What is the Full Form of MHA?

MHA: Ministry of Home Affairs

MHA is an abbreviation that stands for "Ministry of Home Affairs". It is an internal ministry of India led by the Union Minister of Home affairs. At present time as of June 2021, Amit Shah is its chairman and Home Secretary of MHA is Ajay Kumar Bhalla, who is the Ministry of Home affairs executive head.

The MHA is accountable for the upkeeping of internal security such as intelligence bureau, law & order, domestic policies such as education, health, justice, federalism, environment, transportation, etc. The Home Ministry also acts as the cadre controlling jurisdiction for the Indian Police Service (IPS).

Formation of MHA

The MHA was formed on 15 August 1947.

Key roles and Responsibilities of MHA

• The MHA has the control and command over the Intelligence Bureau (IB). However, the home minister is accountable for monitoring and controlling the intelligence results from the RAW (Research and Analysis Wing), ATS (Anti-Terrorism Squad), military, and the state government.
• The home ministry monitors the entire liability of the law & order condition in Kashmir due to its diplomatic significance.
• The framework of all the development policies in the Northeast region is supervised by the home minister only.
• The home ministry looks at the security policy and the overall stability of the Northeast region.
• The MHA has the power to control the paramilitary forces such as BSF (Border Security Force), CRPF (Central Reserve Police Force), SSB (Sashastra Seema Bal), ITBP (Indo-Tibetan Border Police), and CISF (Central Industrial Security Force).
• The MHA carries out the actual security work of border regions whenever the situation comes for an army to defend our country on the border.
• The anti-terror force NSG (National Security Guard), the best force that controls emergencies as terrorists attack, also comes under the MHA.
• The Home Ministry also holds power to appoint the Governor of all the states.
• The gradual increase in Naxal activities in the past few decades, driven the emergence of this policy branch in MHA. Generally, these Maoist attacks occur in the least evolved area of the country. The home ministry posts the paramilitary forces and security to tackle the situation.
• Like all the agencies mentioned above, the CBI (Central Bureau of investigation) is also controlled by the home ministry to recruit the police officers and their ongoing training.

Departments of MHA

• Department of Home- This department deals with the information of acceptance of the President and Vice President's offices, the information regarding the selection of Prime minister and other ministers, etc.
• Department of Internal Security- This department deals with the central police forces, Indian Police Service, terrorism and terrorist funding, Maoist attacks, and rehabilitation. In addition, it maintains peace and harmony in the nation.
• Department of Jammu Kashmir and Ladakh affairs- This department deals with the Union territories of Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) and Ladakh, administration of the armed forces, and counter-terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir, and all the welfare and development activities that are concerned in these UTs.
• Department of Border Management- This department deals with the management of coastal borders, empowering the border grounding and formation of assets in border areas and their development.
• Development of States- This department deals with the inter-state relation, centre-state relation, authorities of the Union territories, police and prison standardize, Human rights, and retirement fund for the freedom fighters.
• Department of Official language- This department deals with executing the management of the constitution linked to official languages and the outline of the official language act, 1963.

Divisions of MHA

Following are the all working divisions that fall under the ministry of home affairs: -

• Administration division
• Border Management l division
• Border Management ll division
• Counter-Terrorism and Counter Radicalization Division
• Internal Security-I Division
• Internal Security-II Division
• Cyber And Information Security (C&IS) Division
• Centre-state Division
• Freedom Fighters & Rehabilitation Division
• Foreigners Division
• Finance Division
• Jammu, Kashmir and Laddakh Affairs
• Left-Wing Extremism Division
• North East Division
• Police-I Division
• Police-II Division
• Union Territories Division
• Police Modernisation Division
• Women Safety Division