Amit Shah launches AI-powered national IED database, calls it ‘next-generation shield against terror’

Home Minister Amit Shah delivers a video message at the inauguration of National IED Data Management System of NSG. (PTI Photo)

Union Home Minister Amit Shah Friday launched a national digital platform to catalogue and analyse improvised explosive device (IED) blasts across the country, calling it a “next-generation security shield against terror” and a comprehensive deterrent against bombings.

The National IED Data Management System (NIDMS), developed by the National Security Guard (NSG), has been conceived as a secure, national-level digital repository to systematically collect, collate and disseminate data related to IED incidents. The platform has been built with the support of Rashtriya Raksha University (RRU) in Gandhinagar, IIT Delhi, the National Investigation Agency (NIA), and the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), and is equipped with artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning tools to study patterns and signatures of bombings.

Shah inaugurated the platform virtually, with the system housed at the NSG garrison in Manesar. Addressing the event, he said the NIDMS would act as a “shield” and a “national asset” by providing comprehensive data access to state police forces, Anti-Terrorist Squads, central investigative agencies and federal forces, enabling them to analyse the modus operandi and trends behind different kinds of bombings.

In his address, the home minister said the platform would function as a “one nation one data repository” for IED blasts, help speed up prosecution by improving the quality of forensic evidence, and enhance inter-agency coordination. IEDs, officials said, remain among the most challenging internal security threats, having killed thousands of civilians and security personnel and critically injured many others over the years.

Brighu Srinivasan, Director General, NSG, said NIDMS is a “real-time” information exchange platform for agencies engaged in counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency operations. It will collect, analyse and disseminate data on all bombing incidents in the country, aiding post-blast investigations and intelligence-led prevention. The platform, he said, is “unique”, noting that during its preparatory phase, 26 “friendly” countries were approached and none had a comparable facility.

According to the NSG, the database already has around 800 users from various agencies. Beyond post-blast investigation, the system will be able to identify “signature linkages” across different incidents and conduct predictive analysis to help thwart potential attacks. By standardising data formats and investigative inputs, officials said, the platform is expected to reduce duplication of effort and ensure that critical information is available to all stakeholders involved in counter-terror operations.

The NIDMS is part of the NSG’s National Bomb Data Centre (NBDC), which analyses all types of bombings in India, apart from major explosions globally. Established in 2000, the NBDC maintains records of all bombings in the country since 1999, forming the historical backbone for the new digital system.

Officials said the platform will continue to evolve, with new datasets and analytical tools to be added over time, strengthening forensic analysis, training modules and operational planning related to bomb disposal and blast investigations.

Raised in 1984, the NSG — whose ‘black cat’ commandos are tasked with specialised counter-terrorist and counter-hijack operations, as well as the protection of select high-risk VIPs — has increasingly focused on building institutional capabilities that combine technology, data and inter-agency coordination to address evolving security challenges.