Puducherry, 09 August (H.S.): Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday presented the prestigious President’s Police Colour to the Puducherry Police, recognising the force’s professionalism, courage, discipline and commitment to public service. On the occasion, Shah said the Central Government remained firmly committed to the development of Puducherry.

Shah said the Centre had allocated Rs 13,762 crore for Puducherry’s development between 2014 and 2026, compared with Rs 3,500 crore allocated between 1950 and 2014. He said the allocation under the present government was nearly four times higher than the amount provided during the earlier period.

The President’s Police Colour was presented to the Puducherry Police at a ceremony held at the Police Training Ground in Gorimedu. Puducherry Lieutenant Governor K. Kailashnathan, Chief Minister N. Rangasamy and other dignitaries attended the ceremony.

The President’s Police Colour is considered one of the highest institutional honours bestowed upon a police force in India. It is awarded in recognition of exceptional professional standards, bravery, discipline and dedicated service to the public.

Addressing the gathering, Shah said the Puducherry Police had now joined the select group of police forces in the country to receive the prestigious honour. He described the award as a recognition of the force’s courage, hard work and dedication and called it one of the most proud moments in its history.

Shah also described Puducherry as a vibrant symbol of South India’s spiritual and cultural consciousness.

Highlighting the Centre’s development initiatives, the Home Minister said the government had facilitated industrial investments worth Rs 39,000 crore in Puducherry over the past nine years. He said residents had benefited from several flagship welfare programmes, including Lakhpati Didi, the Jal Jeevan Mission, Ayushman Bharat, sanitation and toilet construction initiatives, the free foodgrain scheme, the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana and Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT).

Shah also highlighted the Centre’s criminal law reforms, saying the Modi government had replaced the criminal laws introduced during the British era with three new criminal codes. He said the new laws were not merely punitive in nature but were designed to ensure technology-driven and time-bound delivery of justice to citizens.

According to Shah, the new criminal laws are built around three key pillars: technology, timelines and trust.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar