Gujarat based central university, Rashtriya Raksha University (RRU), will provide training on coastal security and drone licenses to employees of Adani Enterprise Ltd as the two signed a pact on Wednesday. The university will “share facilities required for academic and research purposes by Adani Group Security personnel with specific clearance,” RRU said in a statement.

Adani’s port in Kerala recently faced violent protests by the fishermen against the construction of a port by the group. “Any employee whether in security or senior management can undertake this training/course. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) also aims to provide drone training and licenses to the interested employees of Adani group,” RRU’s director at School of Applied Sciences, Engineering and Technology (SASET) Nimesh Dave told.

It may be recalled that Adani defence & aerospace is manufacturing unmanned aerial vehicles to support Indian Armed Forces and paramilitary forces. Dave further said, “There are new threat dimensions with cyber security emerging as big challenges as data can be stolen. We have plans to provide courses on information security, data security, and forensics. We will further train them to manage critical incidents at the facility.”

The Gandhinagar-based university was earlier known as Raksha Shakti University and was set up in 2010 by the Gujarat government when Narendra Modi was the chief minister. It was given a national university status through the Rashtriya Raksha University Act passed by Parliament in October 2020. The university has recently signed agreements with the Uttar Pradesh government, National Security Guards, Indian Navy and Delhi Police for providing training and knowledge in various fields related to policing and security.

The head of Centre for Corporate and Private Security Studies (CCPSS) at RRU Narendra Singh Sirola told ET, “We can have programmes on coastal security because Adani has certain number of ports and there are rules, regulations and laws applicable such as the International Ship and Port Facility (ISPS) Code for the maritime security. Various other activities will be chalked out and planned in the future.” Enforcement agencies in the past have seized large quantities of heroin from Mundra port in Gujarat, owned by Adani group. In September last year, 3000 kilograms of heroin worth Rs 21,000 crores was seized with links to Iran and Afghanistan.

The agreement will also help the students at the university to secure internship and placement with the business conglomerate, added officials.