Internal security and public safety take centre stage at IIT Ropar ahead of India AI Impact Summit 2026

Prof. Rajeev Ahuja, Director of the Indian Institute of Technology Ropar, says the pre-summit workshop and hackathon aim to translate artificial intelligence research into deployable security solutions

Ropar, 6 February 2026: The School of Artificial Intelligence and Data Engineering (sAIDE) at Indian Institute of Technology Ropar inaugurated a national workshop on Artificial Intelligence for Internal Security and Public Safety, along with a two-day hackathon on AI for Social Good, as part of the pre-summit activities for the India AI Impact Summit 2026.
The inaugural session was addressed by Rajeev Ahuja, Director, IIT Ropar, who outlined the institute’s ongoing work in artificial intelligence and its application to public welfare and national priorities. He said the initiative reflects a broader effort to move AI research from academic settings into real-world security and governance use cases.

Shri Ram Singh, Special Director General of Police, Punjab, attended the event as Chief Guest and shared perspectives from law enforcement on the role of emerging technologies in strengthening internal security and public safety systems. The session was also attended by Shri Dinkar Gupta, Professor of Practice at sAIDE, IIT Ropar, and former Director General of the National Investigation Agency, who highlighted the importance of responsible technology adoption in national security frameworks.
Industry participation included Achutan Manohar, Principal Engineering Leader at Microsoft, and Nitin Chugh, Senior Software Engineer at Google, who discussed evolving AI capabilities and their relevance to social impact and security-focused applications.

The one-day workshop featured technical demonstrations led by IIT Ropar faculty, covering areas such as deepfake detection, image restoration, anomaly detection in surveillance systems, drone forensics, voice analytics, licence plate recognition, and secure communication networks for policing. These demonstrations focused on practical deployment scenarios rather than theoretical models.
Running concurrently, the 30-hour hackathon is challenging participants to design AI-based solutions addressing real-world social and public safety challenges. Teams are being evaluated at multiple stages by academic and industry experts, with the final presentations and prize distribution scheduled for 7 February.

Adding a defence dimension to the event, the Indian Army set up a special exhibition on the IIT Ropar campus showcasing select equipment and technologies used in military operations. The exhibition provided participants with exposure to how advanced technologies are deployed in operational security environments, bridging academic innovation with field applications.
The pre-summit activities have drawn participation from students, researchers, faculty members, and professionals from across the country, reinforcing the India AI Impact Summit 2026’s focus on building responsible, inclusive, and application-oriented AI ecosystems.

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