The government on Thursday decided to upgrade immigration services to improve the security environment in the country. As per the decision, the home ministry would undertake a Rs 1,011-crore programme in the next four-and-a-half years to modernise and upgrade the entire range of immigration services.

The programme?Immigration, Visa and Foreigners Registration and Tracking ((IVFRT) approved by Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA)?would be implemented on mission mode and will strengthen national security and favour legitimate travellers, an official statement stated.

The government will use biometric systems and intelligent document scanners to authenticate the identities of immigrants in a similar fashion as in the US, the UK, the Netherlands and Germany. The project has a global outreach as its scope includes 169 missions, 78 immigration check posts (ICPs), seven foreigners regional registration offices (FRROs) and over 600 foreigners? registration offices in states and district headquarters.

The first phase of the project, which will cost Rs 132 crore by June 2011, would be implemented in Dhaka, London, four ICPs including in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, and three FRROs at these three metros. The second phase, costing Rs 879 crore by September 2014, would cover all overseas missions and other places in India.

The programme has been developed in collaboration with National Institute for Smart Government (NSIG), which was asked to generate a comprehensive e-governance solution for immigration, visa issuance and foreigners? registration and tracking functions.

The NSIG?s detailed project report has been finalised in consultation with the ministries of home and external affairs, department of information technology, bureau of immigration and national informatics centre. As many as 37 services have been included in the report for streamlining and integrating visa, immigration, and foreigners? registration and tracking process.

In its decision, Cabinet Committee on Infrastructure (CCI) approved a proposal to modify guidelines of Accelerated Irrigation Benefits Programme (AIBP) to help states having difficult terrains get benefit from centrally-sponsored irrigation schemes. CCI also increased the present cost for minor irrigation schemes for inclusion under AIBP from Rs 1.5 lakh per hectare to Rs 2 lakh per hectare.

?The above modifications will result in providing AIBP assistance in a more uniform manner and will help in implementation of the projects for minor irrigation in difficult terrain through AIBP assistance,? an official statement stated. AIBP was conceived in 1996 by the Centre to provide financial assistance to states to complete various ongoing projects on irrigation.

In another decision, the government eased the eligibility criteria for meritorious students from low-income families to get benefits of central scholarship schemes. Under the existing eligibility criteria, only those students who score more than 80% marks in Class XII can utilise the government assistance.

However, under the modified rules, students figuring above the 80th percentile of successful candidates in the relevant scheme of a particular board examination can take advantage of the scheme, as per the decision of CCEA.

The government also approved setting up of the Pharmacopoeia Commission for Indian Medicine as an autonomous society under the Societies Registration Act to develop standards for quality, identity and purity of raw materials for the manufacture of Ayurveda, Siddha and Unani drugs.

Cabinet approves defence university

The government on Thursday accorded ?in-principle? approval for setting up of Indian National Defence University (INDU) as a fully autonomous institution to be constituted under an Act of Parliament at an estimated cost of Rs 295 crore (at current price level). At the Cabinet meeting on Thursday, it also accorded the approval for acquisition of 200 acres of land at Binola in District Gurgaon, along the National Highway 8 for the proposed site of INDU at an estimated cost of Rs100 crore (at current rates). Mooted eight years ago, the Indian National Defence University (INDU), will undertake long term defence and strategic studies and create synergy between the academic community and government functionaries.

It will promote policy oriented research on all aspect relating to national security as an input to strategic national policy making. It will encourage awareness of national security issues by reaching out to scholars and an audience beyond the official machinery.