The 26/11 growth story: With sniffer pups to mini drones,security firms are lining up

amp;149; Among bullet-proof solutions under design is an armoured golf cart which can protect up to six commandos as they move around a hotel or airport under siege.

amp;149; A moving platform capable of climbing up to windows 200 m above the ground could have helped rapidly evacuate the Taj and Trident during the Mumbai attacks. Hotel guests knotted together bedsheets to slide down.

amp;149; Given the acute shortage of sniffer dogs,a private company has begun breeding a litter of Australian Labradors and German Shepherds. The plan: to breed 200 sniffer dogs in two years for hiring out by the hour.

Forget the slowdown and the credit crunch,if there is one industry thats declared boomtime,its the security business. Spurred by the recent surge in criminal and terrorist activity and finally,the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai that exposed glaring holes in the security system,the Indian security bazaar both Government and private is attracting business like never before.

Its been raining tenders both in South Block,which houses the Ministry of Defence,and North Block,where the Home Ministry is,as bureaucrats work overtime to get approvals for emergent security and surveillance-related acquisitions,several of which had been bogged down for years.

Even as the high-end security and surveillance equipment is being quietly imported,hundreds of smaller security firms are engaged in fierce competition for signing foreign collaborations,and have already reported sharp increases in sales of protective and bullet-proof gear,X-ray and scanning equipment.

Says G B Singh,chairman of the Indian chapter of Asis International,the worlds largest association of security professionals: If you take into account the plans for police modernization all over the country,post 26/11,business has gone up by Rs 500 crore.

Thats just the tip. The boom began since word went out that as India learns its lessons from the Mumbai attack,its gearing up to spend an estimated 10 billion on homeland security and strengthening the armed forces. Further evidence came in the enhancement of Rs 4,500 crore in the budget for paramilitary forces including a 8.5 hike in the budget for the Intelligence Bureau.

Not surprising then that the Security Expo held at Pragati Maidan last month saw record footfalls of procurement managers from Central Police Organisations CPOs and top bureaucrats. Top security companies from around the world are already in the country,holding meetings,discussions and conducting roadshows to showcase their products.

Germanys Schneider Electric,which specializes in security consultancy and integrated packages for security,organized demos in five major cities last week. Italian giant Finmeccanica has organized a seminar later this week to display new technologies in police modernization and biometrics.

Israel is the first country to make a direct diplomatic sales pitch for a share in the Indian security pie. A senior-level delegation called the First India-Israel Homeland Security HLS Cooperation Forum,is currently on a visit to Mumbai and Delhi with the active support of the Israeli embassy in India.

Avi Hefetz,who heads the delegation,says that estimates drawn up in Israel point to a 1 billion market for selling homeland security equipment to India. And thats in just one financial year.

The delegation,consisting of 20 top Israeli companies,inked two deals earlier this week,including a 50,000 contract for a passenger monitoring system for the Airports Authority of India,Hefetz says. The system will identify suspicious passengers,based on X-ray scans and even body language,who can be directed for detailed search to security officials.

While government officers and private companies are being bombarded with a variety of security equipment,some stand out for their sheer uniqueness. An Italian firm is offering police a license plate-reader. The car-mounted system can scan hundreds of license plates within seconds,and warn officers if a rogue car is in the vicinity.

For surveillance,US firms are offering mini aerostat-mounted cameras and radars to help police keep an eye on traffic and other movements in the city. With Internet-based television now a reality,remote video surveillance where the cameras feed can be assessed anywhere around the world are also on offer.

Several other products which would have earlier been considered far too audacious and expensive are now under active consideration by agencies like the National Security Guard NSG and the Special Protection Group SPG as well as the Special Task Forces and Anti Terrorism Squads being raised by several state governments.

Delhi Polices shopping list has,for the first time,radiation detectors and Total Containment Vehicles TCVs. The latter costs Rs 2.5 crore per vehicle,built for having up to 8 kg of high explosives being safely detonated inside.

Sales pitches are ambitious. Anjani Defence Systems announced a tie-up with the German surveillance major Microdrones GmbH at the Bangalore Aero show,and displayed their micro UAV,which comes with a price tag of around Rs 20 lakh. Says proprietor R K Gupta: The micro UAV has immense potential. Forces like the NSG and SPG are very keen on it but since it is a new item,fresh specifications are being drawn up.

New Delhi-based BCL Secure Premises,headed by S K Gupta,a former Joint Director of the Intelligence Bureau,has signed a joint venture agreement with Israels Escape Rescue Systems to put on the shelf a rescue platform which can be manoeuvered at a height of 200 m,and can evacuate up to 150 people in eight minutes. Estimated cost: Rs 5 crore.

TOMORROW: The Big-ticket Purchases