WASHINGTON: India is among 193 countries "concerning" whom the U.S. National Security Agency has been authorized to intercept information by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, according to a new report.
The NSA has exempted only four countries - Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand - "in a group known collectively with the United States as the Five Eyes" from such surveillance, the Washington Post reported.
The U.S. has had broad no-spying arrangements with these four countries, the Post said, citing a new set of top secret documents leaked by Edward Snowden, former NSA contractor-turned- whistleblower who has been given asylum in Russia.
India figures in the list of "193 foreign governments as well as foreign factions, political organizations and other entities that were part of a 2010 certification approved by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court", an accompanying exhibit cited by the newspaper said.
"These are the entities about which the NSA may conduct surveillance, for the purpose of gathering foreign intelligence", the exhibit said.
"Each year a new certification must be approved by the court to permit such surveillance under Section 702 of the FISA Amendments Act," it said.
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