India's Defence Services Staff College Unveils Advanced Multimodal AI Platform DRONA 2.0
The Defence Services Staff College (DSSC), a premier tri-services staff college located in Wellington, Tamil Nadu, has officially launched DRONA 2.0, an innovative indigenous multimodal generative Artificial Intelligence platform. Inaugurated on August 18, 2026, by Lieutenant General Manish Erry, Commandant of DSSC, alongside Dr. Vivek Raghavan, Co-Founder of Sarvam AI, this initiative marks a significant leap in integrating cutting-edge AI into professional military education and strategic studies in India.
DRONA 2.0, which stands for DSSC Resource Optimising Neural AI, is an upgraded version of its predecessor, DRONA 1.0, introduced in June 2025. The latest iteration leverages Sarvam AI's powerful Sarvam 105B large language model, combined with other open-source models, all deployed on a state-of-the-art GPU server within DSSC's secure network. This multimodal system provides advanced capabilities such as reasoning, document analysis, image recognition and generation, speech-to-text and text-to-speech conversion, automated translation, and the ability to generate podcasts and presentations, along with data analytics tools.
The launch of DRONA 2.0 is complemented by a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between DSSC and Sarvam AI, fostering continued collaboration on the platform's development and future AI-based applications. This strategic move by the Indian Armed Forces underscores a strong commitment to self-reliance in critical technologies and balancing the benefits of generative AI with robust security protocols. Before its deployment, DRONA 2.0 underwent extensive security audits and received formal certification from Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff and the Defence Cyber Agency, ensuring the protection of sensitive academic and strategic material. The platform aims to provide faculty and student officers with rapid, intelligent access to the college's academic repository, supporting advanced studies and research in defence and strategic domains.
