Amit Shah Unveils PRAHAAR Counter-Terrorism Strategy – 29 September 2026

What happened

Union Home Minister Amit Shah inaugurated a conference on ‘PRAHAAR – CT Policy and Strategy’ in New Delhi on 28 September 2026. He called for a stronger, institutionalised counter-terrorism framework with a whole-of-society approach and said the principles of PRAHAAR must reach the thana level.

PRAHAAR expands to seven pillars: Prevention, Response, Aggregating Internal Capacities, Human Rights, Attenuating Conditions for Terrorism, Aligning International Efforts, and Recovery and Resilience. Shah stressed continuous analysis of terror incidents and a concrete mechanism for the next decade, with coordination to avoid delays in action.

Background

The conference brought together the Union Home Secretary, Foreign Secretary, heads of CAPFs/CPOs, DGPs of 15 States and ATS chiefs of all States/UTs, with other officers joining virtually. It is meant as a platform for Centre–State coordination on CT policy, preparedness and resilience.

Why it matters for exams

• UAPA, NIA, ATS and federal policing are frequent UPSC/State PSC topics
• Acronym expansions (PRAHAAR’s seven pillars) are classic prelims bait
• Links internal security (GS-III) with human rights and international cooperation

Key facts for exams

• Ministry: Ministry of Home Affairs; Home Minister Amit Shah
• Venue/date: New Delhi, 28 September 2026
• Related: Zero-tolerance policy against terrorism; thana-level outreach of PRAHAAR

Practice MCQs

1. PRAHAAR in the 2026 CT conference stands for a strategy with how many named pillars?

   (A) Five
   (B) Six
   (C) Seven
   (D) Nine

   Answer: (C) – Seven pillars from Prevention to Recovery and Resilience.

2. Which Union Minister inaugurated the PRAHAAR – CT Policy and Strategy conference in September 2026?

   (A) Rajnath Singh
   (B) Amit Shah
   (C) S. Jaishankar
   (D) Nirmala Sitharaman

   Answer: (B) – Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

3. PRAHAAR’s ‘H’ pillar emphasises:

   (A) Hydropower
   (B) Human Rights
   (C) Highway Security
   (D) Harbour Defence

   Answer: (B) – Human Rights is one of the seven pillars.

Source: Indian Express, 29 September 2026; The Hindu coverage of the same conference.