Government of India approves continuation of the umbrella scheme for the Modernisation of Police Forces for 5 years

The Central Government has approved the continuation of the umbrella scheme of Modernisation of Police Forces (MPF). The approval has been given for a period of 5 years, that is, 2021-22 to 2025-26. With this, the initiative of the Union Home Minister, Amit Shah to modernise and improve the functioning of Police Forces of States and Union Territories moves forward towards realisation. A total Central financial outlay of Rs 26,275 crore will be pumped into the scheme that includes all relevant sub-schemes that contribute to modernization and improvement.

The scheme covers expenditure for security-related issues in Jammu and Kashmir, North Eastern States and also Maoist affected areas. New battalions will be raised and high-tech forensic laboratories and other investigation tools will be developed, the Union Home Minister said.

Key features of the Police Modernisation Scheme:

1. Under the scheme, provisions have been made for internal security, law and order and for the adoption of modern technology by Police.
2. States will be assisted for narcotics control and a robust forensic set-up will be developed in the country to strengthen the criminal justice system.
3. A Central outlay of Rs 4,846 crore has been provided under the Scheme for the modernization of the state police forces.
4. A central scheme for the Modernisation of Forensic Capacities has been approved with an outlay of Rs 2,080.50 crore. This will strive to develop operationally independent high-quality forensic sciences facilities in States and Union Territories, which in turn will aid in the scientific and timely investigation through modernization of resources.
5. The statement said that for the security related expenditure in the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir, Left Wing Extremism (LWE) affected areas and insurgency affected North-Eastern States, a central outlay of Rs 18,839 crore has been set aside.
6. With the implementation of ‘National Policy and Action Plan’ for combating Left Wing Extremism, the violent incidents related to the Left Wing Extremism have come down drastically, the statement said.
7. Six Left Wing Extremism related schemes with a central outlay of Rs 8,689 crore have been approved, to replicate the achievement even further. To synthesize the gains, these schemes also incorporate Special Central Assistance (SCA) for most Left Wing Extremism affected districts and to the districts of concern.
8. The statement further noted that a central outlay of Rs 350 crore has been approved for raising India Reserve Battalions and Specialised India Reserve Battalions.
9. The central sector scheme of ‘Assistance to States and Union Territories for Narcotics Control has been continued with an outlay of Rs 50 crore.