Indian Army conducted a first-of-its-kind ‘Hackathon’, giving yet another shot in the arm for proficiency and expertise in the use of emerging technologies, and to delineate the technological side of the armed force.
The hackathon was conducted in the Military College of Telecommunication Engineering (MCTE), Mhow under the overall guidance of the Shimla-based Army Training Command (ARTRAC), one of the seven commands of the Indian Army.
The event was conducted from 01 October 2021 to 31 December 2021 under the name of “Sainya Ranakshetram”, in collaboration with the Rashtriya Raksha University. The virtual event witnessed the participation of over 15,000 participants and comprised a number of challenges based on Secure Coding, Software Defined Radio exploitation and Cyber Offensive skills.
Further, the main highlights of the event included participants competing with each other in cyberspace against simulated threats. Additionally, the event also hosted a plethora of training sessions and sessions by experts for the participants. Cyber enthusiasts from across India were the cynosure in the entire event.
Felicitating the winners of the Hackathon during an online ceremony, Chief of the Army Staff General MM Naravane acknowledged that cyber threats are one of the most critical challenges faced by the nation today.
The Army Chief said the Indian Army has taken a number of steps to consolidate its capabilities in the cyber domain. He also lauded the efforts made by the organisers and the participants for their motivation, zeal and spirit towards each activity during the Hackathon.
Quantum Laboratory of Indian Army
Making steady and significant strides in the field of emerging technology domains, the Indian Army along with the National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS) recently established the Quantum Lab at Military College of Telecommunication Engineering, Mhow in MP. The facility aims to spearhead research and training in this key developing field.
Further, the Indian Army has also established an Artificial Intelligence (AI) Centre at the same institution with over 140 deployments in forward areas and active support of industry and academia. The training on cyber warfare is also being disseminated through a state-of-art cyber range, and cyber security labs.
Notably, the ideation for Indian Army’s involvement in Electromagnetic Spectrum Operations was done in a seminar on Electromagnetic Spectrum and National Security, which was organised in October 2020. Since then, an impetus has been given to Indian Army’s Technology Institutions for investing in AI, Quantum and Cyber.
The research undertaken by the Indian Army in the field of Quantum Technology will bolster next generation communication and transform the current system of cryptography in the Indian Armed Forces to Post Quantum Cryptography (PQC).
The research will preliminary focus on key areas like Quantum Key Distribution, Quantum Communication, Quantum Computing and Post Quantum Cryptography.
Indian Navy big leap in the world of modern era technologies
To equip the Indian Navy with modern era technologies, a workshop on the contemporary topic ‘Leveraging Artificial Intelligence (Al)’ was recently organized by the Navy’s premier technical training institute INS Valsura from 19 to 21 January 2022.
The workshop witnessed the participation of renowned IT Companies like Google, IBM, Infosys and TCS who shared the industry perspective during the three-day event. Conducted under the aegis of Southern Naval Command, the mega event also included distinguished academicians from IIT Delhi, New York University, Amrita University and Dhirubhai Ambani Institute of Information and Communication Technology (DA- IICT), who deliberated about the usage of latest trends and applications of Artificial Intelligence.
Leveraging AI & Machine learning
The Indian Navy has been focusing on incorporating Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) in critical mission areas. Aligned with the similar ethos, Jamnagar-based INS Valsura has already been designated as the Center of Excellence (CoE) in the field of Big Data and a state-of-art lab on AI and Big Data Analysis (BDA) was also set up in January 2020.
The creation of the Centre of Excellence (CoE) in the field of AI at INS Valsura, will be instrumental in the progress of pilot projects related to the adoption of AI and Big Data Analytics (BDA) in the domain of maintenance, HR and perception assessment. Likewise, the Indian Navy is also unifying and reorganising its enterprise data, as data is the fuel for all AI engines.
Understanding the strategic importance of these niche technologies, the Indian Navy has also created an ‘AI Core Group’, which meets twice a year for assessing all AI/ ML initiatives.
The periodic reviews of AI projects are being held to ensure the adherence of the promulgated timelines and to steer the AI initiatives, which are envisaged to have both tactical and strategic level impact. Further, the Indian navy also conducts training in AI/ ML across all levels of specialty for its officers and sailors. These trainings take place both within Navy’s own training schools as also renowned Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs). Notably, big and small AI linked courses have been training several personnel of the India Navy.
