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{{Global surveillance}}
{{Mass surveillance by location}}
[[Mass surveillance]] is the pervasive [[surveillance]] of an entire or a substantial fraction of a population.<ref name="https://www.eff.org/issues/mass-surveillance-technologies">{{cite news|url= https://www.eff.org/issues/mass-surveillance-technologies|title= Mass Surveillance Technologies|work= Electronic Frontier Foundation | accessdate=26 August 2014}}</ref> '''Mass surveillance in India''' includes [[surveillance]], [[telephone tapping]], [[open-source intelligence]], [[lawful interception]], and surveillance under [[Indian Telegraph Act, 1885]].

In recent years, India has seen use of facial-recognition technology by the law enforcement. [[Telangana]] is the most surveilled state in India with 36 CCTV cameras per 1,000 people, while cities [[Delhi]] and [[Chennai]] have more cameras per square mile than cities in [[China]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Inzamam |first1=Qadri |last2=Qadri |first2=Haziq |title=Telangana Is Inching Closer to Becoming a Total Surveillance State |url=https://thewire.in/tech/telangana-surveillance-police-cctv-facial-recognition |access-date=2022-09-03 |work=The Wire |date=2022-07-15}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Loganathan |first1=Sonikka |title=Do CCTV cameras protect us or invade our privacy? |url=https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/do-cctv-cameras-protect-us-or-invade-our-privacy/article66809651.ece |access-date=2023-05-06 |work=[[The Hindu]] |date=2023-05-05}}</ref>

== History ==

=== Colonial India ===

==== Police surveillance ====
Police in colonial India developed surveillance tactics as a form of [[Preventive police|preventive policing]] believing that a substantial portion of crime was being committed by those who were or were suspected to be repeat offenders. Higher ranking police officials would go through criminal records to identify those who were to be surveilled by the constabulary, to this end history sheets or "bad character rolls" were maintained on such individuals. These surveillance practices also depended on local district superintendents and could be outside legislative sanction as they were allowed to develop their own policing practices by the [[Police Act|Police Act of 1861]]. This reliance on surveillance was seen necessary owing to the police force being minimally staffed and relying on indirect power following the [[Indian Rebellion of 1857|1857 rebellion]].<ref>{{cite thesis |last=Giuliani |first=Erin |date=2012 |title=Policing Knowledge: Surveillance in Colonial Bengal, 1861 to 1913 |url=https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/data/UQ_283596/s4054957_phd_finalthesis.pdf?Expires=1584199137&Key-Pair-Id=APKAJKNBJ4MJBJNC6NLQ&Signature=I4VWhq0gZwzGi8b1nuH9cy7~EElmxo3fRFKrzsdqdmdBDRgdIiDtodJAV27U93U6OI0lf9pbd39qgvfdnSDVdKiG62z4Dz9nFzRSDiRxHndaXduIax-Cqls0ws11G3LnToCeIZG4kydv8FXsFYNyD6NIGnxNBDQmVDKi8S~vlQGAj1-H27xqWDW~VluOWKXzyCZ1nzRuSH7BfhIMHmEoBwn2hgdLGQ1xEUHCPmswA9z2dFsiDPOrLh0bxL0b1Vnj~6P6DXc8TSn9jjU~NsHq7pbK49lsApRZ164LqARtcRoV5r2pdcY2JjtrZ6SwqwDBVHYivkwRx4EKxB7gstgMGQ__ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200314151811/https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/data/UQ_283596/s4054957_phd_finalthesis.pdf?Expires=1584199137&Key-Pair-Id=APKAJKNBJ4MJBJNC6NLQ&Signature=I4VWhq0gZwzGi8b1nuH9cy7~EElmxo3fRFKrzsdqdmdBDRgdIiDtodJAV27U93U6OI0lf9pbd39qgvfdnSDVdKiG62z4Dz9nFzRSDiRxHndaXduIax-Cqls0ws11G3LnToCeIZG4kydv8FXsFYNyD6NIGnxNBDQmVDKi8S~vlQGAj1-H27xqWDW~VluOWKXzyCZ1nzRuSH7BfhIMHmEoBwn2hgdLGQ1xEUHCPmswA9z2dFsiDPOrLh0bxL0b1Vnj~6P6DXc8TSn9jjU~NsHq7pbK49lsApRZ164LqARtcRoV5r2pdcY2JjtrZ6SwqwDBVHYivkwRx4EKxB7gstgMGQ__ |archive-date=2020-03-14 |url-status=dead |type=Phd |chapter= |publisher=The University of Queensland |docket= |oclc= |access-date=2 April 2023}}</ref>

==== Indian Telegraph Act 1885 ====
{{Main|Indian Telegraph Act, 1885}}

The section 5 of the Indian Telegraph Act allowed the [[Governor-General of India|Governor General]] or a local government to temporarily seize any licensed telegraph, and also gave them the ability block, intercept, detain, or even disclose the contents of any message transmitted during a "public emergency" or in "interest of public safety", the Secretary to the Government had a final say on whether something met those two criteria.<ref>{{Cite book |url=http://archive.org/details/1862-1865_20221116/1885 |title=A Collection of the Acts passed by the Governor General in Council. |year=1885 |pages=132}}</ref> This act is one of the principal laws allowing surveillance of electronic communication in modern India.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-07-23 |title=Explained: The laws for surveillance in India, and concerns over privacy |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/project-pegasus-the-laws-for-surveillance-in-india-and-the-concerns-over-privacy-7417714/ |access-date=2023-04-02 |website=The Indian Express |language=en}}</ref>

== Use of surveillance technology ==

=== CCTV cameras ===
Some Indian cities have some of the highest levels of [[Closed-circuit television|CCTV]] surveillance in the world after those in China, with a Comparitech report in 2020 ranking [[Hyderabad]] among the top 20 most surveilled cities in the world, one of the only two non-Chinese cities in the list, with 29.99 CCTV cameras per 1000 people at that time.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mihindukulasuriya |first=Regina |date=2020-07-22 |title=Hyderabad, Chennai, Delhi among world's top 50 most surveilled cities, says report |url=https://theprint.in/india/hyderabad-chennai-delhi-among-worlds-top-50-most-surveilled-cities-says-report/466219/ |access-date=2023-06-04 |website=ThePrint |language=en-US}}</ref> The number of CCTV cameras has only risen since then, with the most recent data available as of June 2023 putting Hyderabad (83.32 cameras/1000 people), [[Indore]] (60 cameras/1000 people), and Delhi (19.96 cameras/1000 people) among the world's most surveilled cities.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Surveillance Camera Statistics: Which City has the Most CCTV Cameras? |url=https://www.comparitech.com/vpn-privacy/the-worlds-most-surveilled-cities/ |access-date=2023-06-04 |website=Comparitech |language=en-US}}</ref> However the number of CCTV cameras is not uniform among even major Indian cities, with just four cities; Hyderabad, Delhi, Chennai, and Indore accounting for 91% of CCTV cameras installed in the country, though newer and older cities are also coming under the surveillance radars.<ref>{{Cite web |title=CCTV Surveillance Is Rising in India, World, but Crime Rates Remain Unaffected |url=https://thewire.in/rights/cctv-surveillance-is-rising-in-india-world-but-crime-rates-remain-unaffected |access-date=2023-06-04 |website=The Wire}}</ref>

=== Facial recognition technology ===

Police forces in India have been using [[Facial recognition system|Facial Recognition software]] to identify "[[history-sheeter]]s", "miscreants", solve missing person cases, with the [[Delhi Police|Delhi police]] even using it to identify protestors during the [[Citizenship Amendment Act protests|2019 anti-CAA protests]] and in the [[2020–2021 Indian farmers' protest|farmer protest]] in the following year.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |url=https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/facial-recognition-technology-in-india.pdf |title=Facial Recognition Technology in India |publisher=[[Centre for Internet and Society (India)]] |date=31 August 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2022-08-21 |title=Explained {{!}} Delhi Police’s use of facial recognition technology |language=en-IN |work=The Hindu |url=https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/technology/explained-delhi-polices-use-of-facial-recognition-technology/article65793897.ece |access-date=2023-06-05 |issn=0971-751X}}</ref> Police forces like the [[Telangana Police|Telangana police]] run facial recognition systems along with their extensive CCTV surveillance network to feed live data into facial recognition algorithms.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-11-09 |title=The Hyderabad model of CCTV surveillance |url=https://www.livemint.com/news/india/the-hyderabad-model-of-cctv-surveillance-11604926158442.html |access-date=2023-06-05 |website=mint |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2023-04-11 |title=Data {{!}} Telangana stands out in CCTV surveillance |language=en-IN |work=The Hindu |url=https://www.thehindu.com/data/data-with-each-station-having-access-to-257-cctvs-telangana-police-stand-out-in-surveillance/article66705589.ece |access-date=2023-06-05 |issn=0971-751X}}</ref> In 2017, the [[Greater Chennai Police|Chennai Police]] installed a facial recognition system running on real time CCTV footage from areas of [[T. Nagar|T Nagar]], a popular shopping street in the city, to detect any criminals stored in their database, similar systems have been deployed by the [[Punjab Police (India)|Punjab Police]] as Punjab Artificial Intelligence System (PAIS), and by the Surat Police using [[NEC|NEC's]] NeoFace technology.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Murali |first=Anand |date=2018-08-13 |title=The Big Eye: The tech is all ready for mass surveillance in India |url=https://archive.factordaily.com/face-recognition-mass-surveillance-in-india/ |access-date=2023-06-05 |website=FactorDaily |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":0" />

=== Aadhaar biometrics ===
{{Main|Aadhaar}}
The [[Government of India]] in 2009 introduced [[Aadhaar]], a 12 digit identification document that can be obtained by any resident of India, with a goal to improve welfare delivery in the country. The enrollment process to obtain Aadhaar requires the submission of biometric data in the form of fingerprints, and an iris scan.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-09-28 |title=India Is Collecting a Vast Database of Eye Scans and Fingerprint Records |url=https://time.com/5409604/india-aadhaar-supreme-court/ |access-date=2023-06-05 |website=Time |language=en}}</ref> From its inception, the collection of this data for Aadhaar and its storage in a centralized database has raised privacy and surveillance concerns, with Aadhaar representing the world's largest such database with data on over 1.1 billion people. Over time Aadhaar has become increasingly mandatory to access basic state services, a necessary document for KYC verification to obtain a mobile [[SIM card]], create a bank account, access loans, school and college admissions and scholarships, and has even been linked with other identification documents like the [[Permanent account number|PAN card]] and [[Voter ID (India)|Voter ID]]. Privacy advocates have pointed out that this level of Aadhaar integration allows the state to track all aspects of daily life of an individual as there is no legal restriction on the amount of information the government can access from this database, creating the necessary infrastructure for mass surveillance.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Thornhill |first=John |date=2021-11-11 |title=India’s all-encompassing ID system holds warnings for the rest of world |work=Financial Times |url=https://www.ft.com/content/337f6d6e-7301-4ef4-a26d-a4e62f602947 |access-date=2023-06-05}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=India's dodgy mass surveillance project should concern us all |language=en-GB |work=Wired UK |url=https://www.wired.co.uk/article/india-aadhaar-biometrics-privacy |access-date=2023-06-05 |issn=1357-0978}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Chandran |first=Rina |title=India's digital ID sparks debate over human right to personal data |url=https://news.trust.org/item/20171213105635-vaj5p/ |access-date=2023-06-05 |website=Thomas Reuters Foundation News}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Panday |first=Jyoti |date=2017-06-01 |title=Aadhaar: Ushering in a Commercialized Era of Surveillance in India |url=https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2017/05/aadhaar-ushering-commercialized-era-surveillance-india |access-date=2023-06-05 |website=Electronic Frontier Foundation |language=en}}</ref> The [[Aadhaar Act, 2016]] tried to make Aadhaar mandatory for many public services including all welfare benefits and even allowed private companies to collect Aadhaar data, however the [[Supreme Court of India|Supreme Court]] struck down these provisions of the act while upholding the validity of the act itself.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2018-09-26 |title=What's valid and what's not: Everything you need to know about Aadhaar verdict |work=The Economic Times |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/whats-valid-and-whats-not-everything-you-need-to-know-about-todays-aadhaar-verdict/articleshow/65961427.cms |access-date=2023-06-05 |issn=0013-0389}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-09-26 |title=Supreme Court Aadhaar verdict: What today’s judgment means for you |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/india/supreme-court-aadhaar-verdict-what-todays-judgment-means-for-you/ |access-date=2023-06-05 |website=The Indian Express |language=en}}</ref> However, despite this verdict many organisations have continued claiming Aadhaar as a mandatory requirement.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-06-20 |title=The Aadhaar confusion {{!}} Four years on, some banks yet to honour Supreme Court’s Aadhaar verdict |url=https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/the-aadhaar-confusion-four-years-on-some-banks-yet-to-honour-supreme-courts-aadhaar-verdict-8711681.html |access-date=2023-06-05 |website=Moneycontrol |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-05-29 |title=Aadhaar not mandatory yet organisations pose it as a mandatory document |url=https://www.businesstoday.in/latest/trends/story/aadhaar-not-mandatory-yet-organisations-pose-it-as-a-mandatory-document-335550-2022-05-29 |access-date=2023-06-05 |website=Business Today |language=en}}</ref>

=== Sanchar Saathi ===
{{Main article|Sanchar Saathi}}
In 2025, it was reported that the [[Premiership of Narendra Modi|Modi government]] was demanding that smartphones sold in India come pre-installed with Sanchar Saathi, a government-created app that has access to the phone's call log, memory and camera, raising concerns among privacy advocates.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.ft.com/content/fe70b9ec-755b-44c6-a024-edbf4e178e52|title=India demands installation of government app on all smartphones|date=2025|work=Financial Times}}</ref>

==Indian mass surveillance projects==

India has been using many mass surveillance projects for many years. These include the following:

===DRDO Netra===

[[DRDO NETRA]] is another mass surveillance project of India. It has been developed by the Center for Artificial Intelligence & Robotics (CAIR) laboratory under the [[Defence Research and Development Organisation]]. The system could detect selective words like “bomb”, “blast”, “attack” or “kill” within seconds from emails, instant messages, status updates and tweets. The system will also be capable of gauging suspicious voice traffic on Skype and Google Talk. To enhance the capacity of the [[DRDO NETRA]] Project Black Knight was initiated in late 2013 to monitor social media trends and identify source of various viral messages that posed a risk to tranquility of the global community. Not much detail is available about the project, but it is rumored that the group of engineers later founded a private organization and now conducts social media analysis on Indian and foreign subjects by tapping fiber optic cables in India and overseas, including cybertapping infrastructure on the main internet communication cable in Mongolia which links rest of the world to China.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-03-08 |title=NETRA: A vigilant eye on the Internet |url=https://researchmatters.in/article/netra-vigilant-eye-internet |access-date=2025-11-05 |website=Research Matters |language=en}}</ref>

=== Lawful Intercept and Monitoring project===

[[Lawful Intercept and Monitoring]], abbreviated to LIM, is a clandestine mass electronic surveillance program deployed by the [[C-DOT|Centre for Development of Telematics]] (C-DOT), an Indian Government owned telecommunications technology development centre.<ref name="http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/govt-violates-privacy-safeguards-to-secretly-monitor-internet-traffic/article5107682.ece ">{{cite news|url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/govt-violates-privacy-safeguards-to-secretly-monitor-internet-traffic/article5107682.ece |title= Govt. violates privacy safeguards to secretly monitor Internet traffic |work= The Hindu |date=9 September 2013 |accessdate=26 August 2014}}</ref> LIM systems are used by the Indian Government to intercept records of voice, SMSs, GPRS data, details of a subscriber's application and recharge history and [[call detail record]] (CDR) <ref name="http://archive.indianexpress.com/news/govt-sets-norms-for-lawful-interception-and-monitoring/913034/0 ">{{cite news|url=http://archive.indianexpress.com/news/govt-sets-norms-for-lawful-interception-and-monitoring/913034/0|title= Govt sets norms for lawful interception and monitoring |work= The Indian Express |date=17 February 2012 |accessdate=26 August 2014}}</ref> and monitor Internet traffic, emails, web-browsing, [[Skype]] and any other Internet activity of Indian users. Mobile operators deploy their own LIM system which allows the government to intercept calls, after taking “due authorisation” in compliance with Section 5(2) of the [[Indian Telegraph Act, 1885|Indian Telegraph Act]] read with Rule 419(A) of the IT Rules. The LIM system to monitor Internet traffic is deployed by the government at the international gateways of some large ISPs (between the ISPs Internet Edge Router (PE) and the core network). These surveillance systems are under complete control of the government, and their functioning is secretive and unknown to the ISPs.<ref name="http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/govt-violates-privacy-safeguards-to-secretly-monitor-internet-traffic/article5107682.ece "/>

===NCCC===

{{Main|National Cyber Coordination Centre}}

[[National Cyber Coordination Centre]] (NCCC) is a proposed cyber security and e-surveillance project of India.<ref name=HT>{{cite news|url= http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/cyber-protection-body-pushes-ahead/article1-1174753.aspx|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140119201552/http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/cyber-protection-body-pushes-ahead/article1-1174753.aspx|url-status= dead|archive-date= January 19, 2014|title= India's cyber protection body pushes ahead|work= Hindustan Times|date=29 January 2014|accessdate=24 November 2014}}</ref> It aims at screening communication [[metadata]] and co-ordinate the intelligence gathering activities of other agencies.<ref>{{cite news|url= http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/india-gets-ready-to-roll-out-cyber-snooping-agency/article4798049.ece|title= India gets ready to roll out cyber snooping agency |work= The Hindu |date=10 June 2013 |accessdate=24 November 2014}}</ref> In the absence of any legal framework and parliamentary oversight, the NCCC could encroach upon Indian citizens' privacy and civil-liberties.<ref>{{cite news|url= https://thediplomat.com/2013/06/india-sets-up-domestic-prism-like-cyber-surveillance/|title= India Sets Up Domestic PRISM-Like Cyber Surveillance?|work= The Diplomat |date=10 June 2013 |accessdate=24 November 2014}}</ref>

=== Telecom Enforcement Resource and Monitoring Project===

[[Telecom Enforcement Resource and Monitoring]] (TERM), formerly known as Vigilance Telecom Monitoring (VTM), is the vigilance and monitoring wing of the Indian Department of Telecommunications (DoT). The main functions of TERM Cells are vigilance, monitoring and security of the network. Apart from this, TERM Cells also operate the [[Central Monitoring System]] and carry out other functions.

====Central Monitoring System Project====

[[Central Monitoring System]] is a surveillance related project of India. The project is run by [[C-DOT|Centre for Development of Telematics]]<ref>{{cite news|title=Forget NSA, India's Centre for Development of Telematics is one of top 3 worst online spies|url=https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/indias-centre-for-development-of-telematics-worst-online-spies-reporters-without-borders-184570-2014-03-12|access-date=26 August 2014|newspaper=India Today|date=12 March 2014}}</ref>

===National Intelligence Grid (NATGRID)===
[[NATGRID]] project of [[Ministry of Home Affairs (India)|Home ministry]] is creating a centralised database of citizens and companies recording every interaction with the government, which amounts to profiling and mass surveillance of citizens and companies.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Singh |first1=Dalip |title=Close watch. NATGRID to turn lens on digital print of people, firms |url=https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/govt-to-upscale-surveillance-mandates-natgrid-for-real-time-360-degree-profiling-of-individuals-entities/article66784926.ece |access-date=2023-04-30 |work=[[Business Line]] |date=27 April 2023}}</ref>

== Misuse of Section 144 ==

An analysis by lawyers Vrinda Bhandari, Abhinav Sekhri, Natasha Maheshwari and Madhav Aggarwal of orders passed by [[Delhi Police]] under [[Unlawful assembly#India|Section 144]] found that the law is being used to create a parallel surveillance network. Many of the orders directed private parties like ATMs, Banks, girls PG/hostels, liquor vendors, owner of parking lots etc. to install CCTV cameras for surveillance purposes.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Bhandari |first1=Vrinda |last2=Sekhri |first2=Abhinav |last3=Maheshwari |first3=Natasha |last4=Aggarwal |first4=Madhav |title=The Use and Misuse of Section 144 CrPC |url=https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4389147 |website=SSRN |publisher=SSRN |access-date=2023-04-24}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Bhandari |first1=Vrinda |last2=Sekhri |first2=Abhinav |last3=Maheshwari |first3=Natasha |last4=Aggarwal |first4=Madhav |title=Section 144 CrPC: How a law was used to break law |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/when-law-creates-crimes/articleshow/99711608.cms |access-date=2023-04-24 |work=[[The Times of India]] |date=2023-04-24}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Mass surveillance#India|Surveillance in India]]
*[[List of Indian intelligence agencies]]
*[[Multi Agency Centre (India)]]
*[[NATGRID]]
*[[Telecom Enforcement Resource and Monitoring]]

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

{{Asia topic|Mass surveillance in}}
{{Law enforcement in India}}
{{Indian intelligence agencies}}
{{Indian Penal Code navbox}}
{{Criminal procedure}}
{{Law}}
{{Asia topic|Law enforcement in}}
{{Crime in Asia}}
{{Social issues in India}}
{{India topics}}

[[Category:Mass surveillance|India]]
[[Category:Mass surveillance by country|India]]
[[Category:Privacy in India]]
[[Category:Human rights abuses in India]]

Mass surveillance in India - Revision history

JeffryAlfaro75: Added!