Centralized Monitoring System(CMS)

♤ The Central Monitoring System, abbreviated to CMS, is a secret mass electronic surveillance programme installed by the C-DOT to monitor communications on mobile phones, landlines and the internet in the country.

♤ It aims to strengthen the security environment by providing Call Data Records (CDR) analysis, location details etc. of the target numbers.

♤ It may act as a single window from where government arms such as the National Investigation agency or the tax authorities will be able to monitor every byte of communication.

♤ Prior to CMS, agencies had to seek court orders for surveillance, and had to send in an individual request to a telecom target.

♤ Now Ministry of home affair has the sole power to decide who to monitor.

♤ Human rights and civil-liberties groups have expressed concerns that the CMS is prone to abuse, and is an infringement of privacy and civil liberties, especially because the government has repeatedly used the Information Technology Act to arrest people for posting comments ,on social media that are critical of the government, as well as to put pressure on websites such as Facebook and Google to filter or block content.