Rise in ATM heists and frauds prompt the ministry to make standard operating procedure for private security agencies more stringent
The ministry of home affairs (MHA) will meet on April 27 to finalise the rules for secure cash handling and transportation by licensed private security agencies (PSAs) under the Private Security Agencies Regulation (PSAR) Act, 2015, according to a source in the ministry.
The meeting, involving various stakeholders from different states and union territories, was to be held on April 6. But, the MHA postponed it.
On account of a sudden rise in the incidences of ATM heists and frauds in the last few years, the ministry has now come out with a more stringent standard operating procedure (SOP) guidelines for the PSAs engaged in cash handling and transportation.
The meeting will be attended by Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Ficci) president, Lt General Prem Sagar, director general of International Institute of Security and Safety Management, Major General Kuldeep Singh, CEO of Security Sector Skill Development Council and the chairman of Central Association of Private Security Industry (CAPSI) and representatives from state police.
According to the source, the MHA had invited feedback from various agencies and authorities involved in securing the movement of cash from banks to their ATMs and branches, but has not received any, and so may go ahead with draft SOP.
The ministry has laid out strict rules on how much cash a van can carry in a single trip, minimum number of trained staff per vehicle, staff verification and others such prerequisites for an operator in the cash handling and transportation industry.
"The licensed PSAs, who handle cash, will incur costs with the enforcement of new guidelines under PSAR Act but they have not raised any objection to them. If they do not follow these norms, then banks will not outsource cash handling and transpiration services to them," said the source.
The SOP guidelines mandate a minimum carriage of Rs 5 lakh cash in a single trip and puts a cap at Rs 5 crore, along with specifying that a minimum of five staff – one driver, two armed security guards and two ATM officers – should be deployed in every cash vehicle operated by them.
It also spells out very clearly the design and fabrication of cash transportation vehicles and makes it compulsory for them to be equipped with live global positioning system (GPS) tracking system and close circuit TVs (CCTVs) with DVR of 30 days backup footage. It has called for the private cash vaults to be located in safe areas near the banks and police stations.
As per industry data, there are over 8,000 cash vans owned by PSAs in the country. They ferry close to Rs 15,000 crore cash per day and hold over Rs 5000 crore overnight on behalf of banks in them.
The MHA swung into action to come out with stricter regulatory norms for PSAs to prevent any "loss of public money" due to rising crimes involving cash vans and ATM frauds. It also does not want the cash to fall into the hands of "undesirable elements".
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