Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a conference on internal security in Guwahati.
At a conference attended by the country's top cops in Guwahati today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid out a plan for SMART policing.
"By 'SMART' policing, I mean S for strict but sensitive, M for modern and mobile, A for alert and accountable, R for reliable and responsive and T for techno-savvy and trained," PM Modi said while addressing the conference of Director Generals of Police in Guwahati.
The key conference was also attended by senior-most officials of India's intelligence and security agencies.
The Prime Minister also extolled the role played by India's policemen, saying, "Since independence, 33000 police men have died in the line of duty".
Police welfare is another issue which needs to be given importance, he said, adding, "An officer may be very good but it is important that his/her family is (kept) well".
The Prime Minister said a task force of senior police officials should be set up to work out a protocol and incorporate certain measures to ensure that the "legacy of the sacrifice of martyrs are honoured and respect for them is established in society".
"It is up to us. We cannot let their sacrifices go in vain. For us, their sacrifice cannot die," said PM Modi.
He also claimed that the media keeps "projecting only negative picture of the police", who do a lot of good work which is often not highlighted.
It was imperative to "change the perception about policemen in the country" said PM Modi, and expressed his "gratitude to all those police officers who are serving the nation".
He also stressed on the importance of good intelligence, claiming it held the key to national security.
"Good intelligence negates the need for weapons or conflict," said the Prime Minister.
More than the power of weapons, said the PM, what mattered was the person in charge of those weapons, observing, "It is important that the right weapons (should) be in the hands of the right people".
Explaining why the key conference was shifted out of Delhi this year, the PM said, "A tradition going on all these years was broken and this meeting was held here in Guwahati. Security meeting (being held) in Guwahati is a morale booster for the northeast".