New Delhi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday underlined the importance of technology in security and policing work.

“If criminals are using technology, technology can also be harnessed to nab them. He said this emphasis on technology would also enable even the physically challenged people to contribute in the field,” he said while delivering the first convocation address at the Rashtriya Raksha University in Ahmedabad.

Modi also dedicated a building of the Rashtriya Raksha University to the nation.

“Never make the mistake of treating this as police university. This is a Raksha university that takes care of the security of the country in its entirety,” he said.

He said that the earlier notion of internal security during the colonial time was based on instilling fear among the masses to keep the peace for the colonial masters.

“Similarly, the earlier scenario was very different as the security forces had more time to prepare which is no longer so as technology and transportation and communication has improved so much. Today’s policing requires skills like negotiating and other soft skills that are needed to function in a democratic scenario,” he said.

Modi also dedicated a building of the Rashtriya Raksha University to the nation.

He stressed the need to change the image of police and security personnel. Depiction of police in the popular culture has not helped in this regard, either. He noted the humane work by the police personnel during the pandemic.

“Post-independence, there was a need of reforms in the country's security apparatus. A perception was developed that we have to be careful of the uniformed personnel. But it has transformed now. When people see uniformed personnel now, they get the assurance of help”, he said.

The Prime Minister also noted the shrinking of the support network of the joint family for police personnel in dealing with the stress of the job. He emphasized the need for experts to deal with stress and relaxation including yoga experts in the forces.

“Stress-free training activities are the need of the hour for strengthening the country's security apparatus,” Modi said.

He said that Gandhinagar area has National Law University, Raksha University, and forensic science university. He stressed the need for synergy among these institutions through regularly combined symposiums to create a holistic education in these related fields.

He reiterated the importance of disciplines like mob and crowd psychology, negotiations, nutrition, and technology.

He urged the students that they should always keep the values of humanity as integral to their uniform and there should never be a dearth of service spirit in their efforts. He noted with satisfaction the growing number of girls and women in the security field.

“We are seeing greater participation of women in defence sector. Be it Science, Shiksha, or Suraksha, women are leading from the front”, he said.

Rashtriya Raksha University (RRU) was set up to meet the need for high-quality trained manpower in various wings of policing, criminal justice, and correctional administration.

The Government set up a national police university named Rashtriya Raksha University by upgrading the Raksha Shakti University which was established by the Gujarat Government in 2010. The University, which is an Institution of National Importance, commenced its operations on October 1, 2020. The University will develop synergies with the private sector by leveraging knowledge and resources from the industry and would also set up Centres of Excellence in various fields relating to police and security.

RRU offers academic programs from diploma to doctorate level in various areas of policing and internal security such as police science and management, criminal law and justice, cyberpsychology, information technology, artificial intelligence, and cyber security, crime investigation, strategic languages, internal defence, and strategies, physical education, and sports, coastal and maritime security. Currently, 822 students from 18 States are enrolled in these programs.