What is National Forensic Infrastructure Enhancement Scheme (NFIES)?

Table of Contents☰

About National Forensic Infrastructure Enhancement Scheme (NFIES)

It is a Central Sector Scheme with a financial outlay of Rs 2,254.43 crore during the period from 2024-25 to 2028-29.
It aims to enhance forensic infrastructure in the country.
Components under this Scheme:
- Establishment of campuses of the National Forensic Sciences University (NFSU) in the country.
- Establishment of Central Forensic Science Laboratories (CFSLs) in the country.
- Enhancement of existing infrastructure of the Delhi Campus of the NFSU.
The financial outlay of the NFIES will be provisioned by the Ministry of Home Affairsfrom its own budget.
Need for NFIES:
- With the enactment of the New Criminal Laws, which mandates forensic investigation for offences involving punishment of 7 yearsor more, a significant increase in the workload of forensic science laboratories is expected.
- Further, there is a significant shortage of trained forensic manpower in the Forensic Science Laboratories (FSL) in the country.
- The establishment of additional off-campuses of the NFSU and new CFSLs would address the shortage of trained forensic manpower, alleviate the case load / pendency of forensic laboratories, and align with the Government of India’s goal of securing a high conviction rate of more than 90%.

Q1: What is Forensic Science?

Forensic science is the use of scientific methods or expertise to investigate crimes or examine evidence that might be presented in a court of law. Forensic science comprises a diverse array of disciplines, from fingerprint and DNA analysis to anthropology and wildlife forensics.

Source: Cabinet clears scheme for forensic infra with outlay of Rs 2,200 crore