Private Detective Market Is Likely To Become Rs 1,700-Crore Business by 2020 - The India Saga

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Private Detective Market Is Likely To Become Rs 1,700-Crore Business by 2020

New Delhi : With exponential growth in financial frauds and well as growing requirement for background screening by companies and individuals,…

Private Detective Market Is Likely To Become Rs 1,700-Crore Business by 2020

New Delhi : With exponential growth in financial frauds and well as growing requirement for background screening by companies and individuals, the private detective market is India is growing at a rate of around 30% annually and is expected to reach Rs.1,700 crore by 2020, this was revealed by speakers at the inaugural session of the 92nd annual conference of the World Association of Detectives (WAD) here today.

 

 ÂThe market of private investigation is huge in India. It should be in the range of Rs.500-600 crore. It is expected to grow by 30% annually. As there are now background screening of top and middle level executives who join a company, due diligence in mergers & acquisitions, keeping tab on counterfeit goods and trade, insurance and credit card frauds, marriage frauds due to influx of matrimonial websites etc. We need a lot of new detectives. The number could be around 50,000 in the coming years, said Kunwar Vikram Singh, WAD President who will take over as WAD Chairman at the end of the three-day conference, a first for an Indian.

 

Mr. Singh, who is also the Chairman of Central Association of Private Security Industry (CAPSI), further said to provide licences to private detectives, as this business is growing and it needs to be a certified professional field, the government has brought an act in Parliament for licensing and create Dos & DontÂs for the sector. ÂWe expect this act will be passed soon. This will pave way for government to work with private detectives. After the murder of a child in a school, many educational institutions are talking to private detective agencies to do a security audit and do background check of the employees. Work of private detectives will grow further in dealing with safety and security issues in the country, he noted.

 

This year the WAD annual conference is witnessing participation from more than 150 detectives from over 50 countries to brainstorm on challenges and opportunities in the sector. Lt. Gen (retd) Rajinder Singh, former Director General (Infantry) in Indian Army and former Commander of UN Peace Keeping Forces, inaugurated the event.

 

In his inaugural speech WAD President Kunwar Vikram Singh said, ÂIt is a honour to host this prestigious event in India. Here issues that hold significance for India such as black money, counterfeit currency, anti-corruption, cyber security threats will be discussedÂ.

 

On the future prospects for the private detective market in India, Singh said that financial crimes specifically have grown by leaps and bounds and this is an area that private detective agencies can tap more. Issues like tracking black money, people who disappear after embezzling money are a growing concern. ÂWe can help the government in locating such individuals. We are here to support the government, like Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called for a corruption free India, he said.

 

Mr. Singh said, ÂPrivate investigators can play a big role in checking corruption in the corporate world. Besides, corporate worldÂs success today depends to a large extent on the novelty of an idea or intellectual property rights (IPRs) that they create and they need to protect it. Therefore, there are a number of people, competitors, etc, who would be interested to know what you are doing. So there are attempts to buyout people, bribe key officials, etc to get that information. Detectives come in here for protection and they have a great role in ensuring that ethical behaviour takes place.Â

 

Cyber security is another domain that has become very important. So much data is being consumed today and there are measures that have been taken to encrypt it, but there is a need to ensure that attempts to invade this data be countered through private investigators, he added.

 

ÂIn the last couple of decades the world has evolved exponentially, specifically in terms of how the society is governed and the role of citizens in it and how businesses are run. In this backdrop, there are entities and individuals who are tempted to take short cuts for reaping benefits in a short span of time and it is here that private detectives can play a major role in checking such illegal and undue influences on the society and businesses, Lt Gen (retd) Singh said.

 

India has great scope for private investigators (PIs) to grow. The market worldwide is huge as corporate, insurance companies, lawyers and individuals are using PIs to gather information, whether it is for a legal case or to screen the background of a top executive who is joining a company or to ascertain the veracity of an insurance claim, he noted.

 

This is the second time that WAD is holding its annual conference in India. First was held in 1984 at New Delhi. WAD, the largest and longest established association of its kind in the world, represents investigation and security practitioners in more than 80 countries. It promotes and maintains the highest ethical practices among its members and fosters cooperation between investigators globally.

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