Centre Makes Its Priorities Clear; While Modi Meets Xi, Government Gets Ready To Build 96 More Border Posts

The Narendra Modi-led Government of India is going ahead with building a total of 96 new border outposts on the 3,448 km-long Indo-Sino border, even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets with Chinese premiere Xi Jinping in Wuhan, reports The Economic Times. These outposts will be handled by the Indo Tibetan Border Patrol (ITBP).

The new outposts will reduce the distance between the existing outposts and help increase the operational capabilities of jawans and provide a deterrent to Chinese transgressions in the region. They will also aid in providing rations to the posts, and observing possible Chinese armed build-ups across the border.

The move will take the total number of ITBP outposts on the Chinese border to 272 from the current 176. Officials have stated that they plan to raise nine more battalions of 9,000 men for newer posts being constructed. The government is also looking providing a comfortable environment to jawans in the icy environment. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) had recently approved the construction of 54 climate-controlled checkposts along the border.