Centre to make security audits mandatory for corporates

Commercial establishments may soon be required to conduct a security audit of their premises every year.

Taking note of the series of attacks on private enterprises and the absence of a uniform security protocol being followed by them, the Union ministry of home affairs has asked the Central Association of Private Security Agency (Capsi), an apex body of the country’s security firms, to formulate a policy on such audits.

“Commercial establishments are the most vulnerable to terror attacks and other calamities. Not only is there loss of property, but lives are also lost, and therefore it should be mandatory for them to get regular security audits conducted, just like the compulsory fire and environment audits,” Capsi chairman Kunwar Vikram Singh told DNA.

Once implemented, these audits will have to be conducted by all commercial entities, including hotels, shopping malls, offices, shops, railway stations, IT parks, industries, multiplexes, and others.

“We are in the final stages of preparing the policy draft, which will then be submitted to the ministry for final approval. The proposal will contain recommendations on not only what kind of manpower is required, but also on what technologies need to be enhanced to avert untoward incidents,” said Singh.

The proposal to introduce a security audit was mooted by Capsi and representatives from other industries at a meeting between Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) and the Union home ministry, held in December last year.

“There is an immediate need to change the existing security protocol as the current one is almost 20 years old and has never been revised since. The situation today is quite different from what it was then,” said Som Gangopadhyay, business line manager (banking and secure storage) at Mumbai-based Gunnebo India Limited, which is one of the largest security solution providers in the country.

The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) is also in  the process of revising the existing security standards being followed by commercial entities. On February 1, it held a meeting with representatives from the security industry in New Delhi to decide how security standards can be raised for commercial establishments.