Ramping Up Border Infrastructure

What’s in today’s article?

• Why in news?
• Why border management is needed for India?
• What are the strategies for border management in India?
• What are the various schemes for border management?
• News Summary: Govt. is ramping up border infrastructure

 

Why in news?

• Recently, at an unscheduled briefing during Parliament session, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar released details of the government’s projects on border infrastructure and connectivity.
• It focused on initiatives in the north and east along India’s 3,488 km border with China.

 

Why border management is needed for India?

• India's internal security challenges are invariably linked with the security of the country's borders due to the hostile attitude of some of India's neighbours and their tendency to exploit India's persistent national challenges. 
• The challenge of long-standing boundary and territorial disputes, coupled with steep terrain, extreme climatic conditions and porosity of borders, has rendered India's Borders vulnerable.
• This has made efficient and effective border management a foremost priority for the Indian Government.

 

What are the strategies for border management in India?

• Approach and practices of border management vary from one border to another, based on the security perceptions and relationship with the neighbouring country. 
• The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) is responsible for border management. 
• The strategy to deal with border security challenges involves:
  • The management of international land & coastal borders
  • Strengthening of border policing & guarding
  • Creation of border infrastructure such as roads, fencing & floodlighting of the borders as well as the strengthening of coastal security infrastructure
  • Development of Integrated Check Posts (ICPs) on the land borders of the country
  • Implementation of the Border Area Development Programme (BADP)

 

What are the various schemes for border management?

• Border Infrastructure and Management (BIM) Scheme: 
  • It is a Central Sector Scheme comprising of projects aimed at infrastructure development of India’s international borders.
    • It is being implemented by Border Management-I Division under MHA. 
  • The scheme aims to enhance the security along the borders of the country and involve implementing a number of projects for the development of border infrastructure.
    • E.g., Border Fence, Border Roads, Border Floodlights, Border Out Posts (BOPs), Helipads and foot tracks along the international borders of the country. 
  • It also involves deployment of technological solutions in such patches of the borders, which are not feasible for physical fence.
• Comprehensive Integrated Border Management System (CIBMS): 
  • CIBMS has been conceptualized to integrate manpower, sensors, networks, intelligence and command control solutions.
  • It aims to improve situational awareness at different levels of hierarchy to facilitate prompt and quick response to emerging situations along the India-Pakistan Border (IPB) and India-Bangladesh Border (IBB).

 

News Summary: Govt. is ramping up border infrastructure

 

What was the purpose of the briefing?

• There have been successive skirmishes with the Chinese People’s Liberation Army in Chumar in 2014, Doklam in 2017 and the ongoing standoff along the entire LAC since April 2020.
• Since April 2020, the Chinese army amassed troops along the border, which resulted in the Galwan clashes, the first such violent incident in 45 years.
• Against this backdrop, the purpose of the briefing was to provide update on the India-China situation during the parliamentary session.

 

What initiatives did the briefing outline?

• A multi-pronged approach was highlighted during the briefing which include:
  • improving connectivity to the LAC through roads, bridges and tunnels; 
  • improving cross-border connectivity to neighbouring countries via highways, bridges, inland waterways, railroads, electricity lines and fuel pipelines; 
  • modernising and constructing integrated check posts (ICPs) at all the border crossings to smooth trade; and 
  • funding and constructing infrastructure projects in neighbouring countries.
• The briefing claimed that 6,806 km of roads were constructed in the China border areas in the period from 2014 to 2022.

 

What about neighbourhood projects?

• The report lists dozens of projects in the neighbourhood that have been planned, financed or constructed. These include:
  • Railway links to Nepal and Bangladesh, 
  • The Mahakali motorable bridge and the Maitri Setu between Tripura and Bangladesh, 
  • The Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project (KMTTP) which includes a 158 km waterway, the Sittwe port project and road to Mizoram.
• It also speaks of: 
  • South Asia’s first cross-border petroleum products pipeline - between Motihari in India and Amlekhgunj in Nepal; 
  • Another High-Speed Diesel pipeline with Bangladesh that will reduce petrol prices and road congestion; and 
  • A Bhutanese dry port in Pasakha bordering West Bengal being developed under an Indian government grant.

 

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Q1) What is cross border infrastructure?

Cross-border infrastructure means infrastructure that crosses the administrative boundaries of regions or countries, and therefore serves mostly to facilitate movement of goods and people across regions rather than within regions.

 

Q2) Which agency is responsible for constructing border roads in India?

The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) develops and maintains road networks in India's border areas and friendly neighboring countries.

 

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Source: Explained | How is govt. ramping up border infrastructure?  |  MHA