Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Shri Amit Shah addressed the Dikshant Parade of 75 RR batch of Indian Police Service (IPS) at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy in Hyderabad, today. On this occasion, many dignitaries including the Governor of Telangana, Union Home Secretary, Director, Intelligence Bureau and Director, CBI were present.

In his address, Shri Amit Shah said that today is a very important day for the trainees of 75 RR because they are those fortunate officers who will join the top leadership of Indian Police system during the centenary of the country's independence and responsibility of the country’s internal security will be in their hands. He said that the 75th batch of Amrit Mahotsav of the Academy will have historical significance and these officers will make this occasion more historic by their hard work, devotion, sacrifice and dedication towards the country. Shri Shah said that when these officers would be leading the police forces of various states of the country, then nation will feel proud on the trainees of the 75th RR that they have left no stone unturned in ensuring the internal security of the country during their 25 years of service. Officer Trainees of 75 RR batch will have an important role in the direction of fulfilling the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi's resolution of Amritkaal. When the country will be celebrating its centenary of independence, India will be leading the world in all fields, and all these officers will also have a huge contribution in it.

Union Home Minister said that Sardar Patel had laid the foundation of this academy very thoughtfully to take the country ahead. Our country has also completed 75 years of independence and has entered the period of Amritkaal. He said that Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has called upon the 130 crore people of the country this this the time to take resolutions and convert them into achievements. Shri Shah said that these 25 years are the years of making the country first in the world in every field and establishing its rightful and glorious place in the world. During the Amritkaal, these officers have to play an important role to ensure internal security of the country, security of the borders and maintaining law and order. He said that after passing out from the academy, these officers will have to ensure that the Constitution is duly implemented in the country and all the people get the rights provided by it.

Shri Amit Shah said that we should always remember that the country's first Home Minister and iron man Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel not only united this country but also did many important things to keep it united. He said that Sardar Patel not only created a united India by merging more than 550 princely states of the country, but also laid a strong system by starting the IPS cadre. Shri Shah said that Sardar Patel had said that if the Union would not have a good All India Service, which has the freedom to express its views, then the Union would cease to exist. This sentence is like a guiding principle for the IPS cadre. He added that once Sardar Patel had said this institute has nothing to look back but has a lot to set a tradition for the future generations. When this academy was established, it had no history, but in these 75 years, the IPS officers passed out from here have created a bright and glorious history to strengthen the internal and border security of the country. It is the responsibility of the trainees of the 75th batch passing out from here today to take this history forward and add many golden chapters to it. He said that today, 175 trainees passing out from here after completing the basic course including 20 foreign officers from Bhutan, Maldives, Mauritius and Nepal. There are 34 women officers among these 175 officer trainees.

Union Home Minister said that technology will play a very important role in handling internal security in the coming days, and that is why Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi constituted the Police Technology Mission. The objective of this mission is to make the Indian Police the most equipped in the world in terms of technology. We have to set up a system to make practical use of technology in policing and handling internal security and to keep the police always technologically two steps ahead of the criminal. He said that with all the experience and training here, when these officers will go to the field and interact with the public, then by combining this training with practical experience, they will be able to discharge their duties efficiently.

Shri Amit Shah said that today a woman officer has received the Best Officer Trainee Award and it is a matter of great pride for our country. He said that for the first time in the history of the Academy, a woman officer trainee Ms. Ranjita Sharma has got the opportunity to win the Squad of Honor of the IPS Association. He said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, the country is progressing rapidly in women-led development. Modi government has recently ensured 33% reservation to ensure the participation of women in the country's Parliament and State assemblies. Under the leadership of the women officers passing out today, Prime Minister Modi's theme of Women-led Development will percolate to every village of the country.

Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation said that we have got independence after countless sacrifices and struggle. With the sacrifices of millions of people during the 90 years of freedom struggle from 1857 to 1947, today, after completing 75 years as an independent country, we stand proudly in front of the world. He said that many policemen have sacrificed their lives in this challenging journey lasting more than 7 decades. More than 36,500 police officers and jawans have made the supreme sacrifice keeping their duty paramount, that is why our country stands with pride before the world today. Shri Shah said that the sacrifice of those 36,500 police officers and jawans should be a source of inspiration for us.

Shri Amit Shah said that the country was facing the challenge of terrorism, Left Wing Extremism and Naxalite violence for a long time, but in the last 10 years, due to the efforts of our brave policemen, we have been successful in curbing them. He said that our challenges are not over yet and many new challenges like organized crime, cyber crime, interstate and international financial crime, interstate gangs are standing before us today. He said that we have to continue our fight with the same vigor against challenges like drug trafficking, weakening of the country's economy by crypto currency, hawala business and fake currency business. Shri Shah said that today when the officers of this new batch are going to take their first step in service, our country has started moving towards a new era. He said that the government led by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has made watershed changes in the three laws of the British rule – CrPC, IPC and Evidence Act – and has placed three new criminal laws before the Parliament of the country. He said that soon all three new laws will be passed and on the basis of these laws our new criminal justice system will begin. He said after ending the era of laws made during the British period, India is entering a new era with new faith, hope and enthusiasm. The purpose of the old laws was to safeguard the government but the purpose of the new laws is to safeguard the rights of the public and to eliminate obstacles in the people’s access to those rights. Shri Shah said that with this fundamental change, the new officer trainees are getting an opportunity to lead in this changing era of criminal justice system through these three laws.

Union Home Minister said that it is the responsibility of trainee officers to implement these new laws in letter and spirit at the grassroots level. They have to understand the spirit of these laws and keep the public safe and have to protect their rights as well. Shri Shah said that terrorism and organized crime have been reinterpreted in the new law and many provisions have also been made to eliminate inter-state gangs. Apart from this, the police have been empowered by legalizing the technical provisions, the investigation process has been digitized and proper systems have been put in place to follow investigation charge sheet timeline and forensic provisions. He added that a time-bound plan has been prepared to increase the conviction rate under the new laws. Shri Shah said that through these laws many changes have also been made in the justice system. Home Minister asked the officer trainees to move beyond ‘Reacting and Responding’ policing to ‘Preventive, Predictive and Proactive’ policing and also to transform policing with time in the changing environment.

Shri Amit Shah said that sensitivity gives the Constitution its humane outlook and it is the responsibility of all of us to implement the spirit laid down in the Constitution by our Constitution makers with full sensitivity. He asked the police officers to always be sensitive towards the poor and weaker sections of the country and always be proactive in protecting their rights. Shri Shah said that we should focus on our duty and move forward without falling prey to fame. He told the police officers that while respecting the local language, tradition and history of the place of posting, they should maintain sensitivity with the people and move ahead by understanding the spirit of the law and rising above the bookish approach.

Union Home Minister said that the last 9 years under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi have been very important for the internal security of our country. We have achieved huge success in improving the law and order situation in the three hotspot areas of the country – North-East, Left Wing Extremism areas and Jammu and Kashmir. He said that during the 10 years from 2004 to 2014, there were 33,200 violent incidents in these three hotspots, which have been reduced to 12,000 in the last 9 years. We have moved forward by registering a 63% reduction in violent incidents and 73% reduction in deaths. Shri Shah said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, India has adopted the policy of zero tolerance against terrorism and now we have to move beyond the policy of zero tolerance towards zero tolerance strategy and zero tolerance action.

Shri Amit Shah said that in the last 9 years, the government led by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has worked to create databases in every field of internal security with the principle of One Data, One Entry. Arrangements for integration and mutual communication in various databases are also being made. Apart from this, work is also being done to increase the strength of all the agencies by equipping them with analytical tools. Under ICJS, CCTNS has been implemented in 99.93%, i.e. 16,733 police stations. 22,000 courts have been connected through e-Courts, data of about 2 crore prisoners is available through e-Prison, data of more than one crore prosecutions is available online through e-Prosecution, data of more than 17 lakhs is also available through e-Forensic. Records of more than 90 lakh fingerprints are available in NAFIS, a lot of data is also available in Integrated Monitoring of Terrorism, data of arrested narco offenders is available through NIDAN. He added that we have also made available Cyber Crime Reporting Portal in Crime Multi Agency Centre and Biometric Data in Prison Database. Shri Shah asked the police officers to work through all these databases and analytic tools and use Artificial Intelligence to always keep the police two steps ahead.

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RK/AY/AKS