Religious Extremism — Legal Reforms

Entry	Year	Description	Impact
UAPA Amendment Act, 2019	2019	Amended the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967. Key changes include empowering the Central Government to designate individuals as terrorists without requiring them to be part of a banned organization. It also expanded the powers of the Director General of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to approve seizure or attachment of property when the case is investigated by the NIA.	Significantly strengthened the government's hand in combating terrorism and religious extremism by allowing individual designation, thereby targeting 'lone wolf' actors and making it harder for individuals to evade scrutiny by not formally joining banned groups. Enhanced NIA's investigative capabilities.
NIA (Amendment) Act, 2019	2019	Amended the National Investigation Agency Act, 2008. Expanded the schedule of offenses that the NIA can investigate to include human trafficking, counterfeit currency, manufacture/sale of prohibited arms, cyber-terrorism, and offenses under the Explosive Substances Act, 1908. It also allowed NIA officers to investigate scheduled offenses committed outside India, subject to international treaties and domestic laws.	Broadened NIA's jurisdiction and scope, enabling it to tackle a wider range of crimes often linked to terror financing and religious extremism, including cyber-terrorism which is a growing concern for online radicalization. Empowered NIA to investigate transnational terror cases more effectively.