Which Indian Force Guards Which Sector: NDTV Explains
New Delhi:
In the wake of heightened tensions along the India-Pakistan border, Home Minister Amit Shah chaired a high-level review meeting on Friday to assess preparedness across India's frontiers and critical infrastructure, including airports and metro networks.
The guarding of India's international borders during peacetime is not the responsibility of the Indian Army. This critical function is performed by paramilitary forces under the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), as per long-standing national security protocols and international practice.
India's borders span over 15,000 kilometres, touching seven neighbours, more than almost any other country, barring Russia and China. The BSF, ITBP, SSB, CISF, and other paramilitary forces form the backbone of this structure.
Specifically, the Border Security Force (BSF) is India's primary force guarding the international boundary with Pakistan. It secures approximately 3,323 km of the India-Pakistan border spanning Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan and Gujarat.
The BSF's mandate includes preventing trans-border crimes such as smuggling, infiltration, illegal migration, and human trafficking. In peacetime, the BSF operates under civilian command through the MHA. In the event of war, the BSF is repositioned behind the front lines and functions in coordination with the Indian Army.
At that point, the Army assumes control of the Line of Control (LoC) or International Border (IB), and the BSF provides auxiliary support, including evacuation assistance, logistics coordination with state governments, and maintenance of law and order in rear areas.
The territory adjoining the international border is under state jurisdiction, with the Centre operating through the Home Ministry.
The roles of India's various border guarding forces were restructured following the 1999 Kargil conflict. The Kargil Review Committee, chaired by analyst K Subrahmanyam, had flagged serious lapses in coordination and oversight among India's border-guarding units.
The committee's recommendations were subsequently ratified by the Cabinet Committee on Security in 2000.
Accordingly, the BSF guards the borders with Pakistan and Bangladesh. The Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) secures the India-China frontier. The Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) guards borders with Nepal and Bhutan. The Assam Rifles, though administratively under the MHA, is operationally controlled by the Ministry of Defence and manages the India-Myanmar border.
Each force is trained and equipped in accordance with the topographical, climatic, and geopolitical peculiarities of its assigned region. For instance, the ITBP is deployed in high-altitude Himalayan terrain, while the BSF deals with a mixture of desert, riverine, and plains sectors.
The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) is tasked with safeguarding critical infrastructure. Unlike other paramilitary forces that manage borders, the CISF is a specialised agency protecting national assets such as Airports (both civilian and military dual-use), Metro systems, nuclear and thermal power plants, space research centres, mines, refineries, steel plants and strategic government buildings
Established in 1969, the CISF's role has expanded in proportion to the growth of critical infrastructure. The force now provides security to over 350 industrial units, and maintains a strong presence at more than 60 airports across the country.
The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) works closely with the CISF.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Indian Express
4 hours ago
- Indian Express
23,000 personnel, AI-enabled cameras: Ahmedabad all set for Rath Yatra today
The Gujarat Police is focussing on preventing a stampede-like situation or a security threat during the 148th Rath Yatra that will begin from the 400-year-old Jagannath temple in Ahmedabad on Friday morning. Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah will perform the 'mangala aarti' at 4 am at the temple situated in Jamalpur, right before the chariots of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balram and their sister Subhadra will proceed for the yatra. While the police has already deployed Artificial Intelligence -aided cameras for crowd control, besides over 23,000 personnel from the police, para-military and civil defence, in a post on X, the Ahmedabad city police warned action against those posting provocative or fake messages on social media or forwarding them. The 16-km-long route of the Rath Yatra will pass through narrow streets and some communally sensitive areas of the walled city where the police have identified around 152 'sensitive points' along the route. 'The Ahmedabad police will be constantly monitoring social media. Action will be taken against illegal activities, rumour-mongering and (those) circulating fake messages,' the Ahmedabad police posted. On Thursday, like every year, Congress leaders, including the Congress Legislative Party leader Amit Chavda, visited the temple and performed an aarti.
Time of India
4 hours ago
- Time of India
Build bunkers in border dists, CM tells Niti Aayog
Chandigarh: Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann Thursday urged a NITI Aayog team to make the state's border districts "war resilient" by constructing bunkers and air shelters for urban populations. He also demanded Punjab's "rightful" share in the waters of the Indus river and reiterated the need for a Yamuna-Satluj link (YSL) canal due to the state's water crisis. During discussions with the NITI Aayog team, led by member Ramesh Chand and programme director Sanjeet Singh, Mann said in the wake of the recent skirmishes with Pakistan, there was also a need to construct alternate connecting routes to border villages, emergency operations centres along with response command and control centres in each district, and sensors for street lights. He said trauma centres in border cities should be equipped with secondary and tertiary care. "Communication equipment and secure lines for seamless communication with Air Force, Army, and BSF establishments should be ensured, cyber security measures should be strengthened, resource mapping through GatiShakti, and capacity building of district civil defence and disaster response workforce should be ensured," he said. To bolster the second line of defence in border regions, Mann emphasised the need to fortify the Border Wing Home Guards Scheme, extending its coverage to all 2,107 border villages. He requested an increase in the daily duty allowance for jawans from the present Rs 45 to at least Rs 655, stressing its importance for improved coordination between border villages and BSF. Mann also sought Rs 2,829 crore for upgrading infrastructure and equipment, including jammers, to combat the smuggling of weapons and drugs via drones. The CM said a large area of the border lacked jamming systems and advocated for a revision of the Centre's vibrant village programme to include more border villages of Punjab. He pointed out that Punjab's border districts are densely populated, with 1,500 villages within 10km of the border, yet only 101 villages had been selected under the scheme. Mann said border districts of Punjab needed to be supported along the lines of special incentives extended to Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Jammu and Kashmir, to revitalise the state's trade and industrial sector. Mann also sought a special economic package for Punjab, including Rs 2,000 crore for a special economic zone and the development of industrial corridors along the Bharat Mala
Time of India
5 hours ago
- Time of India
Hindi not rival, but ally to other languages: Amit Shah
New Delhi: Days after facing criticism over his remarks on English, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday said "Hindi is not a rival to any Indian language", but friends with all Indian languages and there should be no opposition to any foreign language in the country. Addressing the golden jubilee celebrations of the Central government's official language department, Shah also asked all the state governments to take the initiative to impart medical and engineering education in the local language. Indian languages must be used to conduct administrative works, he said. "I sincerely believe that Hindi can't be opposed to any Indian language. Hindi is a friend of all Indian languages," he said. Hindi and other Indian languages together can take the self-esteem of the country's culture to its zenith, Shah said. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like This may be of interest to you! Undo The home minister also said everyone should get rid of the slavery mentality and until a person takes pride in his own language, or does not express himself in his language, that person cannot be free from this mentality. "There is no opposition to any language. There should not be any opposition to any foreign language. But there should be an urge to glorify one's own language, there should be an urge to speak one's own language, there should be an urge to think in one's own language," he said. Live Events Shah said that for any nation, the education policy is a reflection of the path the country will take in the coming 50 years. The NEP-2020 lays emphasis on teaching the mother tongue and the local language up to Class 5 and Class 8. "The development of our languages has been supported in principle and 104 books of the primary classes have been started in 22 states and union territories," Shah noted. Shah said translated teaching material and books have been made available for classes 1 to 12 for Indian Sign Language. More than 200 TV channels provide educational content in 29 languages and over 366,000 e-content in 133 dialects, including 7 foreign languages, is made available on the DIKSHA platform. He said this initiative of the NEP will go a long way in strengthening the official language and Indian languages. He said the examination for the post of constable in the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) is now conducted in Indian languages and 95% of the applicants are taking the examination in their mother tongue.
