In an interview, Kaushal Bheda, Director of Pelorus Technologies, spoke with TimesTech on how cybersecurity and drone defence are reshaping India’s security priorities. He compared cybersecurity to essential insurance, highlighted the growing risks of weaponized civilian drones, and stressed the importance of building indigenous AI. Kaushal underlined that India’s evolving threat landscape demands protective bubbles, intelligence sharing, and sovereign technologies to secure critical infrastructure and strengthen national defence.
Read the full interview here:
TimesTech: General Naravane compared defence spending to insurance. In the digital era, how do you see cybersecurity investments serving as insurance against modern warfare for both government and critical industries?
Kaushal: Just like health insurance, you don’t buy it expecting to get sick tomorrow, you buy it to protect against a potential health related disaster. Cybersecurity investment is the same. It is the premium we must pay to protect our critical digital assets. The sad part is that in India, we still think of this insurance as an avoidable cost, a line item to be cut.
TimesTech: India faces threats on both physical borders and in cyberspace. How do you see the integration of cyber defence with traditional defence strategies evolving in India’s security doctrine?
Kaushal: As I’ve written about before, we will need to create “protective bubbles” around our cities and critical infrastructure. This means protecting our assets from a mix of kinetic threats, information warfare, and cyber threats all at once. The adversary will only get more adept in their attacks. What we’ve seen in the past won’t be what’s coming in the future.
TimesTech: Pelorus Technologies is tackling drone-based threats, one of the most underestimated risks today. How serious is the challenge of weaponized civilian drones for India, and what innovations are being deployed to counter them?
Kaushal: Through Pelorus’s partnerships with strong OEMs in every imaginable area of national security, we see the ground reality. The threat is serious at our borders, airports, refineries, and power stations. Civilian drones can be used to drop explosives, narcotics, or weapon parts, and the use of drone swarms only increases the complexity of the attack.
TimesTech: AI/ML is increasingly being leveraged in defence-tech offerings. How is AI changing the game for real-time threat detection and mitigation, and why is building indigenous AI solutions critical for India?
Kaushal: A human analyst can watch a few screens, but an AI can monitor thousands of data points simultaneously—from satellite imagery and drone feeds to network traffic. Building indigenous AI is critical for two reasons:
- Security: Foreign-made AI can have hidden backdoors, giving another country control. We cannot risk that.
- Customization: An Indian AI solution can be trained specifically on our adversaries’ tactics and our unique terrain, making it far more effective for us.
TimesTech: Pelorus was born out of the 26/11 attacks and has worked on countering major threats since then. How have India’s threat perceptions shifted from 2008 to the present, and what lessons can we draw?
Kaushal: After 26/11, the focus was squarely on urban terrorism and coastal security. In the decade that followed, attention expanded to cross-border terrorism and the protection of our military bases. Since 2019, things have shifted again—cyber espionage, ransomware, drone incursions, and information operations have taken priority. The lesson is that intelligence sharing, local capability for spares and updates, and strong public communication are just as important as the technology itself.
TimesTech: Do you see India becoming a global exporter of sovereign defence-tech?
Kaushal: Yes. There is no stopping India and its growth. Our complex security challenges act as a real-world lab for us and we can build solutions that are battle-tested and resilient and at the same time trusted and cost-effective.
