New Delhi, Jun 22: Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah on Sunday laid the foundation stone for the upcoming campus of the National Forensic Sciences University (NFSU) and the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) in Raipur. He also virtually inaugurated the temporary campus of NFSU Raipur. The event was attended by Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai, the Union Home Secretary, and the Director of the Intelligence Bureau, among other senior officials.
The Home Minister described the day as a significant milestone for the state’s criminal justice system, as three major initiatives were launched to modernize policing, forensic science, and judicial processes in central India. He said these steps would act as a new foundation for justice delivery across the region.
Shah also inaugurated the i-HUB initiative in the state, aimed at boosting innovation and entrepreneurship among Chhattisgarh’s youth. He said this platform would help turn young citizens into startup founders and MSME entrepreneurs, opening up fresh investment avenues and accelerating the state’s industrial transformation.
Highlighting the government’s investment in Raipur’s forensic infrastructure, Shah said ₹145 crore has been allocated for the NFSU campus and ₹123 crore for the CFSL, totalling ₹268 crore. These institutions, he noted, would make New Raipur a hub of forensic science excellence and offer guaranteed job opportunities to graduates, further enhancing Chhattisgarh’s education and employment landscape.
The Home Minister also linked the day’s developments to the centenary celebrations of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, under whose leadership Chhattisgarh was created. As the state marks its 25th year of formation, he credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi for steering Chhattisgarh’s development in recent years. The state government, he added, has designated this milestone year as “Atal Nirman Varsh” in Vajpayee’s honour.
Shah stressed that the mandatory involvement of forensic teams in all cases carrying sentences of over seven years will dramatically improve the conviction rate. He called forensic science a fast-growing field with massive potential, both domestically and globally. Providing an overview of the rapid expansion of NFSU, Shah said 16 campuses have already been established—seven operational and nine approved—with 10 more proposed. The government plans to expand the network to 26 major locations nationwide. Once complete, the system is expected to produce 32,000 trained forensic professionals annually. He also cited estimates suggesting that the global forensic technology market, currently valued at $20 billion, is projected to reach $55 billion by 2036, with India expected to capture a 9% share.
