CCS clears internal security scheme: 

CCS clears internal security scheme: 

Context

• It will strengthen law and order mechanism and modernize the police forces.

What has happened?

• The Union Cabinet has approved Rs. 25,000-crore internal security scheme to strengthen country’s law and order mechanism and modernize the police forces.
• The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), headed by the Prime Minister, gave its approval for the implementation of the umbrella scheme, Modernization of Police Forces (MPF), for 2017-18 to 2019-20.

More about the scheme

• This is the country’s biggest ever internal security scheme.
• The financial outlay over the three-year period is Rs. 25,060 crore, out of which the Central government’s share will be Rs. 18,636 crore and the States Rs. 6,424 crore.
• Special provisions had been made under the scheme for internal security, law and order, women’s security, availability of modern weapons, mobility of police forces, logistical support, hiring of helicopters and e-prison among others.

New initiatives for improving internal security

• Central budget outlay of Rs. 10,132 crore had been earmarked for internal security-related expenditure for Jammu and Kashmir, northeastern States and those affected by left wing extremism (LWE).

• A scheme for special Central assistance (SCA) for 35 districts worst hit by LWE had been introduced with an outlay of Rs. 3,000 crore to tackle the issue of underdevelopment.
• An outlay of Rs. 100 crore had been earmarked for police infrastructure upgradation, training institutes, investigation facilities, etc. in the northeastern States.
• The new initiatives were being introduced to provide assistance to States for upgradation of police infrastructure, forensic science laboratories, institutions and the equipment available with them to plug critical gaps in the criminal justice system.
• Police stations would be integrated to set up a national database of crime and criminal records.
• It would be linked with other criminal justice system such as prisons, forensic laboratories and prosecution offices.
• It also provides for setting up a state-of-the-art forensic laboratory in Amravati and upgradation of the Sardar Patel Global Centre for Security, Counter Terrorism and Anti-Insurgency and the Gujarat Forensic Science University.