The Central Industrial Security Force has partnered with IIT Hyderabad’s Technology Innovation Hub on Autonomous Navigation, or TIHAN, to strengthen drone and anti-drone capabilities for the protection of critical infrastructure. The agreement will give CISF trainees practical exposure to drone operations and support the force’s proposed Centre of Excellence for Drone and Anti-Drone Technology.
Harpreet Kaur Sohi, Inspector General and Director of the National Industrial Security Academy, signed the memorandum of understanding with Prof. Rajlakshmi P., Project Director of TIHAN. The agreement was reported on October 31 and is intended to connect CISF training with academic research in autonomous systems.
Under the MoU, assistant commandant probationers and sub-inspector trainees at the National Industrial Security Academy will attend short-duration courses at TIHAN. The programme will include hands-on exposure to drone assembly, flight operations and research into advanced autonomous systems at the institute’s laboratories.
TIHAN will also provide academic and technical support to the CISF’s proposed Centre of Excellence for Drone and Anti-Drone Technology. The centre is planned at the CISF Recruit Training Centre in Behror, Rajasthan. The source report did not specify a launch date, budget or detailed equipment plan for the proposed facility.
The partnership comes as unmanned aerial systems are being treated as an emerging security concern around critical infrastructure. The CISF protects installations across sectors including power, petroleum, coal, ports and aviation. Its recent shift from a traditional territorial command system to dedicated functional commands has increased the importance of sector-specific technical skills within the force.
Sohi said the collaboration would strengthen specialisation and support the CISF’s newly formed functional sector pattern of supervision. She said integrating academic research into training would help personnel develop the technical expertise required to anticipate and counter emerging threats.
The MoU is part of a wider CISF effort to work with academic and technical institutions. The force has also signed agreements with IIT Kanpur for cybersecurity and anti-drone capabilities, IIT Ropar for developing a cybersecurity cadre for aviation infrastructure, and the National e-Governance Division for training in artificial intelligence, drone technology and cybersecurity.
Other reported partnerships include an arrangement with Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology for cyber-defence training and one with the Indian Maritime University to strengthen port and maritime security capabilities. Together, the agreements indicate that the force is expanding its training model beyond conventional physical security to include aviation systems, cybersecurity, autonomous technology and specialised infrastructure protection.
Prof. Rajlakshmi said the collaboration would help translate TIHAN’s research in autonomous systems into practical applications for the CISF and support the development of domestic capabilities in critical security technologies. The immediate next steps are the delivery of specialised courses at TIHAN and technical support for the proposed centre in Behror.
