Facial recognition cameras at airports, vital sites to be linked to data fusion centre: CISF DG

Facial recognition cameras installed at all major airports will be linked to a data fusion centre proposed to come up in Delhi, Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) Director General Praveer Ranjan said on Monday (June 22, 2026).

Also read | CISF reviews security across airports in north India

Besides the airports, the feed from around 1.5 lakh surveillance cameras at vital installations across the country, which are under CISF’s security cover, will be linked to the centre, Mr. Ranjan said during the foundation-laying ceremony of the new CISF headquarters at CGO complex in Delhi.

Facial recognition cameras installed at six major airports – Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, and Kolkata – in the country are further proposed to be integrated with the National Intelligence Grid (NATGRID) to enhance real-time monitoring, suspect identification and support to law enforcement agencies, a senior CISF official said.

NATGRID is a secure platform for the police and investigating agencies to access government and private databases in real-time.

The Union Home Ministry has asked the States to liberally use the platform to access datasets which include details of driving licence, vehicle registration, Aadhaar, airline data, bank records, FASTAG, passport and travel details of foreigners and Indians, suspicious transaction reports from Financial Intelligence Unit, railway passengers, and also extract and analyse data from social media posts.

Serving with dignity

Minister of State for Home Bandi Sanjay Kumar, the chief guest at the function, said that since June 2025, the government has implemented a compassionate disability policy which ensures that personnel disabled in the line of duty are not compulsorily retired and they continue to serve with dignity, career progression and full-service benefits.

Emphasising technology-led security solutions, Mr. Ranjan informed that the Regional Training Centre at Behror in Rajasthan is being developed as a Centre of Excellence for Drone and Anti-Drone Technology. CISF has also been designated as the nodal agency for protection of critical infrastructure against rogue drone threats. In addition, specialised cyber security teams are being trained in collaboration with premier institutions.

The Director-General highlighted the Ministry’s approval for raising the first all-women CISF Reserve Battalion at Nuh, Haryana, comprising 1,024 personnel, as a major step towards empowering women in the force.