‘One Nation, One Uniform’ for police

Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently mooted the idea of ‘One Nation, One Police Uniform’.

Details –

• His suggestion “One Nation, One Uniform” is in line with his broader attempt to introduce a uniform set of policies across the country. 
• Currently, there is a ‘one nation, one ration’ card; ‘one nation, one mobility’ card; ‘one nation, one grid’ and a ‘one nation, one sign language’.

About the ‘Law and order’ –

• The Indian Constitution puts police forces under the jurisdiction of state governments, and each of the 28 states have their own police force.
• Both ‘public order’ and the ‘police’ are placed in List II (State List) of the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution, which deals with the division of powers between the Union and States.
• While police personnel in India are often associated with the colour khaki, their uniforms do differ in varying degrees in different regions.
• Since state governments and even an individual force can decide the uniform their personnel wear, there are at times inconsistencies in their official attire. For example:
  • The Kolkata Police wear white uniforms.
  • Puducherry Police constables wear a bright red cap with their khaki uniforms.
  • Delhi Traffic Police personnel wear white and blue uniforms.

About the new uniform –

The Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPRD), under the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), had designed a new all-weather friendly ‘smart uniform’ for Indian police in 2017 in association with the National Institute of Design (NID) and sent a report to all the states and UTs.