NEW DELHI, 21 July 2006 — Prime Minister Manmohan Singh yesterday warned that the country had to improve its anti-terror capabilities by pointing out that responses to internal security threats in the past have been “inadequate”.

Speaking in the background of the July 11 terror blasts in Bombay and Srinagar in which around 200 people were killed and the Maoist attack in Chhattisgarh on Monday in which 25 more were killed, the prime minister said: “There can be no development and progress in the absence of law and order and public security.”

He underlined the need to marshal all resources and technologies to improve public security. “We must recognize that past responses are inadequate in dealing with these problems which are of a different intensity, magnitude, scale and scope,” Singh told a meeting of chief secretaries from India’s 29 states.

“These threats have to be met firmly with determination and with a will to destroy them,” he added.

Addressing the national conference on effective governance, Manmohan Singh said: “It is the primary responsibility of the state to maintain public order and ensure the safety of its citizens. All other responsibilities come subsequently.”

The prime minister highlighted the threats to internal security from terrorism and Naxalism (Maoists) in many parts of the country. “I have said in the past that Naxalism is probably the single biggest challenge we have ever faced to our internal security. The recent incidents of terrorism in Bombay and Kashmir have brought out the extent of penetration of terrorist elements. We cannot allow them to succeed and get away with their crimes,” he said.

While promising to support all necessary efforts, Manmohan Singh urged the state governments to utilize all available technologies and trained manpower to meet the security challenges.

He asked the chief secretaries of states to show necessary leadership in gearing up the machinery to meet the challenges. The officials were also urged to put in place a framework whereby their subordinates could honestly discharge their functions.

“These threats have to be met firmly, with determination and with a will to destroy them,” the prime minister said.

During his address, the prime minister also laid emphasis on various development programs viewed as of “vital concern.”

Citing various rural development programs, the prime minister said the projects had the potential to alter rural and urban landscapes of the country.

“The volumes of funds flowing to states today are higher than ever in the past. It is therefore necessary that these funds get translated into outcome,” he said.