NSG
Description The National Security Guard (NSG) is India’s domestic counter-terrorism response unit. Nicknamed ‘Black Cats’ due to their distinctive black uniforms, the NSG commandos are recruited from the army but work within the Central Armed Police Forces structure. They came under public scrutiny following the 2008 Mumbai attacks that killed over 150 people. Criticisms of the NSG response highlighted a variety of issues, some of which are still to be resolved.
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PRIMAL Assessment
Until the 2008 attacks the NSG was woefully under-resourced despite the significant terrorist threat in India. Adequate funding was only made available after a devastating terrorist attack had already occurred. A similar phenomenon occurred post 9/11 when funding for counter-terrorism was significantly increased in most Western countries. This method of incident response is often called ‘shutting the gate after the horse has bolted’.
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