NEW DELHI: Amid 61 drone activities detected by the Border Security Force (BSF) on the western border in the past one year, home minister Amit Shah on Saturday said anti-drone solutions were being actively worked upon by agencies like DRDO and that these would be deployed “very soon” to step up border surveillance.
He said gaps in border fencing would be plugged by 2022, adding that it was the Modi government that gave India an independent security policy that, while resolving to keep peace with all, provided for a befitting response if a challenge was posed to the country’s borders or sovereignty.
Prioritising the drone threat, Shah said DRDO and other agencies are busy developing anti-drone technologies. “I am confident that we shall secure our borders soon with indigenous anti-drone solutions,” he said in his address at the 18th BSF investiture ceremony at Vigyan Bhawan here. Ministers of state for home Nityanand Rai and Ajay Kumar Mishra, home secretary Ajay Bhalla, IB and RAW chiefs attended the event.
Shah’s assurance on early deployment of anti-drone solutions comes close on the heels of the first ever case of a drone being used to bomb an IAF facility in India took place recently. Though the drone attack at Jammu – suspected to have been carried out by Pakistan-based terrorist outfit Lashker e Taiba — did not cause any casualty, it did underline the need for deployment of anti-drone systems to rule out threats from the skies.
The home minister said border forces should also prepare to tackle other technology-based security challenges based on artificial intelligence and robotics. “We are pushing for research and development in counter-drone technologies but will need to draw up a long-term plan,” he told officers and jawans at the BSF event that saw 23 bravehearts of the force being decorated for gallantry and meritorious service. He referred to the Vajpayee government for introducing the concept of “one border one force”.
Shah asked the security forces to make efforts to check migration from border villages by ensuring that the benefits of development schemes reached there.
BSF DG Rakesh Asthana, in his welcome address, informed that the force personnel had detected four tunnels and 61 drone activities along the western border in the past one year. It also seized 632 kg narcotics worth Rs 2,786 crore, 55 weapons including AK-series guns and 4,223 rounds of ammunition, apart from having killed 22 infiltrators and apprehended 165 infiltrators and smugglers.
On the western border, BSF troops seized 12,881 kg of narcotics, 61 weapons, 7,976 rounds of ammunition. Besides, 12 infiltrators and smugglers were killed and 3,984 apprehended.
Shah underlined that as compared to 7,270 metres of bridges built from 2008 to 2014, 14,450 metres were built in 2014-2020. Also 4,764 km road length was laid with a road construction budget of Rs 44,000 crore, as compared to 3,610 km or roads built with a budget of Rs 23,000 crore during 2008-14. While a single tunnel was constructed in 2008-14, six were built in 2014-2020.
He said gaps in border fencing would be plugged by 2022, adding that it was the Modi government that gave India an independent security policy that, while resolving to keep peace with all, provided for a befitting response if a challenge was posed to the country’s borders or sovereignty.
Prioritising the drone threat, Shah said DRDO and other agencies are busy developing anti-drone technologies. “I am confident that we shall secure our borders soon with indigenous anti-drone solutions,” he said in his address at the 18th BSF investiture ceremony at Vigyan Bhawan here. Ministers of state for home Nityanand Rai and Ajay Kumar Mishra, home secretary Ajay Bhalla, IB and RAW chiefs attended the event.
Shah’s assurance on early deployment of anti-drone solutions comes close on the heels of the first ever case of a drone being used to bomb an IAF facility in India took place recently. Though the drone attack at Jammu – suspected to have been carried out by Pakistan-based terrorist outfit Lashker e Taiba — did not cause any casualty, it did underline the need for deployment of anti-drone systems to rule out threats from the skies.
The home minister said border forces should also prepare to tackle other technology-based security challenges based on artificial intelligence and robotics. “We are pushing for research and development in counter-drone technologies but will need to draw up a long-term plan,” he told officers and jawans at the BSF event that saw 23 bravehearts of the force being decorated for gallantry and meritorious service. He referred to the Vajpayee government for introducing the concept of “one border one force”.
Shah asked the security forces to make efforts to check migration from border villages by ensuring that the benefits of development schemes reached there.
BSF DG Rakesh Asthana, in his welcome address, informed that the force personnel had detected four tunnels and 61 drone activities along the western border in the past one year. It also seized 632 kg narcotics worth Rs 2,786 crore, 55 weapons including AK-series guns and 4,223 rounds of ammunition, apart from having killed 22 infiltrators and apprehended 165 infiltrators and smugglers.
On the western border, BSF troops seized 12,881 kg of narcotics, 61 weapons, 7,976 rounds of ammunition. Besides, 12 infiltrators and smugglers were killed and 3,984 apprehended.
Shah underlined that as compared to 7,270 metres of bridges built from 2008 to 2014, 14,450 metres were built in 2014-2020. Also 4,764 km road length was laid with a road construction budget of Rs 44,000 crore, as compared to 3,610 km or roads built with a budget of Rs 23,000 crore during 2008-14. While a single tunnel was constructed in 2008-14, six were built in 2014-2020.
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