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Introduction
Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) security is a matter of grave concern for many nations today. CBRN security in India is still in its early stages. There is a need to look at it from a broader perspective of internal and regional security challenges that manifest in the form of CBRN terrorism, among others.
Instances such as the March 2018 Novichok nerve agent poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal in the UK and recurrent use of chemicals by ISIS in Syria raises fears of large scale CBRN threats to general unassuming public. The current Covid19 global pandemic has highlighted many issues. The paranoia created and panic generated shall have many repercussions and leave many lessons.
National CBRN security is not well understood in India. Issues like poverty, illiteracy, lack of adequate healthcare, ignorance of safety measures and rampant corruption increase our vulnerability to looming CBRN threats. Covid19 was coming at us since last few months. Our laudable efforts in keeping the curve flat and being proactively two steps ahead of the possible spike in casualties, have been essentially reactive. It is seen as a health issue and not a National security one. It is time India woke up to the idea of National CBRN security and made plans for the same.
Present Structure and Mechanism
On 23 December 2005, the Government of India enacted the Disaster Management Act 2005, which established the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), headed by the Prime Minister, and the State Disaster Management Authorities (SDMAs) supervised by respective Chief Ministers, to spearhead and implement a holistic and integrated approach to Disaster Management in India.
The NDMA is mandated to deal with all types of disasters, natural and man-made (including CBRN disasters). While the National Crisis Management Committee (NCMC) oversees all major crisis issues facing the nation, the Government of India has earmarked nodal ministries for CBRN disasters and incidents as under :
Government Initiatives for Combating CBRN Disasters
The Indian Government has given reasonable thought to disaster management aspects relating to CBRN threats and instituted a number of measures :-
The NDMA has issued many guidelines for various types of disasters (including CBRN disasters) and their management.
CBRN Related Acts and Laws
India is party to the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on their Destruction (BTWC 1972). Also, to the Convention on Prohibition of Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction (CWC 1993). India has also joined many protocols and agreements towards effective non proliferation, CBRN counter terrorism, strategic trade control of dual use goods and hazardous waste management.
While there is no overarching CBRN law, there is a whole gamut of administrative, regulatory and legal arrangements obtaining in India which aid CBRN risk mitigation. These acts and laws complement the Disaster Management Act 2005, the WMD Act 2005 and the Chemical Weapons Act 2000 and contribute towards effective CBRN Incident Management. In fact, India has a very comprehensive coverage of legal instruments for all aspects of CBRN incident prevention, control, response and mitigation.
Much work has been done in the field of Radiological and Nuclear safety and security. Even disease control is quite effective in India, given its size and population. However, India does not yet have a National Registry of Chemicals and has not completely implemented the Global Harmonised System (GHS) of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals.
Path to National CBRN Security
The first question that is asked when we mention CBRN National security and risk mitigation is, Are we prepared? Listed below are the main areas that need attention towards optimal National CBRN security.
Conclusion
It is imperative to develop an integrated CBRN approach that incorporates all international and national CBRN components into a common strategy covering all aspects of Crisis Prevention, Crisis Response and Consequence Management. This entails the application of a holistic approach through which all stakeholders, while operating autonomously, can establish and realise common goals in a synergistic manner. Comprehensive CBRN Security while retaining domain specialisation can be achieved by the above approach and lead to optimal synergy in operationalising National CBRN Security.
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Col (Dr) Ram Athavale (Retired)
The author is a veteran CBRN specialist based at Pune, India. Details are at www.chebiran.com
Article uploaded on 05-04-2020
Disclaimer: The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the organisation that he belongs to or of the USI of India.
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