Security Forces & Intelligence Agencies

GS Paper: GS Paper III | Subject: Internal Security | Last updated: 2026-06-26

---

Prelims

(Key facts, data, schemes, laws, organizations — MCQ-ready points)

CISF Counter-Drone Training (post-Operation Sindoor) (The Hindu, 15-06-2026)

• A year after Operation Sindoor, the CISF (with the IAF) has trained 7,120 personnel in drone & counter-drone operations (piloting, aerial surveillance, mapping, neutralisation), to shield critical installations (nuclear & thermal plants) from hostile UAVs
• Setting up Drone Training Schools at Hyderabad, Bhilai, Behror, with academic tie-ups with IIT-Kanpur and DIAT (Pune)
• CISF also trained 450 State Fire Services personnel from 187 cities; its Fire Wing saved property worth ₹172.55 cr
• CISF = Central Industrial Security Force, a CAPF guarding industrial/critical infrastructure, airports, etc.

Army's Decolonised Uniform Policy (The Hindu, 15-06-2026)

• New Army Uniforms-2026 Pamphlet sheds residual colonial-era practices/terms — drops "Royal", removes the pouch belt (Mess Dress 5 & 6), makes the Reviewing Officer's sword optional, and adds the traditional Bandi Jacket to formal civil attire
• Introduces a common tri-service Uniform Numbering Scheme (Army/Navy/IAF) for clarity & interoperability; retains 4 categories (Ceremonial, Working, Mess, Combat); legacy Dress No. 3A withdrawn by June 2029

Rogue-Drone Alert on Vital Installations (VAVIs) (The Hindu, 16-06-2026)

• The Centre warned of rogue/hostile drone attacks on Vital Assets & Vital Installations (VAVIs) near land and sea borders; the Marine Security Wing (Ministry of Ports, Shipping & Waterways) urged installing Anti-Drone Systems
• The MHA set up an Anti-Rogue Drone Technology Committee in the BSF to evaluate/certify counter-drone systems; CISF formed a survey Board of Officers for VAVIs

Lt. Gen. Dhiraj Seth to be 31st Army Chief (The Hindu, 21-06-2026)

• Lt. Gen. Dhiraj Seth (currently Vice Chief of the Army Staff) takes over as the 31st Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) on 30 June 2026, succeeding Gen. Upendra Dwivedi on his retirement; tenure runs to 31 Aug 2028
• Only the 7th officer from the Armoured Corps to become Army Chief (the Infantry has produced the most; 5 from Artillery, 1 from Engineers); last Armoured Corps chief was Gen. S. Roy Chowdhury (1994–97)
• An NDA/IMA alumnus commissioned 1986; commanded the Sudarshan Chakra Corps, South-Western & Southern Commands; oversaw tri-service exercises (e.g. Exercise Trishul); takes charge amid a push for jointness/theaterisation and military modernisation

IAF to Join 'Exercise Pitch Black 2026' (Australia) (The Hindu, 17-06-2026)

• The Indian Air Force will take part in Exercise Pitch Black 2026 — the Royal Australian Air Force's premier multinational air-combat exercise in Australia's Northern Territory (20 July–August)
• Brings together 100+ aircraft from 19 allied & partner nations to enhance interoperability across the Indo-Pacific and refine air-combat tactics; it is the RAAF's largest international exercise — part of deepening India–Australia defence ties (Quad context)

Netra AEW&C Gets Final Operational Clearance (The Hindu, 26-06-2026)

• The indigenous Netra Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) system received Final Operational Clearance (FOC) — a force multiplier for the IAF in the 2019 Balakot strikes and Operation Sindoor (2025)
• Developed by the Centre for Airborne Systems (CABS), Bengaluru (a DRDO lab) on a Brazilian Embraer EMB-145I platform; carries an Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar, IFF (Identification Friend or Foe), mission computer, secure comms, and Electronic Support Measures (ESM) — can detect/track/identify/monitor airborne and maritime targets, enabling network-centric operations
• India is the 5th country to develop this capability; Initial Operational Clearance (IOC) 2015, inducted into IAF 2017. The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) has approved six more AEW&C Mk-1A systems from CABS
• The FOC was dedicated to 8 personnel (4 IAF + 4 scientists) killed in the 11 Jan 1999 crash of a modified HS-748 Avro near Arakkonam (TN) — which had temporarily stalled the AWACS programme (revived 2004)
• AEW&C vs AWACS: Netra is a smaller, indigenous AEW&C; India also operates larger A-50 'Phalcon' AWACS (Israeli radar on Russian IL-76); the bigger indigenous 'Netra Mk-2' (on Airbus A321) is under development

IB Chief & a Civil–Military Clash in J&K (The Hindu, 26-06-2026)

• Mahesh Dixit (1993-batch IPS, AP cadre; earlier headed the J&K desk and SIB J&K post-Art-370) appointed Director, Intelligence Bureau (DIB) for a 2-year tenure, succeeding Tapan Kumar Deka; he is among MHA officials in talks with Ladakh civil-society leaders
• Separately, an FIR was lodged in Kishtwar (J&K) after ~40 Army personnel allegedly stormed Atholi police station and assaulted police (under BNS Sec 109) — a rare civil–military friction incident; the Army promised "full cooperation" with the inquiry

---

Mains

(Analysis, dimensions, significance, critique, policy angles — for 10/15 mark answers)

Netra & Indigenous Air-Surveillance Capability (The Hindu, 26-06-2026)

• Why AEW&C matters: an "eye in the sky" that extends radar coverage far beyond ground-based systems and acts as an airborne command post, it is a decisive force multiplier (proven in Balakot & Op Sindoor) for early warning, air-battle management and network-centric warfare
• Indigenisation story: the FOC — and the CCS clearance for six more Mk-1A — marks a maturing DRDO/CABS ecosystem; recovering from the 1999 Arakkonam crash to join the small club of five AEW&C-capable nations exemplifies persevering self-reliance (Aatmanirbharta in defence) and reduces dependence on imported AWACS
• UPSC angle: AEW&C/AWACS & air defence, DRDO indigenisation, network-centric warfare, defence self-reliance, Operation Sindoor/Balakot (see [indigenization-new-technology])

Drones — the New Internal-Security Frontier (The Hindu, 15-06-2026)

• Post-Sindoor drone barrages along the Pakistan border have made counter-UAS a core mandate; protecting nuclear/thermal/critical infrastructure now needs a detect–identify–neutralise chain plus indigenous training pipelines (IIT-Kanpur, DIAT) — fusing internal security + dual-use tech + critical-infra protection
• UPSC angle: drone/UAS threat to critical infrastructure, counter-drone tech, CAPFs (CISF), civil–military–academia tie-ups, indigenisation

Decolonising Military Symbolism (The Hindu, 15-06-2026)

• The 2026 uniform overhaul continues the post-2022 drive to shed colonial legacies (cf. renaming of ensigns, the Indianisation of ceremonial practices) while a tri-service common scheme signals jointness/theaterisation — symbolism aligned with Aatmanirbharta and a distinct national military identity
• UPSC angle: decolonisation of institutions, military jointness/integrated theatre commands, indigenisation of defence

The Drone Revolution in Modern Warfare (The Hindu, 16-06-2026)

• Wars in Ukraine, Lebanon and West Asia have made cheap, mass-produced drones central — even decisive: FPV strike/kamikaze drones, loitering munitions, bomber drones, and EW-resistant fibre-optic drones now perform ISR, targeting, deep strikes and logistics. A few-hundred-dollar drone can destroy a million-dollar tank, inverting battlefield economics
• The battlespace is now continuously visible ("detection → rapid engagement"), so war becomes a contest of industrial scale + relentless technological adaptation (build, deploy, and counter). For India this means building indigenous drone + counter-UAS ecosystems, EW resilience, and hardening critical infrastructure (cf. the VAVI alert and CISF counter-drone push)
• UPSC angle: drones/UAS in warfare, asymmetric & low-cost warfare, electronic warfare, defence indigenisation & emerging tech, protection of critical infrastructure