 2026. He launched a new Extradition Portal designed to speed up the return of fugitives from abroad. He set out the PRAHAAR framework's seven pillars and called for institutionalising the strategy for the next ten years, with an automated counter-terrorism response mechanism working down to the police station level.

When & Where

The conference was held on 28 September 2026 in New Delhi, the seat of the Union Home Ministry and of the central security agencies. Holding it in the capital allowed state police chiefs, central force heads and diplomatic officials to be brought into a single room, which is what a national framework requires. The venue matters because counter-terrorism in India needs both Union agencies and state police forces to act together.

Who Is Involved

Amit Shah — Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation, who inaugurated the conference and launched the Extradition Portal.
Ministry of Home Affairs — organised the conference and owns the PRAHAAR framework and the new portal.
Union Home Secretary and Foreign Secretary — both attended, reflecting that extradition needs diplomatic as well as police action.
Central Armed Police Force heads — attended as the central forces deployed on internal security duty.
Directors General of Police from 15 states and Anti-Terrorist Squad chiefs — attended as the operational layer that must apply the framework.

How It Works

A seven-pillar framework. PRAHAAR organises counter-terrorism work under Prevention, Response, Aggregating Internal Capacities, Human Rights, Attenuating Conditions for Terrorism, Aligning International Efforts, and Recovery and Resilience. Each pillar assigns a distinct task, so intelligence, policing, rehabilitation and diplomacy are not treated as one undifferentiated effort.
Automated response down to the police station. The aim is that a terror input triggers a set response automatically at every level, rather than waiting for orders to travel down a hierarchy. This cuts the delay between information and action.
A ten-year horizon. Institutionalising the strategy for ten years is meant to survive changes of government and of officers, so that capacity building is not restarted every few years.
The Extradition Portal. A single digital platform tracks extradition requests from initiation to the fugitive's return, so cases do not stall between the police, the courts and the Ministry of External Affairs.
Designation under the UAPA. Declaring a network such as the Shahzad Bhatti group a terrorist organisation under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act allows its funds and assets to be attacked and membership itself to become an offence.
Aligning international effort. Extradition works only when a treaty partner cooperates, which is why one whole pillar is devoted to aligning international efforts.

Why It Matters

Legal: Designating a network under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act changes what investigators can do, since the Act allows action against the organisation and not only against individuals.
Policy: A written framework with seven named pillars gives the Union and state agencies a common vocabulary, which is the precondition for joint operations.
Constitutional: Police and public order are State subjects while the Union handles national security, so any national counter-terrorism strategy must work through cooperative federalism.
Diplomatic: With 288 fugitives returned from 36 countries between 2019 and 2026, extradition has become a substantive part of India's foreign policy work.

Historical Background

India's counter-terrorism machinery has been built in layers. The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 provides the legal basis for banning organisations and prosecuting terrorist acts. The National Investigation Agency was created under the National Investigation Agency Act, 2008 as a dedicated federal agency for terror cases. The Extradition Act, 1962 governs how India seeks and grants extradition. On 7 January 2025, Amit Shah launched the BHARATPOL portal, developed by the Central Bureau of Investigation, at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi, which replaced letters, emails and faxes with a single platform for INTERPOL requests including Red Notices. The 2026 Extradition Portal continues that digitisation into the extradition process itself.

Previous Related Events

7 January 2025, New Delhi: Amit Shah launched the BHARATPOL portal developed by the CBI, which streamlined all INTERPOL requests including the issuance of Red Notices.
October 2025, New Delhi: the CBI organised a conference on 'Extradition of Fugitives: Challenges and Strategies', where it was noted that more than 190 Red Corner Notices had been issued from January to September that year, the highest in the agency's history.
2019 to 2026: across this period 288 fugitive criminals were brought back from 36 countries, the record that the new portal is meant to improve upon.

Static GK Connection

Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967: India's principal anti-terror law. It allows the Union government to declare an organisation unlawful or a terrorist organisation, and to designate individuals as terrorists.
National Investigation Agency: created under the National Investigation Agency Act, 2008, it is India's federal agency for investigating terrorism and other scheduled offences across state boundaries.
INTERPOL and the Red Notice: INTERPOL is the international police organisation through which member countries share criminal information. A Red Notice is a request to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition; it is not an international arrest warrant.
Extradition Act, 1962: the statute under which India makes and receives extradition requests, usually operating alongside a bilateral extradition treaty.
Police as a State subject: under the Constitution's distribution of legislative powers, public order and police fall to the States, which is why the Union works through conferences and frameworks rather than direct command.

India & World Comparison

Between 2019 and 2026, India brought back 288 fugitive criminals from 36 countries, a figure that reflects both the spread of its extradition treaty network and the use of INTERPOL channels. India's approach of a single named national framework with defined pillars is comparable to the national counter-terrorism strategies published by countries such as the United Kingdom, which also organise their work under a small number of named strands. India's distinguishing feature is the federal one: the Union frames the strategy while State police forces execute it, a division that most unitary states do not face.

Future Impact

Over the next ten years: the PRAHAAR strategy is to be institutionalised, with capacity building planned on that horizon rather than year to year.
Immediate: the Extradition Portal begins tracking requests, and its effect will be judged by whether the pace of returns rises above the 2019 to 2026 record of 288 fugitives.
Operational: the automated response mechanism is to reach down to individual police stations, which will require training and equipment across 15 states and beyond.
Legal: further designations under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act can be expected as networks like the Shahzad Bhatti group are mapped.

🔑 Key Points for Revision

Amit Shah inaugurated the Conference on 'PRAHAAR – CT Policy and Strategy' in New Delhi on 28 September 2026.
He is Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation.
The Union Home Ministry organised the conference.
Amit Shah launched a new Extradition Portal at the conference.
PRAHAAR is built on seven pillars.
The pillars are Prevention, Response, Aggregating Internal Capacities and Human Rights.
The remaining pillars are Attenuating Conditions for Terrorism, Aligning International Efforts, and Recovery and Resilience.
Shah called for institutionalising PRAHAAR for the next ten years.
He sought an automated counter-terrorism response mechanism at every level.
Between 2019 and 2026, 288 fugitive criminals were brought back from 36 countries.
More than 40 modules of the Shahzad Bhatti network were busted.
The action produced more than 100 FIRs and 350 arrests across 15 states.
The Shahzad Bhatti network was designated a terrorist organisation under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
BHARATPOL, developed by the CBI, was launched on 7 January 2025.
Attendees included the Union Home Secretary, the Foreign Secretary, CAPF heads and DGPs from 15 states.

🧠 Concept Link (Static GK Deep Dive)

Core Concept: Extradition and India's Counter-Terrorism Legal Framework

Definition: Extradition is the formal surrender of a person by one state to another for trial or punishment for an offence committed in the requesting state.
Legal Basis: In India extradition is governed by the Extradition Act, 1962, normally read with a bilateral extradition treaty or an arrangement with the country concerned.
Legal Principle: Extradition rests on treaty reciprocity and on dual criminality — the act must be an offence in both countries — with exceptions usually carved out for political offences.
Link to this event: The Extradition Portal launched on 28 September 2026 digitises the tracking of these requests, and the PRAHAAR pillar on Aligning International Efforts is the policy expression of the same idea.
Origin & History: The Extradition Act came into being in 1962, and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, which supplies the terrorism designations, dates to 1967.
Key milestone 1: The National Investigation Agency Act, 2008 created a dedicated federal agency for terror investigation.
Key milestone 2: The BHARATPOL portal, developed by the CBI, was launched on 7 January 2025 to route INTERPOL requests including Red Notices.
Related Acts / Bodies: the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967; the National Investigation Agency Act, 2008; the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018; INTERPOL.
Nodal Ministry / Body: the Ministry of Home Affairs frames counter-terrorism policy; the Ministry of External Affairs handles the diplomatic side of extradition; the CBI is India's National Central Bureau for INTERPOL.
India-specific relevance: Police and public order are State subjects, so the Union must build national counter-terrorism capacity through frameworks and shared platforms rather than by direct command.
Global comparison: A Red Notice issued through INTERPOL is only a request to locate and provisionally arrest a person; each member country decides what legal value to give it, so it is not an international arrest warrant.
Data point: 288 fugitive criminals were brought back from 36 countries between 2019 and 2026.
Common exam angle: Examiners ask which Act allows an organisation to be declared a terrorist organisation, who developed BHARATPOL, what a Red Notice is, and how many pillars PRAHAAR has.
Easy memory hook: "PRAHAAR — seven pillars, ten years, one portal."

❓ Practice MCQs

Q1. Who inaugurated the Conference on 'PRAHAAR – CT Policy and Strategy' in New Delhi? [Easy]

A) Union Home Minister Amit Shah

B) The National Security Adviser

C) The Director of the Central Bureau of Investigation

D) The Union Minister of External Affairs

Answer: A

Explanation: Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah inaugurated the conference on 28 September 2026.

Q2. How many pillars does the PRAHAAR counter-terrorism framework rest on? [Easy]

A) Seven

B) Five

C) Six

D) Nine

Answer: A

Explanation: PRAHAAR rests on seven pillars, beginning with Prevention and ending with Recovery and Resilience.

Q3. Which portal did Amit Shah launch at the PRAHAAR conference? [Moderate]

A) BHARATPOL

B) Extradition Portal

C) NATGRID

D) Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems

Answer: B

Explanation: He launched a new Extradition Portal to speed up bringing fugitives back from abroad.

Q4. Between 2019 and 2026, the 288 fugitive criminals brought back to India came from how many countries? [Moderate]

A) 26

B) 36

C) 30

D) 42

Answer: B

Explanation: 288 fugitive criminals were brought back from 36 countries between 2019 and 2026.

Q5. The Shahzad Bhatti network was designated a terrorist organisation under which law? [Moderate]

A) The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967

B) The Extradition Act, 1962

C) The National Investigation Agency Act, 2008

D) The Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018

Answer: A

Explanation: The network was designated a terrorist organisation under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, which allows the Union government to make such designations.

Q6. Which of the following is NOT one of the seven pillars of PRAHAAR? [Tricky]

A) Prevention

B) Human Rights

C) Recovery and Resilience

D) Fiscal Consolidation

Answer: D

Explanation: The seven pillars are Prevention, Response, Aggregating Internal Capacities, Human Rights, Attenuating Conditions for Terrorism, Aligning International Efforts, and Recovery and Resilience.

Q7. The BHARATPOL portal, launched in January 2025, was developed by which agency? [Tricky]

A) National Investigation Agency

B) Intelligence Bureau

C) Central Bureau of Investigation

D) National Intelligence Grid

Answer: C

Explanation: The Central Bureau of Investigation developed BHARATPOL, which was launched on 7 January 2025 to route INTERPOL requests.

Q8. For how long did Amit Shah call for institutionalising the PRAHAAR strategy? [Tricky]

A) Three years

B) Five years

C) Ten years

D) Fifteen years

Answer: C

Explanation: He called for institutionalising PRAHAAR for the next ten years, with an automated response mechanism at every level.

📜 Previous Year Question Style (PYQ)

PYQ 1:

In which city was the Conference on 'PRAHAAR – CT Policy and Strategy' held?

A) Mumbai

B) New Delhi

C) Hyderabad

D) Lucknow

Answer: B

Explanation: The conference was held in New Delhi on 28 September 2026 and was organised by the Union Home Ministry.

PYQ 2:

Consider the following statements:

The PRAHAAR framework includes Human Rights among its seven pillars.
Between 2019 and 2026, 288 fugitive criminals were brought back to India from 36 countries.
The BHARATPOL portal was developed by the National Investigation Agency.

Which of the above statements is/are correct?

A) 1 only

B) 1 and 2 only

C) 2 and 3 only

D) All of the above

Answer: B

Explanation: Statements 1 and 2 are correct. Statement 3 is wrong because BHARATPOL was developed by the Central Bureau of Investigation.

PYQ 3:

Match the following with the correct body or law:

BHARATPOL portal — a) Central Bureau of Investigation
Red Notice — b) INTERPOL
Designation of the Shahzad Bhatti network — c) Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967
Extradition Portal launched in 2026 — d) Ministry of Home Affairs

A) 1-a, 2-b, 3-c, 4-d

B) 1-b, 2-a, 3-d, 4-c

C) 1-c, 2-d, 3-a, 4-b

D) 1-d, 2-c, 3-b, 4-a

Answer: A

Explanation: BHARATPOL was developed by the CBI, a Red Notice is issued through INTERPOL, the network was banned under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, and the Extradition Portal was launched by the Ministry of Home Affairs.

✍️ Mains Answer Pointers

Question 1 (150 words): How does the PRAHAAR framework attempt to address the structural problems in India's counter-terrorism response?

PRAHAAR addresses the two structural problems that have historically slowed India's counter-terrorism response: fragmentation between agencies and delay between information and action.

Fragmentation is tackled by naming seven pillars — Prevention, Response, Aggregating Internal Capacities, Human Rights, Attenuating Conditions for Terrorism, Aligning International Efforts, and Recovery and Resilience. By separating these tasks, the framework gives each agency a defined role instead of leaving counter-terrorism as a single undifferentiated duty. The pillar on aggregating internal capacities directly addresses the fact that police and public order are State subjects while national security rests with the Union.

Delay is tackled through the demand for an automated response mechanism reaching down to the police station. When a set input triggers a set response, action does not wait for orders to travel down a hierarchy.

The ten-year horizon Amit Shah sought is the third element, meant to protect capacity building from restarts. The way forward lies in training and equipping state forces so the automated response is real at the lowest level, not only on paper.

Question 2 (250 words): Examine the legal and institutional architecture that India uses to bring fugitives back from abroad, and assess how far digitisation can improve its performance.

India's architecture for retrieving fugitives rests on three legs: domestic law, international policing, and diplomacy. The Extradition Act, 1962 governs how India frames and receives extradition requests, usually operating alongside a bilateral treaty and subject to dual criminality. The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 supplies the terrorism designations that make a case serious enough for foreign cooperation, and the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018 covers economic offenders who flee. The National Investigation Agency, created under the National Investigation Agency Act, 2008, is the federal investigator in terror cases.

The international policing leg runs through INTERPOL, with the Central Bureau of Investigation acting as India's National Central Bureau. A Red Notice is a request to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition, not an international arrest warrant, so its value depends on the receiving country's law.

Diplomacy is the third leg, which is why the Foreign Secretary attended the PRAHAAR conference alongside the Home Secretary. Extradition cannot succeed against an unwilling treaty partner, whatever the domestic paperwork.

Digitisation addresses a specific weakness in this chain: cases stalling between the police, the courts and the Ministry of External Affairs with nobody accountable for the gap. BHARATPOL, developed by the CBI and launched on 7 January 2025, replaced letters and faxes for INTERPOL requests. The Extradition Portal of 28 September 2026 extends the same logic to extradition itself.

The record shows the approach works: 288 fugitives were returned from 36 countries between 2019 and 2026. But digitisation cannot manufacture foreign political will. The way forward is to widen India's treaty network while using the portal to remove domestic delay.

⚠️ Examiner Trap

Trap 1: Students confuse BHARATPOL with the Extradition Portal. The correct fact is that BHARATPOL was developed by the Central Bureau of Investigation and launched on 7 January 2025, while the Extradition Portal was launched by Amit Shah on 28 September 2026.
Trap 2: A common wrong assumption is that an INTERPOL Red Notice is an international arrest warrant. The reality is that a Red Notice is a request to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition, and each member country decides what legal effect to give it.
Trap 3: Many students miss which law is used to declare a group a terrorist organisation. Always remember that the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 is the law under which the Shahzad Bhatti network was designated, not the Extradition Act, 1962.

PRAHAAR Counter-Terror Strategy Unveiled, Extradition Portal Launched

What Happened

When & Where

Who Is Involved

Amit Shah — Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation, who inaugurated the conference and launched the Extradition Portal.
Ministry of Home Affairs — organised the conference and owns the PRAHAAR framework and the new portal.
Union Home Secretary and Foreign Secretary — both attended, reflecting that extradition needs diplomatic as well as police action.
Central Armed Police Force heads — attended as the central forces deployed on internal security duty.
Directors General of Police from 15 states and Anti-Terrorist Squad chiefs — attended as the operational layer that must apply the framework.

How It Works

A seven-pillar framework. PRAHAAR organises counter-terrorism work under Prevention, Response, Aggregating Internal Capacities, Human Rights, Attenuating Conditions for Terrorism, Aligning International Efforts, and Recovery and Resilience. Each pillar assigns a distinct task, so intelligence, policing, rehabilitation and diplomacy are not treated as one undifferentiated effort.
Automated response down to the police station. The aim is that a terror input triggers a set response automatically at every level, rather than waiting for orders to travel down a hierarchy. This cuts the delay between information and action.
A ten-year horizon. Institutionalising the strategy for ten years is meant to survive changes of government and of officers, so that capacity building is not restarted every few years.
The Extradition Portal. A single digital platform tracks extradition requests from initiation to the fugitive's return, so cases do not stall between the police, the courts and the Ministry of External Affairs.
Designation under the UAPA. Declaring a network such as the Shahzad Bhatti group a terrorist organisation under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act allows its funds and assets to be attacked and membership itself to become an offence.
Aligning international effort. Extradition works only when a treaty partner cooperates, which is why one whole pillar is devoted to aligning international efforts.

Why It Matters

Legal: Designating a network under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act changes what investigators can do, since the Act allows action against the organisation and not only against individuals.
Policy: A written framework with seven named pillars gives the Union and state agencies a common vocabulary, which is the precondition for joint operations.
Constitutional: Police and public order are State subjects while the Union handles national security, so any national counter-terrorism strategy must work through cooperative federalism.
Diplomatic: With 288 fugitives returned from 36 countries between 2019 and 2026, extradition has become a substantive part of India's foreign policy work.

Historical Background

Previous Related Events

7 January 2025, New Delhi: Amit Shah launched the BHARATPOL portal developed by the CBI, which streamlined all INTERPOL requests including the issuance of Red Notices.
October 2025, New Delhi: the CBI organised a conference on 'Extradition of Fugitives: Challenges and Strategies', where it was noted that more than 190 Red Corner Notices had been issued from January to September that year, the highest in the agency's history.
2019 to 2026: across this period 288 fugitive criminals were brought back from 36 countries, the record that the new portal is meant to improve upon.

Static GK Connection

Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967: India's principal anti-terror law. It allows the Union government to declare an organisation unlawful or a terrorist organisation, and to designate individuals as terrorists.
National Investigation Agency: created under the National Investigation Agency Act, 2008, it is India's federal agency for investigating terrorism and other scheduled offences across state boundaries.
INTERPOL and the Red Notice: INTERPOL is the international police organisation through which member countries share criminal information. A Red Notice is a request to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition; it is not an international arrest warrant.
Extradition Act, 1962: the statute under which India makes and receives extradition requests, usually operating alongside a bilateral extradition treaty.
Police as a State subject: under the Constitution's distribution of legislative powers, public order and police fall to the States, which is why the Union works through conferences and frameworks rather than direct command.

India & World Comparison

Future Impact

Over the next ten years: the PRAHAAR strategy is to be institutionalised, with capacity building planned on that horizon rather than year to year.
Immediate: the Extradition Portal begins tracking requests, and its effect will be judged by whether the pace of returns rises above the 2019 to 2026 record of 288 fugitives.
Operational: the automated response mechanism is to reach down to individual police stations, which will require training and equipment across 15 states and beyond.
Legal: further designations under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act can be expected as networks like the Shahzad Bhatti group are mapped.

🔑 Key Points for Revision

Amit Shah inaugurated the Conference on 'PRAHAAR – CT Policy and Strategy' in New Delhi on 28 September 2026.
He is Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation.
The Union Home Ministry organised the conference.
Amit Shah launched a new Extradition Portal at the conference.
PRAHAAR is built on seven pillars.
The pillars are Prevention, Response, Aggregating Internal Capacities and Human Rights.
The remaining pillars are Attenuating Conditions for Terrorism, Aligning International Efforts, and Recovery and Resilience.
Shah called for institutionalising PRAHAAR for the next ten years.
He sought an automated counter-terrorism response mechanism at every level.
Between 2019 and 2026, 288 fugitive criminals were brought back from 36 countries.
More than 40 modules of the Shahzad Bhatti network were busted.
The action produced more than 100 FIRs and 350 arrests across 15 states.
The Shahzad Bhatti network was designated a terrorist organisation under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
BHARATPOL, developed by the CBI, was launched on 7 January 2025.
Attendees included the Union Home Secretary, the Foreign Secretary, CAPF heads and DGPs from 15 states.

🧠 Concept Link (Static GK Deep Dive)

Core Concept: Extradition and India's Counter-Terrorism Legal Framework

Definition: Extradition is the formal surrender of a person by one state to another for trial or punishment for an offence committed in the requesting state.
Legal Basis: In India extradition is governed by the Extradition Act, 1962, normally read with a bilateral extradition treaty or an arrangement with the country concerned.
Legal Principle: Extradition rests on treaty reciprocity and on dual criminality — the act must be an offence in both countries — with exceptions usually carved out for political offences.
Link to this event: The Extradition Portal launched on 28 September 2026 digitises the tracking of these requests, and the PRAHAAR pillar on Aligning International Efforts is the policy expression of the same idea.
Origin & History: The Extradition Act came into being in 1962, and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, which supplies the terrorism designations, dates to 1967.
Key milestone 1: The National Investigation Agency Act, 2008 created a dedicated federal agency for terror investigation.
Key milestone 2: The BHARATPOL portal, developed by the CBI, was launched on 7 January 2025 to route INTERPOL requests including Red Notices.
Related Acts / Bodies: the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967; the National Investigation Agency Act, 2008; the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018; INTERPOL.
Nodal Ministry / Body: the Ministry of Home Affairs frames counter-terrorism policy; the Ministry of External Affairs handles the diplomatic side of extradition; the CBI is India's National Central Bureau for INTERPOL.
India-specific relevance: Police and public order are State subjects, so the Union must build national counter-terrorism capacity through frameworks and shared platforms rather than by direct command.
Global comparison: A Red Notice issued through INTERPOL is only a request to locate and provisionally arrest a person; each member country decides what legal value to give it, so it is not an international arrest warrant.
Data point: 288 fugitive criminals were brought back from 36 countries between 2019 and 2026.
Common exam angle: Examiners ask which Act allows an organisation to be declared a terrorist organisation, who developed BHARATPOL, what a Red Notice is, and how many pillars PRAHAAR has.
Easy memory hook: "PRAHAAR — seven pillars, ten years, one portal."

❓ Practice MCQs

Q1. Who inaugurated the Conference on 'PRAHAAR – CT Policy and Strategy' in New Delhi? [Easy]

A) Union Home Minister Amit Shah

B) The National Security Adviser

C) The Director of the Central Bureau of Investigation

D) The Union Minister of External Affairs

Answer: A

Explanation: Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah inaugurated the conference on 28 September 2026.

Q2. How many pillars does the PRAHAAR counter-terrorism framework rest on? [Easy]

A) Seven

B) Five

C) Six

D) Nine

Answer: A

Explanation: PRAHAAR rests on seven pillars, beginning with Prevention and ending with Recovery and Resilience.

Q3. Which portal did Amit Shah launch at the PRAHAAR conference? [Moderate]

A) BHARATPOL

B) Extradition Portal

C) NATGRID

D) Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems

Answer: B

Explanation: He launched a new Extradition Portal to speed up bringing fugitives back from abroad.

Q4. Between 2019 and 2026, the 288 fugitive criminals brought back to India came from how many countries? [Moderate]

A) 26

B) 36

C) 30

D) 42

Answer: B

Explanation: 288 fugitive criminals were brought back from 36 countries between 2019 and 2026.

Q5. The Shahzad Bhatti network was designated a terrorist organisation under which law? [Moderate]

A) The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967

B) The Extradition Act, 1962

C) The National Investigation Agency Act, 2008

D) The Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018

Answer: A

Explanation: The network was designated a terrorist organisation under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, which allows the Union government to make such designations.

Q6. Which of the following is NOT one of the seven pillars of PRAHAAR? [Tricky]

A) Prevention

B) Human Rights

C) Recovery and Resilience

D) Fiscal Consolidation

Answer: D

Q7. The BHARATPOL portal, launched in January 2025, was developed by which agency? [Tricky]

A) National Investigation Agency

B) Intelligence Bureau

C) Central Bureau of Investigation

D) National Intelligence Grid

Answer: C

Explanation: The Central Bureau of Investigation developed BHARATPOL, which was launched on 7 January 2025 to route INTERPOL requests.

Q8. For how long did Amit Shah call for institutionalising the PRAHAAR strategy? [Tricky]

A) Three years

B) Five years

C) Ten years

D) Fifteen years

Answer: C

Explanation: He called for institutionalising PRAHAAR for the next ten years, with an automated response mechanism at every level.

📜 Previous Year Question Style (PYQ)

PYQ 1:

In which city was the Conference on 'PRAHAAR – CT Policy and Strategy' held?

A) Mumbai

B) New Delhi

C) Hyderabad

D) Lucknow

Answer: B

Explanation: The conference was held in New Delhi on 28 September 2026 and was organised by the Union Home Ministry.

PYQ 2:

Consider the following statements:

The PRAHAAR framework includes Human Rights among its seven pillars.
Between 2019 and 2026, 288 fugitive criminals were brought back to India from 36 countries.
The BHARATPOL portal was developed by the National Investigation Agency.

Which of the above statements is/are correct?

A) 1 only

B) 1 and 2 only

C) 2 and 3 only

D) All of the above

Answer: B

Explanation: Statements 1 and 2 are correct. Statement 3 is wrong because BHARATPOL was developed by the Central Bureau of Investigation.

PYQ 3:

Match the following with the correct body or law:

BHARATPOL portal — a) Central Bureau of Investigation
Red Notice — b) INTERPOL
Designation of the Shahzad Bhatti network — c) Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967
Extradition Portal launched in 2026 — d) Ministry of Home Affairs

A) 1-a, 2-b, 3-c, 4-d

B) 1-b, 2-a, 3-d, 4-c

C) 1-c, 2-d, 3-a, 4-b

D) 1-d, 2-c, 3-b, 4-a

Answer: A

✍️ Mains Answer Pointers

Question 1 (150 words): How does the PRAHAAR framework attempt to address the structural problems in India's counter-terrorism response?

PRAHAAR addresses the two structural problems that have historically slowed India's counter-terrorism response: fragmentation between agencies and delay between information and action.

Question 2 (250 words): Examine the legal and institutional architecture that India uses to bring fugitives back from abroad, and assess how far digitisation can improve its performance.

⚠️ Examiner Trap

Trap 1: Students confuse BHARATPOL with the Extradition Portal. The correct fact is that BHARATPOL was developed by the Central Bureau of Investigation and launched on 7 January 2025, while the Extradition Portal was launched by Amit Shah on 28 September 2026.
Trap 2: A common wrong assumption is that an INTERPOL Red Notice is an international arrest warrant. The reality is that a Red Notice is a request to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition, and each member country decides what legal effect to give it.
Trap 3: Many students miss which law is used to declare a group a terrorist organisation. Always remember that the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 is the law under which the Shahzad Bhatti network was designated, not the Extradition Act, 1962.