National Investigation Agency | Youth joining terrorist organisations

Why in news?

• The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has asked the Home Ministry to invoke lighter sections of the law against young men stopped from joining terrorist organisations such as the Islamic State.
• To encourage parents and other family members to come forward to report
• NIA has also said that potential young terror recruits should be identified and bind-down orders issued against them.
• Also asked the Bureau of Immigration, which records the movement of passengers to and from the country, to study immigration patterns of Indians in a systematic manner and generate red flags.

National Investigation Agency:

• a federal agency established by the Indian Government 
• to combat terror in India. 
• acts as the Central Counter Terrorism Law Enforcement Agency. 
• empowered to deal with terror related crimes across states without special permission from the states.
• National Investigation Agency Act 2008 
• NIA was created after the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks as need for a central agency to combat terrorism was realised. 
• Jurisdiction:

• concurrent jurisdiction which empowers the Centre to probe terror attacks in any part of the country, covering offences, including challenge to the country’s sovereignty and integrity, bomb blasts, hijacking of aircraft and ships, and attacks on nuclear installations.
• Other than offenses of terrorism, it also deals with 
• counterfeit currency, 
• human trafficking, 
• narcotics or drugs, 
• organised crime (extortion mobs and gangs), 
• plane hijacking and 
• violations of 
• atomic energy act and 
• weapons of mass destruction act.
• A State Government may request the Central Government to hand over the investigation of a case to the NIA, provided the case has been registered for the offenses as contained in the schedule to the NIA Act.