By convention, the Prime Minister would usually attend one short session at the annual Conference of Director Generals of Police, and Inspector Generals of Police. He would give away medals to meritorious officers. He would deliver an address. The event would always take place in New Delhi, usually at Vigyan Bhavan.

For the attendees too, it would be an occasion to wrap up pending and official matters in Delhi, or to catch up with friends and batchmates posted in the Union Government.

The actual business of strategizing on India’s security and policing issues, therefore, often got relegated to the background.

And so it continued. Until 2014.

That year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in the course of a briefing on the subject, asked a question: when was the last time this conference was held outside Delhi?

After due diligence, the officers returned to him with an answer. The conference had never been held outside the National Capital.

Modi’s instructions were clear. Change was necessary, not just in the venue of the event, but in the entire approach to internal security and policing matters. The functions of the police forces, and their importance to governance, called for greater involvement at the highest level, he asserted.

Weeks later, in November 2014, the event moved beyond Delhi for the first time. The 49th edition of the DGP/IGP Conference was held in Guwahati.

However, this was just the beginning. The Prime Minister’s participation that year, remained confined to a single session. In Guwahati itself, Modi made it clear that the next year would be different.

Soon after the meeting was over, he sought detailed feedback from officers on the deliberations at the Guwahati conference. He wanted to know what actionable points had been agreed upon. Once he was briefed on outcomes of the conference, he asked senior officials in the Home Ministry and associated agencies to draw out an action plan, and a roadmap towards implementation of the same. In the course of the next 12 months, he reviewed their progress from time to time.

The 50th edition of the DGP/IGP Conference, was to be a historic one. The Prime Minister spent three days with the top police brass of the country in the tent city at Dhordo, on the edge of the Rann of Kutch in Gujarat. He began by listening to them, and participating in several discussions on various aspects of security and policing.

For the officers, it was an intense, yet exhilarating experience. The official vehicles were dispensed with. Officers could walk from one tent to another. Or, they could take a bicycle. The day began with Yoga, in which the Prime Minister, too, joined. In the evening, the Prime Minister encouraged officers to take a walk on the picturesque White Rann.

The distractions of Delhi no longer existed. Officers shared experiences, and brainstormed both formally and informally, on various aspects of their professional work.

Work continued at meal-times as well. Over breakfast, lunch and dinner, the Prime Minister discussed specific security-related topics with select groups of police officers, who had domain knowledge and experience in that subject. For instance, DGPs of Left Wing Extremism affected States sat down with him to discuss ways to tackle the menace.

In the years that followed, the practice of meaningful participation of the Prime Minister in these annual Conferences, has been institutionalized. Modi has attended all subsequent editions of the DGP Conference, as it moved to Hyderabad, Gwalior, and then to Kevadiya in Gujarat this year.

Discussions and inputs have not remained confined to the DGPs alone. A cross-section of officers, with diverse skills and experience, now works in the background, and through the year. Wherever deemed necessary, experts from various domains are invited to deliver their inputs as well.

For instance, a Professor from a top University in the United States was once invited for a session on leadership. And he chose to approach the topic using the famous ‘B-school’ case method.

On another occasion, subject experts from the private sector and a top technical institute were invited to discuss cyber security.

One outcome of these changes has been the breaking of silos within the police system in India. This, of course, is an objective which the Prime Minister has been pursuing in various spheres of governance.

From the very beginning, Modi was clear on the sense of pride that the nation’s police force must feel, in its work. One idea that emerged, was to institutionalize the memory of over 33,000 martyred police personnel, who have laid down their lives in line of duty since independence. The sacrifices of these police personnel should not go in vain, the Prime Minister repeatedly emphasized.

The vision did not take long to take shape on the ground. The National Police Memorial, which Modi first talked about in Guwahati in 2014, was inaugurated by him in September this year, in New Delhi.

Interacting with the police top brass, Modi has often laid out his “SMART” vision for India’s police: a force which is strict yet sensitive; modern and mobile; alert and accountable; reliable and responsive; techno-savvy and trained.

Going beyond tokenism. Breaking silos. Result oriented action. A hands-on approach to issues that have a vital bearing on governance. These have been hallmarks of Prime Minister Modi’s approach.

The annual conference of DGPs is just one illustration.