Home ministry is planning to launch a portal where the state governments can float tenders for requirements and other security and police related requirement. The states can also place their specific technological requirement on it.

This was stated by said TVSN Prasad, joint secretary, police modernization, MHA, at  a conference on smart policing and public safety, organised by Crux Center for Security Research in association (CCSRA), a non-profit organization, here on Tuesday..

The portal will be part of the MHA’s program to modernize the police and security forces.

“National security is facing more and more complex challenges. We have a lot of borders. Fencing is perhaps not the best way, though it is one of the measures adopted by us but it doesn’t give us a foolproof solution unless we backed up with technology,” Prasad said.

And therefore, “It is important to ensure that our soldiers are tech-savvy in identifying strategies that are deployed to address various security challenges,” he added.

He said that using conventional policing method in a situation when the population is ever increasing and there is a concept of smart cities is not effective. “We need to go for the deployment of more technology,” he said.

For this, he said, the government has to prepare policies that are more “business-friendly and technology- friendly It is essential to promote entrepreneurs who can incubate security related technologies, which can be finally incorporated in our strategies, he added.

Prasad said that the ministry is looking for technological solutions for border surveillance by the paramilitary forces. “We are looking for solutions for police communication also. Our wireless sets are obsolete. They are not sinking with the widely used devises like mobile phones. We need to find a way of being able to operate the mobile handles and the wireless sets in a seamless fashion,” he said.

He said that  soon the MHA would  replicate projects on smart policing which were being carried out in different cities and have yielded positive results. “We have identified 17 such initiatives for replication. These projects, he said, will be funded by the ministry.

Prasad announced deadlines for some of the much awaited projects for smart policing. Among these, he said, crime and criminal tracking network and systems (CCTNS) will be online by March 2017;  a national emergency number – 112 – will be available by November.

The ministry will also launch a mobile app for citizens to file FIR by March. Prasad said that the ministry is also planning to integrate police network system with integrated criminal justice system.