Evolve strategies to combat Terrorist & cyber Crimes:Governor

Hyderabad|India|April'2010: The Governor of Andhra Pradesh and Chancellor of Osmania University, Shri ESL Narasimhan has called upon the officers of the armed forces to be aware of their responsibilities arising from the complexities and unpredictability’s of the issues confronting the nation today which has changed the security paradigm. The Governor was delivering the Valedictory address of the Higher Defence Management Course - 05 at the College of Defence Management (CDM). The Governor has expressed concern over the growing external threats and said that situation has become more difficult with the factors like globalisation, convergence, networking and technological advancements, cyber crimes, state and non state actors and criminal and terrorist linkages, the magnitude of threat looms larger than the past. He called for better understanding of the convergence of interest among state and non state players, facilitators, and criminal elements, all of whom operate with the sole aim of destabilising India and said that the security agencies to build up a core team of specialists to evolve strategies to combat such problems effectively. The Governor has cautioned that the country cannot afford to resort to fire fighting operations on every issue of national concern.

Shri Narasimhan has asserted that India need to build up her capacity to anticipate events and should be more reactive than proactive in her approach in meeting the threats. He called upon the in drawing up scenarios.

On the issue of technology, he acknowledged its use by the armed forces as a force multiplier. What needed was to take it further ahead and use it to forecast threats, he added. Shri Narasimhan has cautioned cyber terrorism as the major threat of the next decade and outlined the need to take this threat much more seriously. He said that preventing cyber crimes is highly questionable as we have done a little to combat this threat. He said that in spite of a general awareness of this fact, it is persisting to be a weakness in our system. Computers are hacked into with impunity, and the computer security awareness amongst the general population is at a very low level, he said. The Governor said that most of our security systems like radars and communication equipments are prone to sabotage by inimical elements. Communication security is another area which is treated with utter lack of seriousness. He warned that we continue to share confidential information on mobile and other means, in the mistaken belief that what we say cannot be tapped by the enemy.

He said that there is need to focus on economic security as the more we neglect this factor, the more vulnerable will our internal security be. He said that there are numerous other challenges including power shortage, food shortage, pollution problems, environmental problems which need to be solved. He said that many of us have failed to see early warning signals of exclusion, deprivation and exploitation. The Governor has said that human resource management has been a major problem in almost every sector and urged the officers to treat human resource management as a major challenge as they rise up in service.

The Governor has conferred post graduate degree of Master of Management of Studies (MMS) by the Osmania University to the officers and also awarded a certificate of Advance Course in Management by the All India Management Association (AIMA). 108 officers of Colonel and equivalent rank belonging to the three Services and the Coast Guard attended the course. Army officers from Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and Bhutan have also undergone the course, which was commenced on 22 June 2009 at the College of Defence Management (CDM), a tri-service institution and a centre of excellence for imparting defence management training, as well as aligning and integrating management philosophy with operational planning.

Earlier, Rear Admiral VS Batra, Commandant, College of Defence Management presented the course report, recounting in detail the various activities of the course and the milestones achieved. DCIDS (Doctrine, Organisation and Training), HQ IDS, Lt Gen Chetinder Singh, and Lt Gen. I J Singh, Commandant MCEME was also present at the function which was culminated with the presentation of awards to winners in various categories. The MMS trophy for standing first in the order of merit was awarded to Colonel Rajesh Puri, while the Chief of Army Staff Integration Trophy for best all round performance on the course was awarded jointly to Colonel Jalaj Bhola and Colonel Rajesh Puri. The Commandant’s trophy for the best Dissertation was awarded to Col SS Ahlawat, while the Commandant’s trophy for the best Case Study was awarded to Wing Commander VVSR Krishna. Lt Colonel Dorji Rinchen from Bhutan received the award for the best foreign participant.

-April' 2010