The police personnel in India need to be trained in information technology (IT), and be exposed to digital technologies to avoid getting left behind in the era of cyber policing, a top official of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) said at a recently held ASSOCHAM event in New Delhi.
“The future of smart policing is cyber policing, there is no future of conventional policing. It can only be guidance but it has to be cyber policing in the future in both real and virtual worlds,” said Sanjay Goel, Joint Secretary, MeitY.
Mr Goel who is heading the e-governance division in MeitY also added, “The Ministry is aware of challenges in data analytics. Recognising this, my team has set up a Centre for Data Analytics under NIC (National Informatics Centre) in Delhi itself.”
Considering that there are no boundaries in cyber world, Mr Goel said that this has made policing more challenging and complex, “We are up to the challenge and our security authorities are moving ahead with times and taking the challenge head-on.”
Talking about the digital initiatives of the government, he said, “So far with three governance initiatives and various electronic initiatives and digitalisation we have done, we have been able to ensure flow of information, and now we are migrating towards smart policing.”
He said that latest technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), internet of things (IOTs), robotics and data analytics should be made available to the police authorities at the site of an emergency as these are the soul of smart policing which should become the new norm.
Noting that these technologies are four decades old, he said, “Now with increase in computing powers and improvement in tools we have, we are able to tap it and we need to catch up with rapidly changing technology.” Amid others who addressed the ASSOCHAM seminar included – DrLovneesh Chanana, Chairman, ASSOCHAM National Council on IT/ ITeS and Vice-President (Digital Government), SAP India Pvt. Ltd.; Anil Dhawan, Co-chairman, ASSOCHAM National Council on Homeland Security, and Ankur Sareen, AGM, Networking Embedded Appliance Division Delivery, NEC Technologies.
ASSOCHAM initiated its endeavour of value creation for Indian industry in 1920. It was established by promoter Chambers, representing all regions of India. Having in its fold over 400 chambers and trade associations, and serving over 4.5 lakh members across India. ASSOCHAM has emerged as the fountainhead of knowledge for Indian industry, which is all set to redefine the dynamics of growth and development in the knowledge based economy.
