Politcos, soldiers, businessmen discuss internal security

Politicians, soldiers and businessmen on Wednesday joined heads to discuss the internal security in the country.

The occasion was 9th edition of Homeland Security conference on the theme 'Modernisation of India's Internal Security Mechanism'. Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and Vivekananda International Foundation jointly organised the conference.

Sambit Patra, National Spokesperson, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), emphasised that good governance was the key to the robust internal security.

"Good governance is important for internal security and maintaining peace in the country and to achieve this it is essential to eradicate corruption from the procurement of security systems," said Patra.

The BJP leader also said the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Acts (AFSPA), which has been under the scanner for long, was important tool to tackle insurgency and terrorism.

He said the demands are being made to remove the AFSPA from areas which have been showing signs of peace and tranquility, but "in the past there have been incidences when after the removal of AFSPA, anti-social elements utilized these areas for re-grouping and creating nuisance".

The BJP leader added that the Modi government had formulated a framework to counter the threat of extremists who foment and resort to violent activities from within India.

On the increase of Left-wing extremism, Patra said that an action-plan had been developed which is a multi-pronged approach to deal with it.

He said the Modi government had taken various measures to augment India's security.

"The policy for national security clearance for certain sensitive sectors of the economy, which codifies all existing practices, was one of the major steps of the government. It aims at bringing about a healthy balance between meeting the imperatives of national security and facilitating ease of doing business and promoting investment in the country," said Patra.

He also seconded the clarion call of Prime Minister Modi to develop a SMART Police Force.

General NC Vij, former Chief of the Army Staff and Director, Vivekananda International Foundation, raised pertinent issues related to internal security of the country and highlighted the ground conditions in Jammu & Kashmir and North-East and the rising of Left Wing Extremism and the looming threat of radicalization.

The retired General added that India's maritime border and cyberspace were also in need of attention to beef-up the internal security.

Harshavardhan Neotia, Immediate Past President, FICCI, pressed for easy, effective and transparent procurement policy for the modernisation of Central Armed Police Forces and State Police Forces.

Rahul Rishi, Advisory Partner, IT & E-Governance, EY, underlined the challenges in public procurement.

He said that to modernize internals security, there was a need for defined procurement guidelines and model RFPs; collaborative procurement model for smart internal security projects; standard codification for procurement categories; knowledge management framework for smart internal security and engagement with industry and vendor community.

G. K. Pillai, Chair, FICCI Committee on Homeland Security & Former Union Home Secretary, Government of India, said that there was need for the government, police and industry to work in tandem for economic growth of the country.

He added that the government and police needed to trust business to create an environment of security and for business to flourish.

The FICCI & EY Report, 'Roadmap for Public Procurement in Internal Security' was also released.