The National Investigation Agency (Amendment) Bill was due to be taken up in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday, two days after the Lok Sabha passed it amid uproar as opposition parties protested.

What the bill provides

The bill empowers the NIA to investigate terror attacks aimed at Indians and Indian interests outside the country. The amendments will also allow the agency to look into a wider range of offences: human trafficking, counterfeit currency, the making or sale of banned weapons, cyber-terrorism, and crimes covered by the Explosive Substances Act, 1908.

The government’s assurance

Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who took charge of the ministry in May 2019, has said the Narendra Modi government will never misuse the NIA law and will instead use it to wipe out terrorism in the country. Opposition parties had objected when the bill went through the Lok Sabha, and its passage in the upper house was the next step for the government.

See also: Election news | BJP

Originally published on 17 July 2019. Rewritten on 9 October 2026.

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