Forensics 2.0: ₹30,000 Crore Blitz to Turn Every State Forensically Ready by 2029
In what the Home Ministry is calling a transformational overhaul of India’s criminal-investigation architecture, Union Home Minister Amit Shah has outlined a ₹30,000 crore, five-year plan to build a nationwide network of forensic capacity — with the ambitious goal that every State and Union Territory will have either a National Forensic Sciences University (NFSU) campus or a Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) by 2029.
This latest central push was set out as part of a parliamentary consultative committee meeting and subsequent press briefings. Officials describe the programme as a combined infrastructure, education and digital-systems drive designed to shorten case timelines, professionalize and expand India’s forensic workforce, and introduce nation-level standards and data systems so forensic evidence is timely, traceable and court-ready.
What the plan promises — quick summary
- Total outlay: ₹30,000 crore over five years, jointly funded by Centre and States.
- Coverage objective: By 2029, each State/UT will host either an NFSU campus or a CFSL.
- Immediate components: New CFSL buildings, multiple NFSU campuses, a national forensic data centre, mobile forensic units and digital court linkages.
Official rationale — why the rush?
Amit Shah framed the expansion as part of a broader reform package to make criminal justice time-bound and evidence-centered. He emphasized that strengthening forensic capacity is critical to ensuring investigations rely on scientific proof rather than argument, and that legal reforms will be paired with technical upgrades so cases move faster through courts.
Concrete items already visible
While ₹30,000 crore is the headline cumulative figure, recent announcements illustrate how spending could be deployed — from ₹90 crore CFSL investments such as the Rajarhat laboratory in Kolkata to cluster-based regional servicing models and AI-enabled national forensic data infrastructure.
Education and workforce targets
The government has signalled a major expansion in forensic education through multiple NFSU campuses, aiming to produce tens of thousands of trained forensic professionals and support thousands of mobile forensic units nationwide.
Digital and procedural reforms
Beyond brick-and-mortar labs, officials highlight the expansion of an e-Forensics platform that securely transmits reports to courts, clarifies the legal status of digital evidence and reduces admissibility disputes.
Likely challenges ahead
- Centre-State coordination on funding, staffing and timelines.
- Standardisation and quality control across new labs.
- Human-capital pipelines to avoid under-utilised infrastructure.
- Chain-of-custody enforcement to ensure courtroom credibility.
Bottom line
The ₹30,000 crore forensic expansion is India’s most ambitious push yet to modernise evidence-based policing. If executed with strong quality controls and coordinated state engagement, it could dramatically shorten investigation and trial delays. If not, the risk is impressive infrastructure with limited real-world impact.
