New Delhi : The Global Security and Leadership Summit 2010 opened today to a glittering ceremony at the Grand Ballroom at the Sheraton. The summit was inaugurated by Hon’ble Minister of State for labour and employment Shri Harish Rawat and His Excellency Shri Shivraj Patil, Governor, Punjab & Rajasthan. Commenting on the need for security agencies, Shri Shivraj Patil said, “Security Universities can be set up and this should be done in co-operation with the state and Union governments. If this is done, a platform required for the development of security personnel will be developed,”

He was stressing on the university aspect as there is an increasing need to have a trained staff in the private security agencies to handle the modern day challenges thrown by the technologically advanced trouble makers. “Government of India was thinking about setting up of Police Universities but somehow it could not be kick started. He also added that earlier the government wanted to come up with Private Intelligence Regulation Act, which is still on the table and maybe sometime it will be presented in the Parliament. “It will help because we know that only sophisticated weapons cannot fight the menace of security and there is an importance of intelligence,” said Patil.

Speaking about the importance of security universities he said that such universities should give procedural training to the potential people who are interested in joining the security industry. “Today terrorists or extremists use technology. Not only weapons but electronic machinery such as computers is also used to spread terror. The staff should have knowledge about all these things. They should know how to use law, technology, weapons. They should be able to plan and anticipate things,” he added.

“I have been telling friends that they should not wait for the governments to start such universities. Research and development (R&D) should be done in the field of providing security to the individuals, industry and society as a whole,” said Patil.

Harish Rawat, Minister of State for Labour and employment, said, “Security is the responsibility of state but security of individuals can be done trained security personnel. Therefore, employment opportunities in the private security industry are high. At present private security agencies provide employment to about 7 billion people and it is growing at 5% per annum. This means that industry is capable of creating almost 12 lakh jobs every year. We will also look into the demand of the industry that a committee be constituted for private security, which will help n cleaning up the industry when it comes to giving benefits to security personnel such as gratuity, provident fund etc.”

Kunwar Vikram Singh, Chairman Central Association of Private Security Industry (CAPSI) & Association of Private Detectives of India (APDI) said, ‘’We are overwhelmed with the extent of support and co-operation received from various sections of the stakeholder fraternity including Government agencies in realizing the significance of training and skill development to this fast growing industry. On our part, we will continue to be focused on these two aspects and are committed to provide all necessary support and assistance to the Industry, the Government and the Corporate.’’