Year: 2022

The 16th edition of the Security Leadership Summit organized by Central Association of Private Security Industry (CAPSI) was held at the NDMC Convention Centre, Sansad Marg, New Delhi on 17th December 2021. This years’ Summit was organized in a hybrid manner with physical presence of over 250 industry leaders from across the country. Eminent politicians, bureaucrats and public figures shared their thought process with respect to the growth and well-being of the industry. Apart from them, the conference was also attended by the senior officials and students of the private security management course being conducted by Sardar Patel University of Police Security and Criminal Justice (SPUP) to understand the functioning of private security industry. Over 150 security guards who are the frontline soldiers of various private security agencies also attended the Summit. All the members of CAPSI were able to view the entire proceeding sitting at their respective states and were able to even participate through zoom platform. The highlight of the event was the participation of the Chief Guest Gen (Dr) VK Singh MoS Road, Transport and Highways at the inaugural session. Traditional practice of the lighting of the lamp was followed wherein the dignitaries on the dais lead by Gen (Dr) VK Singh lit the auspicious lamp followed by distribution of Badge of Honour to the Frontline warriors of the industry for their exemplary courage during the pandemic. The summit was also graced by Udai Mahurkar, Information Commissioner of India; Anurag Batra, Chairman and Editor-in-Chief, Business World Magazine; Prakash Mirani, Additional CEO, GEM; and Advocate SK Gupta as Guest of Honour. Audio Visual on Private Security Day Celebrations – 4th December An audio visual on Private Security Day celebrations was showcased after the inaugural session. Addressing the Summit, Chairman Kunwar Vikram Singh highlighted that to recognise the role of private security industry and private security guards in the nation-building process, particularly in the times of national emergency and crisis, the Central Association of Private Security Industry (CAPSI) decided to celebrate December 4 as the ‘Private Security Day.’ He informed the Chief Guest that ‘Private Security Day’ was also celebrated internationally as all the leading global organisations and companies agreed to the CAPSI proposal. “December 4 is a special day for the entire private security industry in India and across the world as it was on this day that the former President Smt Pratibha Patil had inaugurated the CAPSI’s Annual Security Leadership Summit in 2009. It was the first-ever occasion across the world when a Head of the State had inaugurated the annual summit of the private security industry in any country,” said Mr Singh, “It is also a solemn occasion for us to honour the contributions of the private security industry during the Covid-19 pandemic which created havoc in India and across the world. We paid tributes to our brave private security personnel who died while serving humanity during the pandemic. A number of events were planned to commemorate the day. Certificates and prizes to recognise the services of the deserving security personnel were awarded. Associates of CAPSI across the globe also celebrated the day which speaks volumes of solidarity of security sector fraternity.” The Chairman further said as the country’s economy was badly affected, many private security establishments were also forced to close down due to the slowdown of business, thereby resulting in loss of jobs for the employees. The private security industry was able to withstand the onslaught of the Covid tsunami and continued to provide services to the end users. The performance of the private security industry during the COVID pandemic, especially during the lockdown phase, was outstanding. The fact that the industry was recognised as an ‘essential service’ by the government authorities speaks volumes of faith and trust the Government of India reposes on the industry. The security personnel faced a lot of problems during that time when public transport and other amenities which we take for granted was not available. Most importantly, the fear of contracting the deadly virus as they were vulnerable was also there. Despite that the security guard, undaunted by the difficulties posed did manage to reach his place of duty and performed his tasks admirably. Now was the time to appreciate their role and the professional commitment exhibited at that time. Keeping in view the spirit, ‘Private Security Day’ was celebrated in all parts of country by all state chapters of CAPSI. He said that with the dedication and devotion with which our comrades celebrated this day, there was hardly any city or town where it would not have been celebrated. Addressing the Summit, Chairman Kunwar Vikram Singh also lamented the government proposal to downgrade private security industry from skilled to semiskilled category as it will hurt employability of over 1 lakh private security guards currently working in the industry. He urged the government to reconsider it. He also said increasing mandatory training period for private security guards from 160 hours to 400 hours was not feasible as there are no paraphernalia available to conduct such training programmes. Private Security Sector to Employ more Women in Times to Come Addressing the Security Leadership Summit-2021, Gen (Dr) V K Singh said the Indian private security industry needs to evolve itself by employing more women and maximising use of technology in order to survive and excel. He said, in times to come it will be difficult to provide security and ensure safety without the use of technology. Similarly, need of security is growing across sectors, and here women can play a major role in providing security to various businesses and industry including markets, saloons, highways schools and institutions and companies etc. Their role and involvement is key to the growth of the private security industry, Gen VK Singh added. The Union Minister also stressed the need for better training to provide better security, and here too technology will play a major role. Terrorists and anti-social elements are using technology to commit crime, so the private security industry will also have…

Every year, a large number of traffic incidents and crashes occur worldwide. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), approximately 1.3 million people die each year as a result of road traffic crashes. There are many factors leading to this – road infrastructure, road users, vehicle speeds, and vehicle safety. Another of these is fatigue and drowsiness at the wheel, which could result in a dangerous situation that jeopardizes the safety of driver, passengers, and even pedestrians. According to The Euro Weekly News, the fatigue detection system and other driver assistance system will be mandatory in new cars in 2022, as it says the vast majority of road accidents are caused by human error. So much so, it is critical that actions to improve vehicle safety are taken to promote safe transport for all road users. How a video-based onboard security system can help As a leading IoT solution provider with video as its core competency, Hikvision designed and developed its Mobile Onboard Video System to boost vehicle security in comprehensive ways. These range from reliable footage recording and route deviation or speeding alarms, to emergency alarms and abnormal driving behavior analysis. The system offers 360° video coverage both inside and outside a vehicle, providing real-time situational awareness for safe driving. Video footage is reliably transmitted and stored, which can be used as forensic evidence in the event of a traffic accident. It also generates insights such as passenger flow in a public bus, for example, so that passenger distribution can be optimized to improve their comfort. Protecting a range of road vehicles Hikvision’s Onboard Video Security System ensures that typical types of vehicle are well protected, including public buses, school buses, trucks, taxis, and ride-hailing cars. Public buses Buses play an important role in urban transportation. For many people, they provide an indispensable method for their daily commute. Accordingly, the operational efficiency of the bus fleet, its services, and public safety demonstrate new challenges for public transport authorities. Hikvision understands those challenges, and has developed its Bus Solution with two important features. Firstly, passenger flow counting, based on video analytics, allows bus drivers to know the actual number of passengers inside in real time. This is helpful when certain compliance requirements such as social distancing is introduced. If passenger flow exceeds a pre-defined number, an alert can be sent to the operation center for better bus fleet scheduling. This help them to improve service quality and passenger satisfaction. Another feature is abnormal driving behavior detection, which can pick up driver fatigue, as well as smoking in the bus. If these incidents are detected, an alert is sent to the monitoring center in real time, allowing operators to communicate with drivers immediately via two-way audio. School buses School buses can carry 40 or more students to and from school. As such, operators want to take extra care of this precious cargo. Is the school bus on its usual route? Did a student board the bus on time and get off at the right stop? For school administrators and parents, these matters can be critical. Hikvision’s School Bus Solution offers innovative onboard attendance capabilities. When students get on the bus, they can swipe their ID card on a terminal and the record is uploaded to the system’s central platform right away. At the same time, a notification can be pushed to parents’ mobile phones, informing them that their child is safely on the bus. It’s also important to protect students when they get off the school bus and cross the road. The solution includes a ‘stop for school bus’ sign with an audible and visual flash warning. This works to notify passing vehicles to stop until students safely cross a street. Trucks Trucks transport a wide range of goods and materials, ranging from our daily necessities to luxury products. Therefore, it is important for logistics companies to know the real-time status of their truck fleet, whether they transit goods on time, and arrive at the destinations safely etc. Hikvision’s Truck Solution collects audio and video data with cameras installed inside and outside the truck. It sends GPS and alarm data through onboard video recorders and 3G/ 4G wireless networks, to realize remote truck monitoring and management. Due to their size, trucks have large blind spots on both sides. Vehicles located in these blind spots are difficult to see and can easily go unnoticed by the driver. Hikvision’s Truck Solution offers camera views that cover these blind spots, so truck drivers know about vehicles entering into these areas. This helps them to drive safely and promotes road safety. Hikvision’s solution further provides different kinds of sensors for bespoke needs on a truck. For example, if a truck transports valuable goods that are not allowed to be checked during the journey, a door sensor can be added to record if anyone opens it before arrival. In some cases, if a truck transports cold food, the temperature inside must be maintained at a stable level to ensure freshness. Accordingly, customers can include a temperature sensor in the system to monitor the temperature change. Taxis and ride-hailing cars As mobility improves in urban life, many people use mobile apps to get a ride, either with a taxi or a ride-hailing car. It’s convenient and fast. On the other hand, it’s also important to maintain rider safety from the start of the journey until they reach their destination. In busy periods, for example rush hours and holiday seasons, taxi and ride-hailing drivers struggle to take a break and they usually work long hours. In this situation, it’s very easy to get tired which could also cause health issues. Hikvision’s solution for taxis and ride-hailing cars includes abnormal driving behavior analysis, such as driving while drowsy. In that case, drivers can be reminded to pull over and take a rest. Hikvision’s solution also provides a trunk camera that records footage if a passenger’s luggage or handbag was left behind after departure, or stolen by others. From…

Anil Puri CMD, APS group A first generation serial entrepreneur, thought leader and an action catalyzer rolled into one – Anil Puri is a rare combination of a visionary, an innovator and a strategic thinker. He has used this combination to innovate and implement on-ground many new business ideas. His rich experience in various businesses has enabled him to nurture & mentor innovative ideas and scale them up. Introduction The FICCI & BDO in their study estimated the PSI to touch INR1.5 lakh crores (USD23.1 billion) by 2022. The key drivers identified in the study were the security needs of office buildings, shopping malls, critical infrastructure, schools, hotels, hospitals, residential complexes, warehouses and factories. However, railways, metro rails, NHAI, Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), oil & gas industry, renewable energy & waste management, mining and telecom industry too have further added to this list. This huge market offers a premium opportunity for the disruptive force of AI embedded drone applications and robotics. All over the world, more and more drones are being used for both private and public security namely by defense organizations and tech-savvy consumers for quite some time. However, the benefit of this technology extends well beyond just these two sectors. With the rising accessibility of drones, many of the most dangerous and high-paying jobs within the commercial sector are ripe for displacement by drone and robotics technology. Their use for safe, cost-effective solutions range from crowd control, emergency response, surveillance, situation awareness, data collection to last mile delivery. The mobility, ease of deployment and versatility of drones have made them valuable tools in the field of security for both private and public entities. Increasing work efficiency and productivity, decreasing workload and production costs, improving accuracy, refining service and customer relations, and resolving security issues on a vast scale are a few of the top uses drones offer industries globally. Adoption of drone technology across industries has leapt from the fad stage to the mega-trend stage fairly quickly as more and more businesses started to realize its potential, scope, and scale of global reach. Whether drones are controlled by a remote or accessed via a smartphone app, they possess the capability of reaching the most remote areas with little to no manpower needed and require the least amount of effort, time, and energy. This is one of the biggest reasons why they are being adopted worldwide, especially by these four sectors – military, commercial, personal, agriculture and future technology. Drones are rapidly growing in popularity. They are still in the infancy stage in terms of mass adoption and usage, but have already broken through rigid traditional barriers in industries which otherwise seemed impenetrable by similar technological innovations. The paradigm shift in GoI policy on drones to keep pace with global developments Drone regulation in India has seen multiple iterations over the past few years, with a lukewarm impact on the technological development front. This was further accentuated by a blanket ban on civilian drone operations in 2014 by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation. It was only in 2018, with the introduction of the National Drone Policy, that graded activities were permitted in the commercial space which were perceived by academia, Startups, end-users and other stakeholders as being restrictive in nature as they involved considerable paperwork, required permissions for every drone flight and very few ‘Free to Fly’ green zones were available. Based on the feedback and future of drones in various industries, the Government of India, Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) repealed the UAS Rules, 2021 and has replaced the same with the Liberalized Drone Rules, 2021 and thereby ushered in a liberalised era of drone governance, giving wings to a drone-powered country. In a major boost to promote the drone sector, the rules aim to make India a drone-friendly nation. Furthermore, delivery and logistics – a segment considered vital for making India a drone hub – is well recognised in the new rules. GoI has also approved a PLI scheme for drones and their components with an allocation of Rs. 120 crores for three financial years. The U Turn in the GoI policy on drones is primarily on realization of benefits it offers to almost all sectors of the economy like – agriculture, mining, infrastructure, surveillance, emergency response, transportation, geo-spatial mapping, defence, and law enforcement etc. Drones can be significant creators of employment and economic growth due to their reach, versatility, and ease of use, especially in India’s remote and inaccessible areas. In view of its traditional strengths in innovation, information technology, frugal engineering and huge domestic demand, India has the potential to be global drone hub by 2030. Government of India also deserves the credit for setting up a Drone Promotion Council to facilitate a business-friendly regulatory regime, while also incubating new drone ideas. Degree and Scale of disruption on the PSI For a country of mass and scale like India which has abundance of the cheap human capital, the disruption is likely to be very gradual and slow in the private security industry. However in next five to seven years; it is for sure that the security operations especially in sensitive places will be replaced with robots and systems which will be highly developed and evolved with artificial intelligence. Era of the present-day semi-literate/ low IQ guards will be gone due to cheap and smart ‘Robot-Guards’ with precision knowledge and actions (customized). Thus, impact to the security business at this level will be high but the service delivery is expected to be much superior quality and may be taken over by IT service providing companies. Not only the physical guards and passive sensors will be replaced by smart counterparts but it is also possible that many of the traditional operations like patrolling of perimeters, observation from watch towers, frisking and even to dispose of human bombs, mail bombs, robots with all-pervasive, deep penetrating sensors and precision neutralising capability may be used. Similarly, AI will be used for information gathering or reconnaissance in an…