The Union Home Ministry is all set to make technology intervention in guarding high altitude, remote and difficult borders.
In an effort to strengthen the border guarding mechanism, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday approved a report of the Task Force created by Home Ministry to identify areas for use of space technology in improving border management.
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The Task Force in its report identified areas like island development, border security, communication and navigation GIS and operations planning system and border infrastructure development.
“To execute the project in a time-bound manner, a short, medium and long-term plan has been proposed for implementation in five years in close coordination with ISRO and MoD,” the officials said.
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Government officials said deployment of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) in remote areas will now also be coordinated by satellite communications.
Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS)-based GPS will provide navigation facilities for operational parties in high altitude, remote and difficult borders and Naxal areas.
The technology intervention assumes significance from the eastern sector of the border as a long area along the Indo-Bangla border is remote and difficult terrain.
The Task Force headed by Joint Secretary (Border Management) and having members from BSF, Department of Space and BM Division, MHA consulted all stakeholders including Border Guarding Forces (BGFs), ISRO, National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS) and Ministry of Defence (MoD) to finalise the report.
Major recommendations of the report are to build capacity in border guarding forces to use space resources for security, operational planning and border infrastructure development.
In short term, immediate needs of BGFs will be met by procurement of high resolution imagery and hiring of bandwidth for communications.
In midterm, one satellite is being launched by ISRO for exclusive use of MHA.
Over the long term, MHA will develop ground segment and network infrastructure to share satellite resources by user agencies, develop a Central Archival Facility for storing various imagery resources and dissemination of the same to user agencies.
BSF has been designated as lead agency for implementation of ground segment and network infrastructure including establishment of Archival Facility.
“With the assistance of Department of Space, MHA would implement the project. This project will strengthen island and border security and facilitate development of infrastructure in border and island areas,” the officials added.