The NTRO would require over ₹700 crore (US$81 million) to procure different hi-tech equipment from specialised agencies around the globe to become fully functional.

[6] Sources said the road-map for constitution of the National Technical Facilities Organisation was prepared by Dr A P J Abdul Kalam in October 2001 when he was the Principal Scientific Adviser.

In October 2004, the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) approved setting up of NTRO, a spy organisation for technical intelligence, modelled on the National Security Agency (NSA) of the United States, which would be the repository of the country's technical intelligence (TECHINT) assets—spy satellites, UAVs and spy planes.

[8] The National Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Centre, an agency under the control of National Technical Research Organisation, has been created to monitor, intercept and assess threats to crucial infrastructure and other vital installations from intelligence gathered using sensors and platforms which include satellites, underwater buoys, drones, VSAT-terminal locators and fiber-optic cable nodal tap points.

[12] In September 2013, Madhya Pradesh government allotted 180 hectares of land to set up the NTRO at Borda village near Bhopal.

[15][16][17] During the 2016 Line of Control strike, NTRO played an important role by providing Satellite intelligence to operational advisors and planners.

NTRO surveillance confirmed 300 targets via active mobile connections in Markaz Syed Ahmad Shaheed training camp, just few days before IAF airstrike.

Efforts to procure aircraft with advanced technology compared to ARC's capabilities was stalled by the government, allegedly due to R&AW's interference.

[22] In April 2013, the Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DeitY) accused NTRO of hacking into their National Informatics Center (NIC) network.