Preventing Bio-terror Threat: India Moves A Step Ahead Cautiously

By Animesh Roul

Of late, Indian government wakes up to biological weapon related threats and approves a model of standard operating procedures (SOPs) to thwart any bio-terror attacks. Although the discourse on public health and infectious disease gained ground in the region especially after series of epidemic outbreaks in the region and received a boost following the Anthrax letter incidents in the US in late 2001, New Delhi took ample time to initiate something substantial on the ground.

As per the report published in Financial Express (March 28, 2007), a high-level meeting of the National Crisis Management Committee (NCMC) headed by the cabinet secretary BK Chaturvedi gave a go ahead to the SOPs, endorsing the recommendation that a mechanism must be in place at the earliest to deal with any terror event involving biological pathogen.

The crux of the story goes like this:

The SOP model to be implemented initially in New Delhi under the auspices of the Union Home Ministry. Then it would be replicated in other vital cities subsequently. The report also says that at least four battalions of central paramilitary forces, which will function as the national disaster response force (NDRF), are currently being trained and equipped to respond to nuclear, radiological and biological emergencies. The MHA will lay down the command, control and preparedness measures and post-attack response mechanism. The National Security Coordination Secretariat (NSCS) in consultation with Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO) and secretary, security MHA would constitute a team to do the groundwork, while IB and RAW will finance the initiative. The Ministry of Health is also a part of the initiative, with its role essentially to identify appropriate laboratories, development of appropriate protocol for validation or certification, strategy for procuring, producing and stockpiling of the necessary vaccines and drugs, contamination testing at source of water supply and formulation of effective Rapid Response Teams (RRTs) at the district level.

[Financial Express, March 28, 2007]

Although it is increasingly unlikely for a state or terrorists to use bioweapons against military, they can achieve the strategic objective through attacking civilians directly with anti personnel agents and indirectly with anti-livestock and anti-crops agents that could be used to cripple food supply and economic lifeline. While threat from non-state actors is plausible and well debated, similar threats cannot be ruled out from government’s secret offensive biological weapons programs.

It is high time for all the responsible agencies to work in tandem to face and overcome a future emergency.

Some of my writings available on the Net on Biological Pathogen/Bio-terrorism relating to INDIA :

1-“Biological Weapon, Infectious Disease and India’s Security Imperatives”

2-Mass Destruction Knocking at the Door: How prepared is India to fight a possible germ war?

3-“Why diseases are “mysterious: The government’s public health system is completely defunct”

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