DRDO to collaborate with IIT Bhubaneswar for AI-driven surveillance, other projects
Bhubaneswar (PTI): Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) will collaborate with Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bhubaneswar for artificial intelligence (AI) driven surveillance and other projects, officials said.
A meeting was held between DRDO and IIT Bhubaneswar officials here on Tuesday. Binay Das, director general (DG) of Electronics and Communication Systems (ECS) cluster, DRDO, and many senior scientists and officials of both institutions were present in the meeting.
During the meeting, nine sanctioned projects of the ECS Cluster of DRDO were handed over to IIT Bhubaneswar while another 7 projects are in process to be sanctioned with Rs 18 crore funding.
IIT Bhubaneswar will work on the sanctioned projects, which would be beneficial in electronics warfare, AI-driven surveillance, power systems, radar systems etc, officials said.
S R Samantaray, head of the School of Electrical sciences of IIT said the collaboration of IIT Bhubaneswar and DRDO will contribute to the emerging research and development need of defence applications, creating a platform for 'Atma Nirbhar Bharat'.
This form of collaboration will enhance the sustainability of defence research programmes and will be part of the eco-system for nation building, he said.
Speaking on the occasion, Binay Das advised researchers and faculty members associated with various DRDO-sanctioned projects to work systematically with proper review and risk management systems to complete the projects in time and come up with unique solutions.
He said that DRDO is going through a transformation from technology chasers to become technology enablers and trendsetters.
"The goal is now to move beyond attaining self-reliance to setting standards for the Indian armed forces, for others across the globe, to emulate. In this context, this collaboration, and the further opportunity to set up a Centre of Excellence at IIT Bhubaneswar would prove crucial," he added.
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Fascism will not be allowed to enter through the back door of vote rigging: CM Siddaramaiah
New Delhi: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Sunday asserted that fascism would not be allowed to enter India “through the back door of vote rigging” and called upon citizens to collectively defend the country’s democratic foundations.
Speaking after participating in an anti–vote rigging protest organised in New Delhi, Siddaramaiah said the gathering was not merely a political demonstration but a stand to protect Indian democracy. “We have come to the heart of our republic not as Congress workers or voters, but as protectors of Indian democracy,” he said.
Emphasising the importance of the right to vote, Siddaramaiah said it was the most sacred right guaranteed by the Constitution and the very foundation of democracy.
“Through voting, a farmer shapes the future of his children, a worker safeguards his dignity, a youth realises dreams, and a nation expresses its collective will,” he said.
He accused the BJP-led Union government of attempting to undermine this right through what he termed systematic vote rigging, including the alleged misuse of the special revision of electoral rolls. “This power is being stolen repeatedly,” he alleged.
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Warning against authoritarian tendencies, Siddaramaiah said history had shown that dictatorship does not begin with violence but with the misuse of institutions and manipulation of democratic systems.
“Across the world, authoritarian regimes pretend to protect democracy while quietly subverting it. This is what the BJP is doing today,” he charged.
He alleged that the ruling party was controlling institutions, intimidating electoral machinery, distorting voter lists, suppressing voter turnout in opposition strongholds, and misusing money and power. “This is not mere maladministration. Vote rigging is an attack on the very idea of India,” he said.
Siddaramaiah further claimed that governments formed through “stolen votes” could not be considered democratic.
“Such regimes survive through fear, fraud and distortion of the people’s mandate,” he said, adding that vote rigging posed the biggest threat to the republic since Independence.
Praising Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, Siddaramaiah said he had shown exceptional courage in exposing alleged irregularities in voter lists, booth-level manipulation and “systematic, organised vote rigging” across several states, including Karnataka, Haryana and Bihar.
Referring to Karnataka, Siddaramaiah cited Mahadevpura and Aland constituencies as examples highlighted by Gandhi. In Mahadevpura, he said, thousands of allegedly fake and fraudulent voter entries and discrepancies in electoral rolls pointed to a narrow BJP victory. In Aland, he said, attempts were made to remove the names of legitimate voters ahead of the 2023 Assembly elections.
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He noted that a Special Investigation Team (SIT) had recently filed a chargesheet accusing seven persons, including a former BJP MLA and his son, of attempting to delete the names of around 6,000 voters in Aland.
“This is a significant legal step in the fight against vote rigging,” he said.
Siddaramaiah concluded by stating that the fight against vote rigging was rooted in constitutional morality, Ambedkarite thought and the core principle of democracy. “Sovereignty belongs to the people, not to any party, regime or those who seek to steal elections,” he said.
