Aiming to enhance the safety of its rail network, Indian Railways had announced plans a few months ago to install around 75,000 AI-powered CCTV cameras
Indian Railways has hit a roadblock in its ambitious plan to install artificial intelligence (AI)-powered CCTV cameras across its network after it discovered that cameras of suspected Chinese origin had been installed at several railway stations. The revelation has raised concerns over potential security breaches, particularly in light of ongoing tensions with Beijing.
Aiming to enhance the safety of its rail network, Indian Railways had announced plans a few months ago to install around 75,000 AI-powered CCTV cameras in coaches, locomotives, and electric multiple units (EMUs) at an estimated cost of ₹15,000 crore. The project, covering 40,000 coaches, 14,000 locomotives, and 6,000 EMUs, was designed to strengthen surveillance and security measures across the country’s vast rail system.
However, the project faced complications after a review of the CCTV cameras installed at various railway stations revealed discrepancies in the documentation related to their country of origin. According to an internal note from the South Western Railway’s office of the deputy chief signal and telecom engineer, vigilance officials uncovered that the cameras, which were purportedly sourced from Taiwan, were listed in customs documents as originating from “Taiwan, China.”
“This inconsistency raises concerns regarding potential tampering of documents to conceal the actual country of origin,” stated the internal note, which recommended strict action against those responsible for submitting altered or forged invoices.
The discovery has prompted the Telecom Equipment Manufacturers Association of India (TEMA) to step in, urging the Railway Board to conduct a third-party inspection of the cameras already installed and those proposed for installation. Citing national security concerns, TEMA called for a detailed audit of the CCTV devices in line with the security guidelines issued by the Railway Ministry’s Research Design and Standards Organisation.
In recent years, the Indian government has held multiple discussions on safeguarding the country’s critical infrastructure from potential espionage through Chinese-made surveillance equipment. Following these deliberations, the Union government introduced new safety guidelines in April 2024 to address these threats. The guidelines, issued by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), mandated testing of “essential security parameters” for all CCTV cameras sold in India.
The regulation, which requires manufacturers to submit test reports from Bureau of Indian Standards-recognised labs, including the Standardisation Testing and Quality Certification, is set to come into effect on October 9, 2024. This gives manufacturers sufficient time to comply with the new safety standards, though the large-scale presence of such cameras across the country presents a significant challenge.
Indian Railways, one of the largest networks in the world, has been under increasing pressure to modernize its security infrastructure. The discovery of suspected Chinese-origin cameras has now forced authorities to tread cautiously, as they seek to balance technological advancement with national security concerns.
