I-MESA: Central Smart Surveillance Unit (CSSU)

What is the Central Smart Surveillance Unit (CSSU)?

The Central Smart Surveillance Unit (CSSU) is a component of the Information, Monitoring, Evaluation and Social Audit (I-MESA) scheme, launched by the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment (DoSJE) under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. According to the Department, the CSSU component aims to connect the Department with all grant-in-aid institutions, training centres and coaching centres funded by the Central Government through a network of Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras or other electronic devices.

In practice, CSSU sets up a central monitoring system: housed in the Ministry or another convenient location — for continuous supervision of the many institutions the Department funds, such as hostels, homes and coaching centres for Scheduled Castes, OBCs, senior citizens and other target groups. Each participating institution installs CCTV covering the services on its campus and shares the camera login credentials with its State Coordinator, so that the Department can watch delivery quality and utilisation of grants through a common dashboard.

CSSU is therefore an oversight and governance tool, not an individual benefit. It funds and coordinates surveillance infrastructure across institutions; it does not pay money to citizens.

How much does the CSSU component cost?

CSSU is funded as central infrastructure rather than as a per-person benefit.

• The total financial outlay for setting up the Central Smart Surveillance Unit infrastructure over five years is Rs 15 crore.
• Indicative annual central setup provision grew with coverage: Rs 2.5 crore for 1,000 institutions in 2021-22, Rs 2.8 crore for 1,100 institutions in 2022-23, Rs 3 crore for 1,200 institutions in 2023-24, Rs 3.2 crore for 1,300 institutions in 2024-25, and Rs 3.5 crore for 1,400 institutions in 2025-26.

These funds are meant for the Central Monitoring System, the dashboard and its maintenance. The cost of installing CCTV cameras or electronic devices inside each grant-in-aid institution is met under that institution's own scheme, while the central system, dashboard and maintenance are contracted to an external agency selected transparently through the Government e-Marketplace (GeM).

Who is eligible for the CSSU component?

A participating institution must:

• Be a grant-in-aid institution, training centre or coaching centre.
• Be funded by the Central Government.
• Install CCTV cameras or electronic devices covering the services provided on its campus.
• Share the login credentials of its cameras with its respective State Coordinator for monitoring.

After selection, the institution must also secure the Annual Maintenance Contract (AMC) of the CCTV system or electronic devices using its own resources once the warranty period expires.

Who cannot apply: Individual citizens, students, beneficiaries of the Department's schemes and the general public cannot apply, CSSU is a departmental monitoring mechanism, not a personal scheme. Institutions that are not funded by the Central Government fall outside its scope. There is no personal grant, scholarship or subsidy attached to this component.

What documents are involved?

How to apply for / implement the CSSU component

There is no individual application. CSSU is implemented departmentally, and the steps below reflect the official institutional process.

1. Departmental initiation: every division under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment supports installation of CCTV cameras or electronic devices in the grant-in-aid institutions it funds, as a mandatory departmental requirement.
2. Institution compliance: each participating grant-in-aid institution installs the cameras or devices covering campus services and shares the login credentials with its State Coordinator.
3. Outsourcing the central system: the Department contracts an external agency, selected transparently through GeM, to integrate data from all monitoring devices, build the Central Monitoring System and dashboard, and provide maintenance.
4. Ongoing maintenance: after the warranty period, each institution secures the Annual Maintenance Contract for its equipment using its own resources.

Why CSSU exists

The I-MESA scheme as a whole is built to ensure that implementation of the Department's schemes is examined intensively at ground level. The CSSU component adds real-time, camera-based oversight of the Department's grant-in-aid network, strengthening transparency and accountability in how central grants to hostels, homes and coaching centres are used. Details of I-MESA and its components are published by the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment at socialjustice.gov.in.