A lot was expected from P. Chidambaram when he took over as home minister in the aftermath of the 26/11 terror strike on Mumbai—and he has not disappointed.

Chidambaram brought a new sense of urgency in the way the ministry was run. A daily noon meeting of the home minister with senior security and intelligence officers, for example. Or the setting up of a national intelligence grid.

But these are changes at the top, and far more needs to be done at the ground level. In a speech given in New Delhi on Wednesday, Chidambaram has suggested a radical overhaul of the country’s security infrastructure, which includes splitting the home ministry so that it can focus on security issues, setting up a national counterterrorism centre and employing more policemen.

Chidambaram suggested that India today faces its toughest security environment ever—a “confluence of every kind of violence”: separatist, ideological and religious.

Details of the new structure can be debated, but this is a good start.