Indian Border

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday said India's two major borders with Pakistan and Bangladesh will be completely secured in the next two years, with work underway to plug gaps in about 60 km stretch along these two fronts. Shah was speaking after taking salute from a ceremonial parade of the Border Security Force (BSF) on the occasion of its 59th Raising Day celebrations here. The minister said the Narendra Modi government has fenced and plugged gaps in about 560 km of the India-Pakistan and India-Bangladesh borders in the last nine years since it came to power at the Centre. He said all the gaps in these two borders on India's western and eastern flank respectively are being plugged and work in only about 60 km is continuing. In the next two years we will entirely secure these two borders, Shah said. The two borders-- 2,290 km of India-Pakistan International Border and 4,096 km of India-Bangladesh border-- are marked by long riverine, mountainous and marshy areas where it i

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday accused the BSF of scaring voters in the bordering areas of the state at the "behest of the saffron camp" and asked police to keep a close watch on their activities. Addressing a panchayat election rally in the bordering district, Banerjee said, Law and order is a state subject and the Centre has no role in it. I have information that some BSF officials are visiting the border areas, threatening voters and asking them not to vote. I will ask people not to be scared and fearlessly participate in the elections, she said. While referring to the alleged shooting of villagers by the BSF last year, whom the force claimed as smugglers, Banerjee said, Police will lodge FIRs in such cases and the law will take its own course. Asserting that the TMC will defeat the BJP in the July 8 rural polls, Banerjee said, We will then defeat the BJP at the Centre and bring a development-oriented government in the country. Banerjee said the party had

At least 5 persons, including 2 BSF personnel, were injured when villagers attacked a border outpost in Meghalaya's East Khasi Hills district on Sunday night, officials said. The incident took place around 10pm at Umsyiem village near Dawki town, 100 km south of the state capital, when a mob attacked the outpost, officials said on Monday. BSF Meghalaya Frontier inspector general Pradip Kumar told PTI, In the last few days, we seized a huge number of items meant to be smuggled to Bangladesh and identified the smugglers. Due to this, they led a mob to attack the outpost forcing the BSF to retaliate by firing in the air. At least 2 BSF personnel were injured when they were hit by stones pelted by the mob, he said, adding that some of the villagers tried to enter the outpost forcefully and they were pushed back. In the incident, at least three villagers were also injured, according to eyewitnesses. The incident took place when a vehicle with three occupants allegedly broke down near t

Indian Army personnel on Wednesday conducted yoga sessions at more than 100 locations along the country's land and maritime borders, forming a 'Bharatmala' on the occasion of the International Day of Yoga. The troops and their families, including children, as well as defence civilians participated in the events, the Army said in a statement, adding the locals were also included in yoga activities. Army Chief General Manoj Pande was the chief guest at the mass yoga event organised at Cariappa Parade Ground, Delhi Cantonment, it said. Continuing with the enhanced India-Africa partnership, an outreach was also organised in African nations through Indian Army troops deployed in United Nations Mission areas and in Training Teams as part of the UN contingents, the Army statement said. Recognising its universal appeal, the United Nations in December 2014 proclaimed June 21 as the International Day of Yoga by a resolution. The day aims to raise awareness worldwide of the many benefits of .

'We are closely monitoring the situation broadly regarding border clashes but we are glad to hear that at least in December both sides (India and China) appeared to have disengaged'

The Indian army is maintaining a strong defence posture along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), and is ready to deal with any contingency, Chief of Army Staff, General Manoj Pande said on Sunday. In his address at the Army Day celebrations here, he said the northern border region has been peaceful and steps have been taken to maintain peace through established protocol and existing mechanism. Referring to the situation along the western border, the Army Chief said the ceasefire continues at LOC and there has been a substantial reduction in violations. However, the terror infrastructure still remains on other side of border. Our counter insurgency mechanism is effectively foiling the infiltration bid from Pakistan, he added. Pointing to the attempts to smuggle arms and drugs into Jammu and Punjab border regions using drones, General Pande said counter drone jammers were being used against such activities.

Drone-mounted ground penetration radars have been deployed for the first time by the Border Security Force (BSF) to check for the presence of under-ground tunnels used by terrorists to infiltrate the India-Pakistan International Border in Jammu region, officials said. The indigenously-made technical gadget has been pressed into action at this front recently as part of the below-the-earth tunnel detection exercise carried out by the force to ensure no terrorist is able to sneak into Indian territory and conduct strikes in Jammu and Kashmir or any other location of the country. These structures have also been used to smuggle narcotics, arms and ammunition. The BSF has unearthed at least five under-ground tunnels in the about 192 km of the Jammu front (of the India-Pakistan IB) in the last three years. According to official data, two such cross-border tunnels were detected in 2020 and 2021 each, while one was found last year and all of them were detected in the Indreshwar Nagar sector

The strategic situation in India's neighbourhood has gone into a stalemate that's too good to last. This is a time to look to the future and fast-forward reforms

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday lauded the Indo-Tibet Border Police (ITBP), calling them 'Himaveer' (snow bravehearts) and said no one can encroach even an inch of our land when they are there at the borders. Hailing the ITBP personnel, he said they guard our borders in harsh conditions and that the title of 'Himaveer' for them is bigger than Padma Sri and Padma Vibhushan. "We cannot even imagine how they guard our borders in minus 42 degree Celsius temperature. This can happen only with a strong willpower and supreme degree of patriotism. The ITBP works in the odd geographical conditions in Arunachal Pradesh, Ladakh or Jammu and Kashmir," Shah said after inaugurating the Central Detective Training Institute of the ITBP here. "People of India call the ITBP soldiers as 'Himaveer.' This title is bigger than the Padma Sri and Padma Vibhushan civilian awards. While the civilian awards are the government title, 'Himaveer' is the title given by the people of India, Shah told the

There seems to be a desire for opacity when it comes to confronting China, which has been coded into the Indian establishment. But India would benefit from transparency

The Nepal Army, which is overseeing the project, issued a letter of intent to the Chinese firm last week

China is re-settling Tibetan graziers in villages along the border. India cannot afford to leave its border residents to their fate

Security forces have deployed a drone to conduct a search operation after villagers from Mangu Chak village of Samba informed police about spotting a drone in the area: Officials

In address during Delhi University's 98th convocation ceremony on Saturday, Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said, India never attacked another country

Jaishankar said achieving disengagement is the goal right now and that he was optimistic about the resolution of the issues

Can we tour border villages, spend a night there, experience the ambience, study the lives of people staying there, said PM Modi while addressing a webinar on the impact of Budget on Rural Development

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the government has created over one lakh new cadets in the border areas of the country.

Here is the best of Business Standard's opinion pieces for Saturday.

Army chief General M M Naravane on Friday said the Indian Army stands "strong and tall" in the face of challenges faced on both "active and unsettled" west and north borders

Shah said the government has sanctioned 32 more border roads measuring about 683 km for the Sino-India frontier