It is a great day for CBI today. It is a great day for me personally. It is the culmination of the efforts made by the Department of Personnel over the past one year to provide better working conditions for the CBI personnel. In April, 2005, I had made two requests on behalf of CBI: one that there should be a separate CBI headquarter building and secondly that an additional 25% allowance should be provided to some of the CBI personnel. Hon'ble Prime Minister, it is a measure of your deep concern for the CBI and its personnel that the hope for an independent CBI headquarter building is taking shape. I take this opportunity to warmly welcome the Hon'ble Prime Minister to this function and express my profound thanks for the approval of the Central Government for this project. I hope, Sir, that you will be kind enough to also give favourable consideration to my request regarding the grant of special allowance to some of the CBI personnel.

            From a small beginning in the War and Supply Department during the World War-II, CBI has come a long way. Today it has established itself as the premiere investigating agency of the country. Among other things it has meant that CBI has grown in size, manpower and workload. This growth is likely to continue in the future as the CBI performs its role as the National coordinator of countrywide law enforcement operations. Hence the need to have a technologically advanced headquarter building for the CBI, cannot be overemphasized.

CBI has over the years successfully handled a wide array of complicated cases. In so doing CBI has created a niche for itself. It is a measure of the confidence the people of India have for the CBI that whenever there is a high profile criminal offence in the country, there is a clamour for handing it over to CBI for investigation. This is the result of enormous hard work put in by the entire staff of CBI, and I congratulate all of you for this achievement. 

Finally, I take this opportunity to congratulate all CBI personnel on this momentous occasion. I am certain that the institution will grow from strength to strength under the able leadership of its new Director. I convey my good wishes to Shri Vijay Shanker and his entire team of all ranks, on this occasion. 

Before I end, I would once again express my gratitude to the Hon’ble Prime Minister for having spared his valuable time to address the personnel of the CBI, present here. 

            May I now request the Hon'ble Prime Minister to lay the foundation stone of the building.

THANK YOU