Delhi Police is playing an active role in planning the security of foreign dignitaries at the G-20 summit, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Thursday.

Addressing the force on its 76th Raising Day at New Police Lines in Kingsway Camp, Mr. Shah called 2023 a “significant year” for the city police.

“The year 2023 is very important for the Delhi police. From the point of view of security and the traffic system during the G-20 summit, the police department will have to stay alert since the premiers of several countries will be here,” he said.

To ensure round-the-clock surveillance of the Capital’s roads during the summit, the police on Thursday unveiled a live CCTV surveillance vehicle called ‘Ikshana’.

It is equipped with eight fixed cameras for a 360-degree field of view and multiple automatic number-plate recognition cameras equipped with facial recognition technology.

‘Ikshana’ will be manned by trained CCTV operators, said a senior police officer.

The Home Minister also inaugurated an online facility for passport verification — mPassport Seva — and handed over 350 tablets to Delhi Police’s Special Branch personnel to enable quicker processing of passport applications.

“The process will become paperless and the verification time will be reduced from 15 to five days,” Mr. Shah said.

During the ceremony, five mobile forensic vans were inducted into the force.

The Union Minister said that as part of a trial by Delhi Police, a forensic science team’s visit is mandatory to investigate every crime punishable with six years in jail or more.

“There is a great need to strengthen the country’s judicial system on the basis of forensic science evidence. When these vehicles, equipped with state-of-the-art facilities and 14 different types of forensic kits, visit crime scenes, the conviction rate will increase significantly,” said Mr. Shah.

He added that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Centre is looking to introduce “radical” changes to the Indian Penal Code, the Code of Criminal Procedure and the Evidence Act in the coming days.