Govt to set up 2 specialised interception centres by year-end

Access to phone calls, text messages, social media conversations and other online activities by security agencies in real time will soon become a reality with the government setting up two highly-specialised interception centres by the year-end.
A high-level meeting, chaired by Union Home Secretary L C Goyal, yesterday reviewed the progress of the project to set up the Central Monitoring System (CMS) in New Delhi and Bengaluru.
Once it is operationalised, CMS will be a single window system from where security agencies and tax sleuths will monitor every byte of communication in phone calls, text messages, social media conversations and other online activities.

"We hope that the CMS will kick off by this year-end," a senior Home Ministry official said.
The Rs 200 crore project will facilitate direct electronic surveillance of a targeted number by a security agency through a secured network without any manual intervention from telecom service providers thus ensuring secrecy and prevent leakage of interception to any unauthorised person.
The CMS will have central and regional database which will help central and state security agencies in interception and monitoring.
Analysis of call data records will facilitate in establishing links between anti-national, anti-social elements and tax evaders, the official said.