INDIA, NEVER RENT YOUR SOVEREIGNTY FROM A FOREIGN BILLIONAIRE.

What happened with Starlink in Ukraine should be a wake-up call for India.

A country fighting for its survival discovered how vulnerable it becomes when critical military communications depend on a private network controlled from abroad.

India must ask itself a simple question:

If a war breaks out tomorrow, who controls the switch?

India is opening its doors to satellite internet, foreign technology, artificial intelligence, and global digital infrastructure.

That is not the problem.

The problem begins when access to essential national infrastructure becomes dependent on the decisions of a foreign corporation or its billionaire owner.

India must never place its defense communications, strategic networks, or national survival at the mercy of such decisions.

And replacing a foreign monopoly with an Indian billionaire's monopoly is not the answer either.

Real Atmanirbhar Bharat means sovereign control, independent alternatives, and the ability to function when foreign services fail or are withdrawn.

Welcome Starlink. Welcome innovation. Welcome competition.

But establish safeguards, independent capabilities, and reliable alternatives before dependence becomes irreversible.

MAKE IN INDIA MEANS LITTLE IF SOMEONE ELSE CONTROLS THE OFF SWITCH.

#India #AtmanirbharBharat #NationalSecurity #Starlink #DigitalSovereignty

My dad invested in Reliance decades ago, and recently I started reading about the company's history. ofc i knew it was a massive business group, obviously, but I hadn't really thought about how different its business was when it first started.

So basically reliance's story goes back to 1957, when Dhirubhai Ambani started a yarn trading business in Mumbai. The company later moved into textiles and manufacturing, and its 1977 public issue became a major milestone. From there, the business gradually expanded into petrochemicals, refining, retail and eventually telecommunications.

What caught my attention was how much the nature of the business changed over time. A company that started with yarn trading and textiles eventually became a major player in industries that affect how people shop, communicate and access the internet.

Jio is probably the most relatable example of that evolution. Before affordable mobile data became commonplace, many people were careful about how much internet they used (like legit on per day basis 😩). Video streaming, online classes and spending hours on social media weren't equally accessible to everyone. Jio's entry in 2016 intensified competition, pushed tariffs down and helped accelerate mobile data adoption. Other operators had to respond, and the entire really market changed.

Now we're seeing another debate around Reliance's interests in satellite communications and Starlink's proposed entry into India.

I don't think a company having an Indian origin automatically makes it right in every business decision. At the same time, I don't think a foreign company should automatically get a free pass just because it brings new technology. Both should have to compete under clear rules, with proper security checks and pricing that makes sense for the market.

I'm curious about the long term perspective here. When people look back at Reliance, do they mainly see a company that adapted successfully to changing industries, or do they think its size and influence raise legitimate concerns about competition today?

I feel both sides can be true, and that's probably what makes this discussion interesting.

नेहा बोरा ने आज कहा कि भारत में चल रहा आंदोलन बांग्लादेश के Gen Z आंदोलन की ही निरंतरता है। बांग्लादेश के राजनीतिक हलकों में इस बयान को लेकर काफी हलचल मची हुई है। दरअसल, नेहा बोरा ने समाजवादी छात्र मोर्चा नामक संगठन के सम्मेलन के लिए भेजे गए शुभकामना संदेश में यह बात कही।

लेकिन नेहा बोरा के एक बांग्लादेशी प्रशंसक के तौर पर मुझे उनसे थोड़ी और ज़िम्मेदारी की उम्मीद थी। बांग्लादेश के जुलाई आंदोलन में कई तरह की emancipatory promises यानी मुक्ति और सामाजिक बदलाव की संभावनाएँ निहित थीं। लेकिन कोई भी राजनीतिक रूप से जागरूक व्यक्ति जानता होगा कि उनमें से वास्तव में कुछ भी लागू नहीं हुआ। इसके उलट, देश ऐसी दिशा में आगे बढ़ रहा है, जहाँ भविष्य में शायद गृहयुद्ध जैसी स्थिति पैदा हो सकती है।

यह स्पष्ट है कि शेख हसीना के कई अपराध थे। लेकिन उनके सत्ता से हटने के बाद राजनीतिक वर्ग ने धार्मिक कट्टरपंथ, आर्थिक असुरक्षा और ऐसी ही दूसरी समस्याओं पर ध्यान देने के बजाय केवल सत्ता हासिल करने पर ध्यान केंद्रित किया है। यही वजह है कि आज नेहा बोरा के इस बयान ने मुझे थोड़ा असहज और विचलित महसूस कराया।

(I can't write or read hindi.i Translated it thru chatgpt so that you guys can understand it better.)

Lets take the hot one right now, the SIR process.

I think most of us would agree BJP is not "stealing votes" in the sense that they're creating fake voters and voting for themselves, but they're using the SIR process to strike off minorities and voterbases that are unlikely to vote for them, and the crazy part is most of it could be legally justified because poor & marginalized people also have a lack of access to ICT and E-governance facilities and their data could have genuinely higher discrepancy rates than other groups, and of course they have shifted the burden of proof on the doubtful voter, making re-enrollment deliberately frictional so it can't conclude before elections are done and dusted.

Another example, the brilliant Electoral Bonds instrument, masterfully crafted scheme to set up a circular nation-wide hafta-wasooli programme, businesses donate or get raided by ED/CBI.

Another example, PM Cares Fund, carefully marketed like a national, public emergency fund, bearing the Indian seal and everything, turns out it's a private fund completely out of RTI bounds.

My point is, who is so masterfully crafting these schemes? Narendra Modi is a doofus, I don't believe that guy even understands basic economics. Amit Shah? Could be but he can't be doing this alone, is there a team of consultants doing this for them?

It's like they've carefully crafted a step-by-step plan since even before 2014 and have been executing it like clockwork, it's almost beautiful how well they're looting the country, RSS learnt well from their British masters and has now outdone them in efficiency, a true six sigma political organization, Private Equity firms wish they could eat up the world's assets this efficiently.

Hi everyone!

My 4-year-old has come up with an idea for a children's book, and I’m exploring the possibility of turning it into a board book. I think it would be a lovely way to encourage their creativity and preserve something they created at this age.

I’m completely new to the world of children’s book publishing, so I’d love some advice from parents, authors, illustrators, or anyone who has gone through this process.

A few questions I have:

• Illustrations: How do you find an illustrator who specializes in children's board books? Where should I look, and what is a reasonable budget?
• AI vs. human illustrators: Has anyone used AI tools to create illustrations for a children's book? Would you recommend this, or is it better to work with a professional illustrator?
• Publishing: Is self-publishing a good option for a first-time author, especially for a board book?
• Printing: Board books seem more complicated to print than regular picture books. How do you find a reliable printer, and are there minimum order quantities?
• Ownership and rights: If I hire an illustrator or use AI-generated images, what should I know about copyright and commercial publishing rights?

My goal isn't necessarily to turn this into a business. I'd first love to create a beautiful, professionally made book based on my child's idea, although I'd be interested in exploring wider publication if it makes sense.

If you've published a children's book, worked with an illustrator, or created a book with your child, I'd really appreciate hearing about your experience, recommendations, and mistakes to avoid.

Thank you!

Hi everyone, my father has been diagnosed with cervical myelopathy. His neurologist has directly advised cervical spine surgery, with an estimated cost of around ₹5 lakh+(not exact) at the hospital we consulted.

We have an ABHA/PM-JAY card, but no mediclaim and very limited savings. We are already checking whether the surgery is covered under PM-JAY

Situation is pretty bad for us.. and Just got the news a day back

I wanted to ask doctors, hospital staff, or people who have gone through something similar in Mumbai:

Which Mumbai hospitals have actually accepted PM-JAY/MJPJAY for spine or neurosurgery and processed it cashlessly?

Are there government or charitable hospitals in Mumbai that are good for cervical spine surgery?

What extra charges should we realistically expect even if PM-JAY covers part of the treatment?

Has anyone had issues with a private hospital accepting PM-JAY but later asking for cash? How did you handle it?

Are there any Mumbai-based social workers, charitable trusts, or hospital patient-assistance desks that helped quickly in an urgent surgery case?

We mainly need practical guidance on where treatment can be affordable and how to arrange the remaining funds.

Any genuine advice or experience would really help.

Happy to share any details in dm

Thank you.

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tl;dr

Tender documents reviewed by IFF show that on 30 July 2026, Delhi Police invited bids worth ₹15.66 crore for 338 CCTV cameras across Central and New Delhi districts, described as cover for "VIP/VVIP route" on Republic Day and Independence Day. The site list places cameras at the VVIP gate of Ramlila Maidan, Turkman Gate, Delhi Gate, Rajghat, the India Gate hexagon, Mandi House and Patiala House. The specifications require face recognition on every fixed and PTZ camera, "people gathering" detection and built-in microphones, designed to integrate with the Safe City camera network. Bids closed on 20 August, 2026. On 11 October, 2026, the Commissioner of Police de-notified Jantar Mantar and named Ramlila Maidan as a designated protest site and the award for this contract may be signed any day.

Background

The Delhi Police's Provisioning & Logistics unit placed a bid bearing the registration code GEM/2026/B/7850422 on the Government e-Marketplace on 30 July 2026, which closed on 20 August. The request for proposal, 76 pages, is still titled "DRAFT RFP 338 CCTV Final". It seeks to procure 248 fixed cameras, 43 pan-tilt-zoom cameras and 47 automatic number-plate readers, with 30 days of storage, video-management software, ANPR software and a "License of Face Recognition in 10 percent of total quantity of Fixed and PTZ camera". The winning bidder runs the system for five years.

This does not seem to be financially allocated from the rupee ₹800 crore Safe City project but is a district-level purchase, from the same unit that, per an RTI reply reported by The Wire in 2025, had already installed 6,630 cameras across 50 police-station areas with face recognition on about one in ten. The same template was used for a 194-camera bid in North District in May 2026 and the pattern is spreading, district by district.

The timing is worth a note. The Cockroach Janta Party's Jantar Mantar protests over the NEET paper leak ran from 6 June 2026 until 25 July, when they were called off after the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. Five days later, on 30 July, Delhi Police placed this bid for 338 cameras along the arteries that connect Jantar Mantar, Parliament, Ramlila Maidan and the India Gate hexagon. We do not know whether one followed the other.

It comes at a time Delhi Police has told the Supreme Court that it ran facial recognition on the Jantar Mantar crowds in July 2026 and produced 2,873 "matches", a list that reporting from the Indian Express has shown to be unreliable and unlawful. The Ministry of Home Affairs has told Rajya Sabha MP Saket Gokhale that this runs under a Standing Order which the Ministry did not make public, and which we published on 2 October, however it never mentions facial recognition. The Supreme Court has a committee under Justice R. Subhash Reddy looking at wider questions of legality which include the surveillance of protesters. Subsequently on 11 October the Commissioner of Police, Anurag Kumar, issued Standing Order L&O/48/2026, which cites a Home Ministry committee and partially modifies the April 2022 Standing Order IFF had published nine days earlier. The Order de-notified Jantar Mantar and designated Ramlila Maidan, Burari Ground and CBD Ground Shahdara in its place. A “detailed and revised SOP” for the three venues, it says, will be issued separately.

Analysis

Where the cameras will be installed 

Chapter 3A of the RFP lists over 100 sites with GPS coordinates. In Central District (188 cameras, control rooms at the I.P. Estate and Darya Ganj police stations) the list runs down Mahatma Gandhi Marg from the ITO flyover past Rajghat, Shanti Van and the Salimgarh flyover below the Red Fort, then into the old Delhi areas including Ghata Masjid, Gandhi Market, Gurunanak Chowk, Turkman Gate, Asaf Ali Road and Delhi Gate. Sites 59 and 60 are, “VVIP Gate Ramleela Ground” and “Footpath Chaman Lal Marg in front of VIP gate of Ram Lila Ground”. The In and Out gates of Police Headquarters at ITO are on the list.

In New Delhi District (150 cameras, control rooms at Tilak Marg and Tughlak Road), the list covers every arm of the India Gate C-Hexagon, the Firozshah Road–Kasturba Gandhi Marg cut and W-Point on the Mandi House side, Bhagwan Das Road, the Patiala House courts, Pragati Maidan, Bhairon Marg and the Lodhi Road–Zakir Hussain Marg corridor. Out of the three new protest sites two namely, Burari and Shahdara which are 23 km and 12 km away are outside this tender while Ramlila Maidan which is 3 km from Jantar Mantar, and multiple approaches to it, including Delhi Gate, Turkman Gate and Asaf Ali Road, are on the list. We have no evidence that the two decisions were coordinated. We can say that the ground the police have chosen for protests is ground they had already chosen to watch with facial recognition.

What the cameras are specified to do

The fixed camera (Chapter 4, item 1, row 14) must carry the analytics for, “Intrusion, Tripwire, People counting/people gathering, face recognition, Tamper detection”. The PTZ (Pan-Tilt-Zoom camera) camera (item 2, row 28) must support “Face Recognition”. Even the number-plate camera (item 3, row 31) must do “Face Detection”. The video-management software (item 17, row 51), “should support Face Recognition System. FRS should become part of VMS with perpetual license.”  

Clause 1.7(f), repeated at Clause 12.2(viii), says cameras are “to be strategically placed at suitable height with structure arrangement, so as to identify and capture the face of a particular person roaming around at Critical/vulnerable points”. “People counting/people gathering” is mandatory on every fixed camera. Further, at Delhi, “People counting/people gathering" is mandatory on the fixed cameras, and at Delhi Gate and Ramlila Maidan, people gathering is the point. Every camera type has a microphone. The fixed camera has a, “Built-in mic, 1 IN/1 Out” (item 1, row 20); the PTZ and ANPR cameras have audio in and out, and the VMS (item 17, row 29) lets operators “listen to audio associated with video”. The VMS must also ship with a mobile app giving, “live video from up to 500 cameras” on iOS and Android. Nothing in the documents authorises the recording sound on a public record.

What is not there

We looked for what a lawful surveillance procurement would carry. There is no reference to the Standing Order the Ministry cited to the Parliament, to any facial recognition SOP, to Puttaswamy, or to the Digital Personal Data Protection Act. There is no privacy impact assessment, no statement of which database faces will be matched against, no similarity threshold, no rule on who may run a search or how a wrong match is corrected. The only retention rule is in Clause 1.7(e) which states that storage “should be minimum 30 days”. That is a disk size, not a data policy; there is no retention period set out for face templates, match logs or plate reads. The ANPR software is specified to read plates at 150 km/h with an accuracy standard of, “90% for day time and 70% for night time” and is not told what list it matches against or whether it links to Vahan, or some other database.

Paperwork that does not add up

The bid documents are full of errors, and some show they were copied from elsewhere. The technical specification file attached to this bid belongs to a different tender. Its title refers to “194 Nos. CCTV cameras in the jurisdiction of North District”, and its pages are numbered “Page 35 of 72”, so it was lifted from that earlier bid.

The numbers don’t add up either. The summary table in the Request for Proposal (RFP) mixes up two kinds of cameras. One kind is PTZ cameras, which can be turned and zoomed. The other is ANPR cameras, which read number plates. As a result, the bill of quantities orders 43 PTZ and 47 ANPR cameras, but the list of sites actually needs 47 PTZ and 43 ANPR cameras.

The specification for the video management software (VMS) is copied from one company’s product brochure. The copying is so close that it still mentions “the VX System” and an “Enhanced Decoder”. GeM’s own rules say a bid written around one vendor’s product is void. Even the map is wrong. The coordinates given for one camera place it about 40 km east of Delhi.

The Integrity Pact is meant to guard against corruption in large contracts. This one names two independent monitors who were appointed in March 2018, and their term has since run out under the Central Vigilance Commission’s rules. In April 2025 the Ministry appointed a new monitor to oversee every purchase above ₹5 crore, but the pact doesn’t mention that monitor at all. These are only a few examples. In all, we have found 28 such defects in the bid. A system that will decide, with no stated accuracy threshold at all, that a face at Delhi Gate belongs on a list is being bought on documents that cannot keep their own camera counts straight. 

Action

We are filing RTI applications with the Provisioning & Logistics unit for the status, evaluation and award of this bid and the North District bid, the sanction for 338 cameras, the FRS software, database and threshold, retention periods for footage, face templates and plate reads, whether audio will be recorded, and whether the system feeds the C4i centre. Kindly write to us at [media@internetfreedom.in](mailto:media@internetfreedom.in) if you have any suggestions on other advocacy actions which we can undertake. 

Important documents

1. GeM bid document GEM/2026/B/7850422, 30 July 2026 (link)
2. Request for Proposal, "DRAFT RFP 338 CCTV Final", with Chapter 3A site list and Chapter 4 specifications (link)
3. Technical specification file as uploaded to GeM, titled for North District (link)
4. Bill of quantities (link)
5. Delhi Police order of 11 October 2026 de-notifying Jantar Mantar, as reported by Business Standard (link)
6. IFF, Delhi Police's facial recognition sweep at Jantar Mantar is unreliable and unlawful (link)
7. IFF, IFF makes public the Delhi Police order cited for facial recognition (link)
8. The Wire / Pulitzer Center, AI took over policing in Delhi. Who bore the brunt? (link)

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