India To Raise 15 New Battalions Of BSF And ITBP To Fortify Pakistan, China Borders

At least 15 new battalions of India’s two paramilitary forces - the Border Security Force and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police - will be raised to guard India’s borders with China, Pakistan and Bangladesh, the Economic Times has reported.

According to reports, six battalions of the BSF and nine of the ITBP, each having about 1,000 operational jawans and officers, could be raised as part of this plan.

While the BSF mans India’s border with Pakistan and Bangladesh, the ITBP defends Indian territory along the frontier with China.

"The exact locations for the new battalions could be gauged as and when they are raised but a few areas along Bangladesh and Pakistan will remain a priority owing to their vulnerability profile such as infiltration, drugs smuggling, human trafficking and illegal migration," the daily quoted a BSF official as saying.

With a significant increase in the number of Chinese transgressions along the Line of Actual Control in 2017, the ITBP is trying to reduce the inter-BoP (border outpost) distance. The force secures India’s long icy frontier with China with just 90,000 jawans. The BSF, in comparison, has a strength of about 2.5 lakh.