National Investigation Agency

National Investigation Agency
Common name	NIA
Logo of the National Investigation Agency
Flag of the National Investigation Agency
Agency overview
Formed	2009
Employees	649
Annual budget	$16 million
Legal personality	Governmental: Government agency
Jurisdictional structure
Federal agency	India
Governing body	Government of India
General nature	Federal law enforcement Civilian agency
Operational structure
Headquarters	New Delhi, India
Agency executive	Sharad Kumar, Director-General
Parent agency	Ministry of Home Affairs
Website
www.nia.gov.in

National Investigation Agency (NIA) is a central agency established by the Indian Government to combat terror in India. It acts as the Central Counter Terrorism Law Enforcement Agency. The agency is empowered to deal with terror related crimes across states without special permission from the states. The Agency came into existence with the enactment of the National Investigation Agency Act 2008 by the Parliament of India on 31 December 2008.

NIA was created after the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks as need for a central agency to combat terrorism was realised. The founding Director-General of NIA was Radha Vinod Raju, and he served till 31 January 2010. He was succeeded by Sharad Chandra Sinha till March 2013 when he was appointed the member of the National Human Rights Commission of India. In July 2013, Sharad Kumar was appointed as the Chief of National Investigation Agency.

A Bill for the formation of the National Investigation Agency was passed by Parliament in December 2008. As per the Bill, NIA has concurrent jurisdiction which empowers the Central Agency to probe terror attacks in any part of the country, covering offences, including challenge to the country's sovereignty and integrity, bomb blasts, hijacking of aircraft and ships, attacks on nuclear installations. The amendments to the NIA Act has brought the offences relating to the smuggling in High Quality Counterfeit Indian Currency under the definition of a terrorist Act aimed at damaging the monetary stability of the country and therefore can be investigated by the NIA.

The ground staff of the agency in the national capital could be drawn from existing central staff and security organisations while in the states, permanent deputation from the state police could be taken.

The National Investigative Agency Bill and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment Bill on Tuesday, 30 Dec 2008, became a law as President Pratibha Patil gave her assent to the legislation which were passed in the last session of Parliament.

Agency aims to be a thoroughly professional investigative agency matching the best international standards. It aims to set the standards of excellence in counter terrorism and other national security related investigations at the national level by developing into a highly trained, partnership oriented workforce. It also aims at creating deterrence for existing and potential terrorist groups/individuals. It aims to develop as a storehouse of all terrorist related information.