National Intelligence Grid to be operational by January 2013

Come January 2013, National Intelligence Grid (NATGRID) will become operational and facilitate robust information sharing among law enforcement agencies to combat terror threat at home and abroad.

With the approval by the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) for the first and second phases of the NATGRID, the home ministry has set the boll rolling for setting up of the Rs1,200 crore ambitious project.

"Now, the process of setting up the structure will begin. Initially we will go for a purchasing server and and other equipment and their installations. The NATGRID will be operationalised in 18 months," a home ministry official said.

The NATGRID will have access to about 21 categories of database like railway and air travel, income tax, bank account details, credit card transactions, visa and immigration records.

The project, once comes into existence, will facilitate robust information sharing by security agencies and law enforcement agencies to combat terror threat.

As per the initial plan, access to the combined data will be given to 11 agencies, which include various central intelligence agencies and the National Investigation Agency among others.