Fixing the Process

Subhashis Mittra

Government to enhance forensic capabilities in the country

The Union home ministry is going full steam towards establishing a National Forensic Science University (NFSU) in every major state and a mobile forensic van in every district. With the help of forensic science, India will soon rank among the leading countries in the world in terms of conviction rate.

According to Union home minister Amit Shah, 16 campuses of the NFSU have been approved, seven have been established, and a few are in process. An NFSU college will be set up in every major state to ensure the availability of trained manpower, he said, noting that from the 26 campuses across the country, 36,000 students will graduate annually with degrees, diplomas, and PhDs to meet the country’s requirement of 30,000 trained professionals per year. In this way, the task of creating human resources as per the requirement has been completed in advance.

Nine more NFSU campuses will be built at a cost of Rs 1,300 crore, while seven new Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) will be established at a cost of Rs 860 crore in Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Bihar.

The ministry of home affairs (MHA) has supported the forensic science infrastructure of the states and a Rs 2,080 crore plan is being introduced for the modernisation of forensic capabilities. Besides, a National Forensic Data Centre will be established at a cost of Rs 200 crore.

Shah recently laid the foundation stone of the NFSU and CFSL campus in Raipur (Chhattisgarh), and virtually inaugurated the temporary campus of NFSU-Raipur. The establishment of NFSU and CFSL in New Raipur will strengthen the criminal justice system not only in Chhattisgarh but across entire central India. The i-Hub initiative launched in Chhattisgarh will prove to be a milestone in developing interest and entrepreneurial spirit among the youth of the state toward startups. The i-Hub will act as a bridge for the youth by providing support in startups—from technology and marketing to contracts—as well as helping them access financial assistance.

With the full implementation of the three new laws, India’s criminal justice system is set to become the most modern, swift, and scientific in the world. These three initiatives will, in the coming days, serve as a foundation for the entire criminal justice system of central India.

The home minister said that the Chhattisgarh government has done commendable work to ensure full impl