Union Home Minister Amit Shah stressed the need for deployment of technology, data, and automation to face security requirements today, which he said have changed in terms of scope and complexity. He launched the National Intelligence Grid (NATGRID) campus in Bengaluru, Forensic Science Laboratory in Ballari, and Smart e-Beat app for the State police in the city on Tuesday.
Mr. Shah said the Union Government will soon develop a national database to monitor terror funding, counterfeit currency, narcotics, bomb threats, illegal arms trade, hawala transactions, and other terror activities. This will help agencies to make full use of data, especially since the barriers to critical data have been removed. But he also stressed the need for data privacy and security.
Forensic Science Lab
Mr. Shah also launched a regional Forensic Science Laboratory in Ballari, remotely from the city. The lab will serve Ballari, Vijayanagar, and Koppal districts. Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said this was part of the regional FSLs that are being set up across the State.
“A regional FSL was inaugurated at Hubballi in March 2022 and now another has been opened in Ballari. Soon similar regional FSLs will be set up in Kalaburagi, Davanagere, Mangaluru, and Mysuru,” he said. These labs will have computer forensics, DNA testing, and all other advanced forensic analysis facilities. The forensic testing capacity which was 16,000 per year in 2014, has shot up to 24,000 in 2021 and will be upgraded to 48,000 tests by 2023.
E-beat system
The Karnataka State Police also launched the e-beat system app to be deployed across the State from Tuesday. The beat system presently monitored by ledgers placed in residences in the area where constables on the beat will sign, will now be replaced by contactless QR Code which the constable will have to scan using the app. This will help prevent any tampering by constables on the ground and also help the department monitor the beat system better, the police said.
‘Regional languages will revolutionise education system’
Mr. Shah said that regional languages will play a crucial role in revolutionising the education system guided by National Education Policy, 2020.
He had recently waded into controversy by saying that people of different States should communicate with each other in Hindi, and not English.
In his inaugural address of the Nrupatunga University, he said the Narendra Modi-led Government had vowed to realise the dream of making India a knowledge-based superpower. He said the Union Government aspires to inculcate the culture of patriotism among students during the celebration of 75 years of independence.
Mr. Bommai said the Union Government had granted ₹55 crore for Nrupatunga University.
