IIT-Bombay may get Rs 100 crore aid to form DRDO-like body

NEW DELHI: The country's police forces may soon be armed with a direct supply line of latest technology — such as drones, advanced communication systems and video analytic equipment — as the Centre is likely to grant IIT-Bombay Rs 100 crore to set up a centre of excellence for internal security on the lines of the DRDO (Defence Research and Development Organization).

While the DRDO caters only to the armed forces, the IIT-B centre will cater to the technology requirements of state and central police forces, which include the Central Reserve Police Force, Central Industrial Security Force and Railway Protection Force.

Research at the first such institute for internal security, the National Centre of Excellence in Tehcnology for Internal Security (NCETIS), is already under way and the project has been approved by the ministry of communications and information technology, said IIT-B director Devang V Khakar. "Our action plan is ready and are likely to get Rs 100 crore from the department of electronics and information technology soon," he said.

The centre will also receive funds from other ministries depending on the projects undertaken.

With terrorists increasingly using modern warfare techniques, the NCETIS will set out to supply technologies to improve intelligence gathering, dissemination, crime detection and law enforcement, increase levels of preparedness of forces and reducing the response time in emergency cases.