There are seven main divisions of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF): Border Security Force (BSF), Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), Assam Rifles (AR), National Security Guard (NSG) and Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB). Of these, recruitment to first five is done by the UPSC through Central Armed Police Forces (ACs) Examination. Let’s know about these five forces in detail.

Border Security Force

The Border Security Force (BSF) is the border defence organisation of India, alias first line of defence. Established on December 1, 1965, it was raised in the wake of the Indo-Pakistan War. The main role of the BSF is to keep a watch over international borders against intrusion during peacetime and preventing transnational crime. It guards the Indian borders shared with Pakistan and Bangladesh and is deployed both on the International Border (IB) and Line of Control (LoC).

Strength: The BSF has grown 186 battalions with a sanctioned strength of 257,363 personnel including an expanding air wing, marine wing, an artillery regiment, and commando units.

Central IndustrialSecurity Force

Raised in 1969 after the recommendations of Justice B Mukherji, its role is to monitor the Central Government industrial complexes. However, the CISF is no longer a PSU-centric organisation. Instead, it has become a premier multi-skilled security agency of the country, mandated to provide security to major critical infrastructure installations of the country. It is currently providing security cover to nuclear installations, space establishments, airports, seaports, power plants, sensitive government buildings and many heritage monuments. A unique feature associated with CISF is that it has a fire wing, which provides assistance during major fire outbreaks.

Strength: Its current active strength is 1,48,371 personnel. In April 2017, the government raised the sanctioned strength from 145,000 to 180,000 personnel.

Indo-Tibetan Border Police

Raised on October 24, 1962, in the wake of Sino-India War, the ITBP personnel monitor the borders and also stop smuggling and illegal immigration. The ITBP also has a water wing, which guards the riverine borders of the Himalayan region which includes Pangong Lake, the Brahmaputra region in Arunachal Pradesh, and the Indus in Jammu and Kashmir.

Strength: The ITBP, which started with four battalions, has since restructuring in 1978 has undergone expansion to a force of 60 Battalions with 15 Sectors and 5 Frontiers as of 2018 with a sanctioned strength of 89,432.

Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB)

Established in 1963, the SSB guards the Indo-Nepal and Indo-Bhutan borders. It was only in 2014 that the government approved the recruitment of women as combat officers in SSB. Formerly known as the Special Service Bureau, their job is to control anti-national activities.

Strength: As of 2017, it has 76,337 active personnel in 73 battalions.

Central Reserve Police Force

Established in 1939, its main role is to assist the state police or UT police in maintaining law and order. It is deployed in every part of the country, actively looking after the internal security. The CRPF contingents are also being deployed in the UN missions. CRPF also plays a major role during the General Election. The Mahila Battalion (88th Battalion of CRPF) commissioned on March 30, 1986, is the world’s first paramilitary force comprised entirely of women. CRPF is further bifurcated into two units: Rapid Action Force (RAF) and Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (COBRA)

Strength: With 239 battalions and various other establishments, the CRPF is considered India’s largest paramilitary force and has a sanctioned strength of more than 3,00,000 personnel as of 2017.

Amir Karim Tantray

Tribune News Service

Bhaderwah (Doda), October 11

Infiltration from the Pakistani side is not confined to the Line of Control (LoC) and International Border (IB) in Jammu and Kashmir. The militants are now trying to infiltrate through other borders outside the state. This was disclosed by Northern Command chief, Lt Gen Ranbir Singh, today during an interaction with the media after inaugurating ‘Sangam’ youth festival at the Bhaderwah campus of the University of Jammu (JU) here.

“There have been several reports regarding infiltration by terrorists into J&K. However, as far as the counter-infiltration grid is concerned, it is very strong and we are able to thwart the infiltration bids at the LoC itself. It is a multi-tier grid and if militants try to sneak in by breaching the first grid, the second grid will catch them. But if they manage to breach the second grid also, they are eliminated by other grids,” he said.

“There are reports that infiltration is taking place but since the grid is strong on the LoC, we have reports that infiltration is taking place from other borders and from there onwards, they try to come to J&K through Lakhanpur and other areas. But be assured that we will be able to stop the infiltration in the best possible manner,” he added.

The Army commander said terror camps and launching pads inside Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) were active and around 500 terrorists were always present there. “In J&K, 200 to 300 terrorists are active and around 500 terrorists are present in launching pads and terror camps across the LoC. But the number is approximate and keeps changing,” he said.

He said militants in the state were facing a shortage of weapons. “It is the reason they are attacking police stations and snatching rifles from SPOs,” he said.

Speaking on the Kashmir valley, he said the situation was improving since the abrogation of Articles 370 and 35A.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the luxury Taj resort Fisherman’s Cove in Mamallapuram. PTI

Sandeep Dikshit
Tribune News Service
Mamallapuram, October 12

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said that their second informal summit here heralds the start of a new era in India-China relations. The ‘Chennai vision’, he hoped, would build on the first informal summit between India and China last year in Wuhan that had given fresh stability and momentum in bilateral relations.

Strategic communication between the two countries has led to increased stability, he underlined in his opening remarks at the beginning of delegation-level talks. PM Modi and XiJinpinghave met 17 times at structured summits and two informal summits, including the one in Mamallapuram. He recalled that at the Wuhan meeting, the two leaders had decided not to allow differences to fester into disputes.

PM Modi began the second day of the informal summit by “plogging’’ on the beach behind his luxury hotel. He was televised picking up trash from the beach while exercising and taking in the scenery. With no one present on the entire beach and a couple of TV cameras for company, the PM was dressed in a black tracksuit and picked up the trash with bare hands.

Later he paced in the foyer of the beach resort while waiting for Xi to arrive and then sat next to the driver in a battery-operated vehicle while XI and the interpreters sat behind him as they drove down to a retreat at the resort for nearly 45 minutes of one-to-one talks, picking up the threads from Friday’s five hours of discussions between them, including at a sumptuous dinner which stretched late into the night.

The Chinese President will leave for Nepal after wrapping up talks with PM Modi. He had met Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, invited at China’s request, two days before leaving for India.

Xi, however, was circumspect in his opening remarks. “I may follow up on the proposals and issues discussed yesterday. I will make some responses. I’m sure that our discussions today will further bring forward our relations,’’ he observed.

The leaders then broke for delegation-level talks. Besides PM Modi, the Indian side included National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale.

Xi was more forthcoming on the Indian hospitality, stating that he was “really overwhelmed’’ and the trip to South India was a memorable experience for me and us [the delegation].’’

The two leaders had met on Friday evening and toured the temples of Mamallapuram that was followed by a cultural programme and dinner. In a late night briefing, Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale said the two leaders discussed bilateral issues and their respective national visions. Today, he said, they will touch on regional and international issues.

India will soon have a combat aircraft rivalling Lockheed Martin’s F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning II of the United States of America, China’s Chengdu J-20 and Russian Sukhoi Su-57. Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria on Tuesday announced that the development of 5th Generation advanced multi-role combat aircraft has been launched in a massive boost to the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) programme.

Pitching strongly for an indigenous weapons platforms to arm the Indian Air Force (IAF), ACM Bhadauria’s stress on India going ahead with its own 5th Generation stealth fighter means that IAF would not consider Su-57. He had on October 4, too, during a press conference made it clear that IAF would not go for any foreign-made 5th Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA). Russia is actively looking for buyers for the Su-57 which has entered serial production and 76 fighters will start joining its aerospace force starting end of 2019.

The supersonic AMCA is being developed by the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). The all-weather multirole AMCA is likely to have twin-engines with stealth features. It will in all probability be single-seater combat aircraft.
Along with the Rafale, Sukhoi Su-30 MKI and Light Combat Aircraft Tejas, the AMCA will be IAF’s backbone in the coming decades. A naval version of the 5th Generation fighter will also be developed for Indian Navy’s aircraft carriers which currently operate the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-29K.

According to IAF’s Air Staff Requirements (ASR) for the AMCA issued in April 2010, the aircraft must have a high degree of stealth, ability to carry weapons internally as well as externally, internal fuel capacity, be able to super cruise and perform the role of both air-to-air to air-to-ground attacks. With the AMCA will primarily engage targets at beyond visual range, it will also have a powerful thrust vectoring engine for supermanoeuvrability for better dogfighting capabilities.

ISLAMABAD: Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman was so ups ..

Ajay Banerjee in New Delhi

India is nowadays living under a ‘threat’ of possible terror strikes engineered by terrorists trained and based in Pakistan. Such a strike could result in India retaliating militarily and even spiral out into a short skirmish or war fanned by rhetoric-oriented media on either side.

The lives of almost 12.5 crore people on either side of the divide are at risk in case nuclear warheads get used.

Since August 5, the day India changed the special status of Jammu and Kashmir, there have been reports of Pakistan activating terror camps. Indian agencies have intercepted communication to say some 60 such terrorists are believed to have entered India in the past two months and another 500 odd are in Pakistan.

Terror strikes pose a major threat to not just Army bases but also air bases in North India, which hold war-fighting assets of the IAF like MiG 29 (at Adampur), Apache and Mi35 attack copters (Pathankot), Sukhoi 30 (Sirsa, Bathinda and Halwara) and Jaguar (Ambala). Besides this, long-distance trains, metros, malls and entertainment centres like movie theatres in big cities are at risk, is the warning from security agencies.

Templates for retaliation

New Delhi will retaliate to terror strikes. Two templates have been cast — one was the land-based surgical strikes at five different terror camps in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir on September 29, 2016, and the second air strikes at Balakot on February 26 this year to destroy a terror camp. In both cases, India was responding to major terror strikes — one on a military camp at Uri and the other on a CRPF convoy at Pulwama.

Former Northern Army Commander Lt Gen DS Hooda (retd) says, “Pakistani deep state will not stop its efforts in attempting to carry out terror attacks in India. Infiltration has been stepped up and the situation at the Line of Control (LoC) is marked by heavy exchange of fire.”

Since the last week of September, the Indian Army has carried out mock drills ‘to flush out terrorists’ from major facilities, including the civil airport of Amritsar. The Indian Air Force fighter jets carried out low-altitude flying on October 1. IAF jets overflying Punjab broke the ‘sound barrier’, resulting in a sonic boom and fears that ‘someone’ was being ‘chased’, hence the high speed. “It was a routine exercise” is what IAF officials said later, explaining that the sonic boom was part of it.

An assessment of the Pentagon says India could be attacked by Pakistan-trained terrorists. The US Assistant Secretary of Defence for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs, Randall Shriver, told an audience in Washington on October 2: “Many have concerns that Pakistan keeps a lid on militant groups that might conduct cross-border activities as a result of the Kashmir decisions.”

Changes post Mumbai hold key

The period 2001-2008 looks far away. Terrorists launched audacious attacks in mainland India, including the ones on Parliament (December 2001) and Mumbai (November 2008). Within this period, a series of bomb blasts rocked several Indian cities, all carried out by what was called the ‘Indian Mujahideen’.

Post-Mumbai, radical changes were made in the functioning of the security and Intelligence agencies. This included changes to the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) by giving sweeping powers to agencies, including that of arrest. An approach of joint operations and information sharing through an established channel called the multi-agency centre (MAC) works seamlessly. Things did turn around, random bomb blasts were controlled, but the Kashmir situation continued to fester.

In the past few years, barring the attack on the Pathankot air base in 2016, gun-toting terrorists have been restricted to the Kashmir valley, where terrorists have tried to storm military bases like Uri, Nagrota, Sanjuwan, etc.

Threat of war or nuclear war

An escalation into a war-type scenario will boil down to what choice Pakistan makes and how India responds. Islamabad can either risk its own soldiers and trigger a war for which it may not be prepared, or else it could continue with the low-cost option of waging a proxy war through terrorists and keep the Indian Army on its toes.

But does Pakistan have the military and economic strength to ignite a full-scale war with India? Lt Gen Subrata Saha (retd), a former commander of the Srinagar-based 15 Corps, has a pertinent query: “Can Pakistan justify a war to its own people? Do they have the military strength to fight one and what is the intention of such a war?”

Pakistan will opt for a proxy war for now, says Lt Gen Saha, who is now a member of the National Security Advisory Board (NSAB).

Almost 125 million (12.5 crore) people are at a risk of losing their lives in case India and Pakistan open up their nuclear arsenal. Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, in a recent editorial in New York Times, unsheathed the nuclear sabre, saying: “If the world does nothing to stop the Indian assault on Kashmir and its people, there will be consequences for the whole world as two nuclear-armed states get ever closer to a direct military confrontation.”

A study by researchers from the University of Colorado and Rutgers University in the US says a nuclear war between India and Pakistan could, in less than a week, kill 50-125 million people — more than the death toll during all six years of World War II, and lead to a global climate catastrophe. It examined how such a hypothetical future conflict would have consequences that could ripple across the globe.

The study, published in the journal Science Advances, looked at a war scenario that may occur between India and Pakistan in 2025.

India and Pakistan have almost an equal number of nuclear warheads: 140-150. New Delhi holds the edge in having missiles with greater range and the ability to launch a strike from undersea using a submarine.

Lt Gen Hooda adds, “Unless Pakistan tones down its rhetoric and desists from pushing in terrorists, it could lead to a major incident between the two countries.”

So, can China intervene? A US assessment made public by Ronald Shriver in Washington said, “China may not want that kind of a conflict or would support that.”

Across the border, Pakistan army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa chaired the Corps Commanders Conference on October 3. The statement issued thereafter indicated the need to have a back channel open, lest the media on either side dictate terms. The statement said: “Commanders reiterated resolve for a befitting response to any Indian misadventure or aggression being conveyed through irresponsible media statements by Indian military commanders.”

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Plans won’t succeed

“There are some powers who want to carry out a Mumbai-like attack along India’s coastal regions, but their plans will not succeed. Pakistan should now understand that the commissioning of INS Khanderi has increased India’s capability to strike with greater force, if needed.”—Rajnath Singh, Defence Minister

Islamabad needs to tone down rhetoric 

“Pakistan has got no support in its attempts to internationalise the Kashmir issue, at the UN and other platforms. Pakistani deep state (the Inter Services Intelligence and a section within the army) will not stop in its efforts in attempting to carry out terror attacks in India. In the past few months, infiltration across the Line of Control (LoC) has been stepped up by Pakistan and the situation at the LoC has been marked by heavy exchanges of fire. Unless Pakistan tones down its rhetoric and desists from pushing in terrorists, it could lead to a major incident between the two countries.”— Lt Gen DS Hooda (Retd), Former Northern Army Commander

Not normal behaviour

“It (‘jihad’ call) is unbecoming of the office Imran Khan holds. Pakistan is not behaving as a neighbour should. This open call for ‘jihad’ is not normal behaviour. PM holds a high constitutional office. He has given such statements even before. We condemn this.” —Raveesh Kumar, MEA spokesperson

The Pakistan Ministry of Defence Production (MoDP)’s disclosure for the year 2017-2018 revealed that Pakistan’s Directorate General of Munitions Production (DGMP) has given a green signal for the development of a supersonic missile to be used by the Pakistan Navy.

Missiles Manufactured for Pakistan Navy ::

The Ministry of Defence Production and the Directorate General of Munitions Production did not divulge specific details with regards to the range, weight, dimensions and other capabilities of the missile.

Moreover, the authorities did not even specify whether the newly manufactured supersonic missiles would be an anti-ship cruising missile (ASCM) or a land-attack cruise missile (LACM). However, experts believe that it is highly likely that the new missile will be a dual ASCM-LACM.

The Directorate General of Munitions Production has also approved the manufacturing of an “improved version” of the Harbah dual anti-ship cruising and land-attack cruising missile. Pakistan Navy conducted a missile test of the Harbah back in January 2018, from aboard the PNS Himmat, an Azmat-class fast attack craft (FAC).

The improved version of the Harbah is likely to be the dual ASCM-LACM test-fired by the Pakistan Navy back in April 2019, conducted abroad the PNS Himmat Fast attack craft.

Director General Public Relations for the Pakistan Navy, Rear Admiral M. Arshad Javed, revealed that the Pakistan Navy conducted the Operation Exercise RIBAT-2109 to examine the operational preparedness of the naval forces earlier in September.

During the exercise, the Pakistan Navy consolidated Fleet Fire Power by conducting successful live missile firings, held from the surface and air platforms, to affirm the warfighting capabilities of the naval forces.

A press release issued by the DGPR Pakistan Navy stated, “The exercise is aimed at validating various operational concepts and tactical warfighting procedures including joint operations involving all Pakistan Navy’s Field Commands as well as Pakistan Air Force.”

“During the Exercise RIBAT, Pakistan Navy and Pakistan Air Force units are participating in maritime operations in various domains under complex grey hybrid warfare environment. Concurrently, Pakistan Marines and Special Operation Forces (SOFs) are also rehearsing special operations including Coastal Defence, Air Defence and Maritime Interdiction Operations etc.”

Highlighting the state of preparedness of the Pakistan Navy, the press release noted, “The exercise displays Pakistan Navy’s intent to maintain the highest state of readiness and combat potential to ensure seaward defence and protection of maritime interests of Pakistan during peace and war.”

The press release stated that the missile firings were witnessed by Admiral Zafar Mahmood Abbasi, the Chief of the Naval Staff.

It stated in this regard, “Chief of the Naval Staff, Admiral Zafar Mahmood Abbasi witnessed the missiles firings and expressed his utmost satisfaction on the operational readiness of Pakistan Navy. He also reaffirmed the resolve that Pakistan Navy is ready to defend its sea frontiers and would give a befitting response to any misadventure by the adversary.”

Parrying the BrahMos Threat ::

In order to increase its defensive capabilities against a supersonic-cruising anti-ship cruising missile, such as the BrahMos, it is important for Pakistan to work towards procuring or manufacturing analogous capabilities.

After approving the manufacturing of a supersonic missile, it appears that the Pakistan Navy is now working towards securing its own supersonic missile for anti-ship missions. In order to obtain a reliable analogous capability, the missile would require a supersonic-cruising design, which basically indicates a ramjet or scramjet air-breathing engine.

The authorities did not reveal a timeline for the new supersonic missile being manufactured for the Pakistan Navy. So far, there have been no announcements of a joint collaboration or project with another country.

However, a collaboration, such as India’s cooperation with Russia on the BrahMos, would allow Pakistan to reduce costs and timelines, alongside innovating in terms of technology procurement. The potential partners of such a collaboration most likely include China, Ukraine or South Africa.

Indo-Pak Nuclear Capability ::

A recently conducted research by Science Advances revealed that in 2019, the nuclear forces of Pakistan and India are likely to contain 140-150 nuclear warheads each, and these numbers are likely to expand to 200 to 250 warheads by 2025.

Pakistan’s nuclear-capable fighter jets, the Mirage III/V and the F-16 A have a range of 2100km, and they are equipped with eight different types of land-based ballistic missiles, with a range of up to 2750km, and two kinds of cruise missiles with ranges up to 350km. The analysts deduced that Pakistan’s nuclear
missiles can reach India by the longest-range delivery systems.

Navdeep Singh

Defence spending is again in the news, and with it the common censure of the allocation being consumed mostly by pay and pensions. While we may choose to weigh in with emotional calls of soldierly pride and sacrifice et al, dispassionately seen the hazard the pay and pension bill poses is not easy to ignore. But then the solution does not lie in a maladroit approach of demonising concepts such as ‘One Rank One Pension’ (OROP) or disability benefits.

The heavy bill and its ascension with every pay commission is indeed a cause of worry. Though the defence services have been trying to shed some of their manpower, it is unlikely that this modest curtailment would result in significant savings. So what is the solution?

The straight response would be to drastically expand the concept of Short Service Commission (SSC), making it more attractive and less exploitative, and also introduce a Short Service Engagement scheme at jawan level with contributory pension, while concomitantly reducing the permanent staff under the existing defined pension (OROP) system. This arrangement can result in maintenance of military strength at the current levels but greatly reduce the pension bill.

Currently, officers are being offered SSC of 10 to 14 years after which they are compulsorily released without any pension, except those who opt (and are selected) for permanent commission. Previously, officers were allowed to exit after 5 years. Needless to say, the current structure leaves them at a crossroads without pension or guaranteed employment almost in middle age, with peak family commitments.

The way out of the quagmire is simple. Such SSC officers must be made members of a contributory pension scheme under the National Pension System (NPS) as is now applicable to civilian employees. Officers under the Short Service Appointment scheme of Indian Coast Guard are already members of NPS, denying the same to their military counterparts is anyway incongruous. There is also a requirement to protect their status or seniority if they opt for civil government employment after release.

Similarly, there is a need to introduce a Short Service Engagement scheme for recruitment at lower ranks – individuals who will serve for ten years and then be released with NPS benefits and “ex-serviceman status”. Obviously, these Short Service schemes would be voluntary and concurrent to regular entries which shall continue to be on OROP dispensation. However, gradually the number of the former may be amplified and the latter reduced.

The establishment would have to find ingenious, albeit practical and non-exploitative ways, to reduce the bill, and demonising OROP or disability pensions is not one of them. OROP is mandated by the Cabinet and was promised by successive governments to cater to the massively curtailed tenure of defence personnel who start retiring in their 30s. The way out is to reduce future OROP beneficiaries by rationalising permanent staff.

Similarly, the recent furore over disability pensions was unpleasant. Frequent transfers, regimented lifestyle, curtailment of freedoms and inability to cater to domestic commitments result in aggravation of common medical conditions in soldiers, a reality militaries face globally. The attempt should be to introduce policies to reduce stress and strain, provide comfort and succour to soldiers to reduce the prevalence of disability and consequently disability benefits. It would be imprudent to attempt to vilify military disabilities to save pennies rather than making lives of soldiers better.

Lateral induction of soldiers to other organisations such as Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) has also been propagated by successive pay commissions but opposed by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). Perhaps the reason might be valid to an extent. CAPFs would not want military veterans parachuting into their ranks and blocking their career progression. But then there could be a solution by simply raising a separate organisation of military veterans under the MHA and employ them for duties configuring with their past expertise, or utilise them for national reconstruction roles or executing government schemes.

What is required to tame the military pension bill is a balanced but determined and humane political executive, and it seems the current defence minister might just fit that description.

Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, October 3

Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Thursday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi to formally invite him for the opening of the Kartarpur corridor and the main event to mark the 550 years of Guru Nanak at Dera Baba Nanak on November 9.

He also sought clearance for the special delegation to visit Gurdwara Nankana Sahib and bring back Nagar Kirtan to mark the historic occasion.

Ajay Banerjee

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, October 1

Ten days ahead of the planned informal summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping, military commanders of both sides met at formal ceremonial border personnel meetings at five different locations across the Himalayas today.

The meetings were part of the “Chinese national day”. Two such meeting points are in eastern Ladakh, two in Arunachal Pradesh and one in Sikkim. Modi, Xi will meet at Mamallapuram, near Chennai, on October 11 and 12.

The tone and tenor of the militaries stationed along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), the de facto boundary running all along the Himalayan ridgeline, has been given new “directions” following the Wuhan summit (April 2018).

The militaries have been tasked to maintain peace along the disputed frontiers in the Himalayas. It has been made clear that issues should be resolved at the local level and not allowed to fester.

Today’s meetings were more of cultural exchange rather than the ones to resolve issues. India will host cultural meetings on Republic Day.

Since Wuhan, the two sides have discussed additional measures for peace along the 3,488-km LAC. This includes the need to keep interacting at unit level, commander level and have a standard protocol for meetings and interacting. The meetings along the LAC address multiplicity of issues all along the disputed frontier.