Context: Recently, the National Intelligence Grid (NATGRID) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) to access the centralised online database on FIRs and stolen vehicles.
Key highlights of the MoU

• This will provide NATGRID access to the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS) database, a platform that links around 14,000 police stations as all State police are mandated to file First Information Reports (FIR) in the CCTNS
• It enables the NATGRID to get information about details of a suspect as mentioned in the FIR such as his/her father’s name, telephone number and other details
• It will ensure that information of a suspect trail like telephone records etc. is shared through a secure platform, safeguarding it from leaks. 
• It will be a medium for at least 10 Central agencies such as the Intelligence Bureau and the Research and Analysis Wing to access data on a secured platform.
• The data will be procured by NATGRID from 21 organisations such as the telecom, tax records, bank, immigration etc.
• The State Police will not be part of NATGRID and they could directly contact different agencies for data. 

Issues

• Violate federalism principle: It would infringe on the federal system of the Constitution since the NCRB under the Union government is only a repository and the data pertaining to FIRs of a particular police station are a State subject, it does not violate any legal provisions as FIRs are shared with all the police stations.
• Data security: Many agencies have raised concerns regarding the accessibility of Data and privacy. The information and data accessed by any agency through the grid will not be accessible to any other agency as it will be an automated system and the request will land directly with the concerned department.
• More operational level, more is the issue of data breach: The Civil Aviation Ministry and airline companies had raised concerns in providing information to one another agency  NATGRID. They contended that they already provide information as asked for to the Bureau of Immigration and the Customs authorities. But, once NATGRID is operational, all agencies will have to route their requests through the secured platform. 

Expenditure for implementation

• The major amount is on account of expenditure “towards the NATGRID software solution” and for “building infrastructural works of NATGRID office, Data Centre etc. at Delhi and Bengaluru.”
• The MHA stated that  the solutions to be implemented by NATGRID are technology-intensive and in greenfield areas involving “multiple stakeholders and an ever-evolving ecosystem

About National Intelligence Grid (NATGRID)

• Origin: The project initially started in 2009 after the Mumbai terrorist attack  with a budget of Rs 2,800 crores. Recently it has been pushed for completion by the present Home Minister and will be operational by December 31, 2020.
• Features: It is an online database for collating scattered pieces of information and putting them together on one platform.
• It links intelligence and investigation agencies and is exempted from the Right to Information Act, 2005 under sub-section (2) of Section 24.
• It will utilise technologies like Big Data and data analytics to study and analyse the huge amounts of data from various intelligence and enforcement agencies to help track suspects in various cases as required. It is intending to set up an Entity Extraction, Visualization, and Analytics (EVA) system.
• Mandate: It is mandated with a couter-terrorism measure that collects and collates a host of information from government databases including tax and bank account details, credit card transactions, visa and immigration records, itineraries of Rail and air travel etc. 

About National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB)

• It was set up in 1986, based on the recommendations of the National Police Commission (1977-1981) and the MHA’s Task Force (1985). It works under the aegis of the Ministry of Home Affairs. It has headquarters in New Delhi. 
• It is the nodal agency for authentic sources of data on crime on various parameters including accidents, suicides from across all the states of the country and prisons for policy matters and research.  
• It designed and operationalised the Crime & Criminal Tracking Network System (CCTNS) in 2009 which aims at creating a comprehensive and integrated system for effective policing at all levels through the adoption of principles of e-Governance.
• It publishes 4 annual publications on Crime, Prison Statistics, Accidental Deaths & Suicides and Finger Prints. These publications serve as principal reference points on crime statistics.