Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, Shri G. Kishan Reddy took part in the Raising Day function organized in Greater Noida on the 59th Raising Day of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP).

Acknowledging the services rendered by the ITBP, Shri Reddy said that the Force is working with zeal and high order of professionalism even in the uncongenial and extreme conditions on our mountainous borders. He said whether it is battling terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir or Left Wing Extremism in Chhattisgarh, the ITBP has performed with excellence.

Highlights

    • Ministry of Home Affairs has given approval to the ITBP to establish 47 border outposts. 

    • This year 28 types of new vehicles have been provided. 

    • A budget of Rs 7,223 crore has been allocated for the ITBP and more than Rs. 15 crore has been sanctioned for management.

    • During the Lockdown, essential items were supplied by the ITBP to people residing in remote areas.

    • ITBP was given the responsibility of running the world's largest COVID -19 hospital in Chhatarpur, named the Sardar Patel Covid Hospital, which was set by ITBP as an example of service to humanity.

    • Whether the youth in Chhattisgarh have to be connected with sports, to provide clean drinking water to the general public, or to set up medical camps in remote areas, ITBP Jawans have worked tirelessly. They also saved precious human lives by transporting patients to hospitals on foot for several kilometres.

    • ITBP Jawans largely inspired the public to be fit through the Fit India Movement. The ITBP also contributes significantly to the nation’s economic development. The ITBP has played a part in thwarting efforts from across the border aimed at slowing our economic development.

    • Shri. Reddy presented six Presidential Police Medals to ITBP personnel and 23 Police Medals for Meritorious Services.

About ITBP

It is one of the seven Central Armed Police Forces of India, raised on 24 October, 1962 during India-China War, the ITBP primarily guards the nation’s 3,488-kilometre-long borders in the Himalayas at the BOPs located at altitudes ranging from 3,000 to 18,800 feet. Apart from guarding the border; the Force is also deployed for Anti Naxal operations and other internal security duties.

In September 1996, the Parliament of India enacted the "Indo-Tibetan Border Police Force Act, 1992" to "provide for the constitution and regulation" of the ITBP "for ensuring the security of the borders of India and for matters connected therewith". It started with 4 battalions, has, since restructuring in 1978, undergone expansion to a force of 60 Battalions with 15 Sectors and 05 Frontiers as of 2018 with a sanctioned strength of 89,432.

The ITBP is trained in the Civil Medical Camp, disaster management, and nuclear, biological and chemical disasters. ITBP personnel have been deployed abroad in UN peacekeeping missions in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Sierra Leone, Haiti, Western Sahara, Sudan, Afghanistan, and elsewhere. Two battalions of ITBP are deputed to National Disaster Response Force.

ITBP is a multi-dimensional force which primarily has 5 functions

    • Vigil on the northern borders, detection and prevention of border violations, and promotion of the sense of security among the local populace.

    • Check illegal immigration and trans-border smuggling.

    • Provide security to sensitive installations and threatened VIPs

    • Restore and preserve order in any area in the event of a disturbance.

    • To maintain peace.

(The author is a trainer for Civil Services aspirants. The views expressed here are personal.)