The Indian Air Force (IAF) will deploy indigenous surveillance and monitoring aircraft Netra for airspace security.
Security For G20 Summit: With five days left for the high-profile G20 Summit to start in New Delhi, the authorities are leaving nothing to chance as far as security and protocol are concerned. The 18th G-20 Summit would witness the participation of delegates including heads of state from 18 countries including US President Joe Biden, Chinese President Xi Jinping, and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
The Indian Air Force (IAF) is preparing to deploy indigenous surveillance and monitoring aircraft Netra for airspace security. This is the same aircraft that was deployed to monitor Pakistani F-16 fighter planes following the Balakot surgical strikes in Pakistan.
Apart from this, missiles will also be deployed and Indian Army helicopters will conduct air patrolling. National Security Guard (NSG) commandos will also be put to service along with the regular personnel. Army and NSG snipers will be deployed on all big and tall buildings around the venues. For the first time, an anti-drone system has been installed.
Artificial intelligence-based cameras have also been deployed in Delhi for security purposes. These cameras will immediately send an alert message to the security officer if any suspicious activity is detected. Anti-drone systems and bulletproof glasses have been installed where the foreign guests will stay. At the same time, a team of IT experts will keep an eye on social media posts and trends during the summit.
Left-hand Drive Cars For Foreign Guests
The government has ordered left-hand drive cars for the G-20 summit. These vehicles will be bullet-proof and will be used to transport foreign guests. 450 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel have been trained to drive these cars.
According to the report of news agency PTI, the central government has bought or hired more than 60 left-hand drive cars for 41 foreign guests. These include luxury vehicles like Audi, Mercedes, and BMW.
900 CRPF Personnel Deployed
A total of 900 CRPF personnel, including the drivers, have been deployed to provide security to the guests of the G-20 Summit. Some of these personnel have previously worked with the Special Protection Group (SPG) and National Security Guard (NSG).
Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) commandos have been deployed to provide security to the relatives of the foreign guests. Other Central Armed Forces like Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), and NSG’s Black Cat Commandos have been entrusted with the responsibility of securing the route and venue. They will coordinate with Delhi Police for this.
Venue Of G20 New Delhi Summit
The 2023 G20 New Delhi summit is scheduled to take place at Bharat Mandapam International Exhibition-Convention Centre (IECC), Pragati Maidan, New Delhi. It will be the first-ever G20 Summit to be held in India as well as in South Asia and will be chaired by the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
India’s presidency began on 1 December 2022, leading up to the summit in the third quarter of 2023. The presidency handover ceremony was held at the close of the Bali summit in which the G20 Presidency gavel was transferred from Indonesian President Joko Widodo to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Indonesia held the G-20 presidency in 2022.