Context The Union government has asked the States to share more intelligence inputs through the Multi Agency Centre (MAC).
It is a common counter-terrorism grid under the Intelligence Bureau that was made operational in 2001 following the Kargil War.
As many as 28 organisations, including the Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW), armed forces and State police, are part of the platform.
Various security agencies share real-time intelligence inputs on the MAC.
About the Centre
MAC was formed in December 2001 following the Kargil intrusion and the subsequent overhaul of the Indian national security apparatus suggested by the Kargil Review Committee report and GoM report.
Accordingly, the Intelligence Bureau (IB) was authorized to create a multi-agency centre (MAC) in New Delhi.
Now functioning 24/7 as the nodal body for sharing intelligence inputs, MAC coordinates with representatives from numerous agencies, different ministries, both central and state.
As noted in a 2016 parliamentary report the major contributors of intelligence inputs to the MAC were the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) and the Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW).
