New Delhi, July 10 (IANS): Lack of government funds is delaying the modernisation of police in India, security expert said here on Friday.
According to them, Rs.500 crore set aside for the modernisation of police departments in different states every year is almost one fifth of what other Asian countries like China, Singapore and Malaysia spend.
They also said that outdated technology, crime and violence cost India $341.7 billion in 2014, which is 4.7 percent of the Indian Gross Domestic Product.
"Lack of modernisation of police academies is a big issue in tackling internal security challenges. The only smart way to strengthen field policing is to bring transformation. A robust police system is required for which funds are a must," said N.Ramachandran, president and CEO of Police Foundation and Institute of India.
He was speaking at a roundtable conference organised by Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) on 'Internal Security Risks and Challenges - Implications for India's Growth'.
Giving the world scenario, he said India was ranked 143rd among peaceful countries of the world while its neighbouring countries Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Afghanistan, which have seen serious violence, were ranked 114th, 145th and 146th respectively.
"Apart from modernisation, Indian police departments and intelligence wings are also in crisis vis-a-vis personnel in every department, including forensic and language," he said.
V. Vumlunmang, joint secretary of police modernisation in the Ministry of Home Affairs, said, "Even if the government took initiatives, the major problem that had put India on the backfoot in comparision to other nations was the lack of proper implementation of the modernisation initiatives."
He also said that the government will take special initiatives to modernise police forces working in insurgency-hit areas, keeping in mind the dangers posed to the police personnel there.
According to a recent survey, 40 percent of India's geographical area was covered under the 'red corridor'. India's score on Global Terror Index stood at 7.86, ranked 6th after Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nigeria and Syria.
It also said that Indian suffered loss of 20,000 human lives to terror and naxal attacks till 2015 and 65,000 drug trafficking cases were reported in the past four years.
Highlighting the poor communication technology in use among police personnel, Subodh Vardhan, managing director of Motorola solutions that is involved in providing wireless to police, said that at least in 40 percent of the cases, Indian police departments are not aware of the latest technologies available for their work.
"There should be a separate network for police communications. The spectrum used for commercial purposes should not be used for police communication as this reduces the police communication speed which is supposed to be very fast," he said.