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Para Military Forces Module - II

Structure and
6.2.1 Border Security Force (BSF) Role of the Forces

The Border Security Force (BSF) is the primary border guarding force of India. It is
one of the six Central Armed Police Forces of the Union of India. It was raised in the
wake of the 1965 War on 1 December 1965, "for ensuring the security of the borders
of India and for matters connected there with". It is a Central Armed Police Force
charged with guarding India's land border on western front during peacetime and Note
preventing transnational crime.
It is a Union Government Agency under the administrative control of Ministry of Home
Affairs. The BSF has its own cadre of officers but head, designated as a Director-
General (DG), since its raising, has been an officer from the Indian Police Service. It
also takes officers from IPS on deputation.
The BSF has grown exponentially from a few battalions in 1965 to 186 battalions with
a sanctioned strength of 2,57,363 personnel including an expanding air wing, marine
wing, intelligence units. It currently stands as the world's largest border guarding force.

The BSF has played major role since the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, including
Operation Blue Star and Operation Black Thunder. It has also handled Counter
Insurgency operations in Jammu and Kashmir.

6.2.2 Central Industrial Security Force (CISF)

The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) was set up under an Act of the Parliament
of India on 10 March 1969 with a strength of 2,800. CISF was subsequently made a
para military force of the Republic of India by another Act of Parliament passed on 15
June 1983. Its current active strength is 144,418 personnel. In April 2017, the
government raised the sanctioned strength from 145,000 to 180,000 personnel. This
force is directly under the Union Ministry of Home Affairs and its headquarters is in
New Delhi.
The CISF provides security cover to 300 industrial units, government infrastructure
projects and facilities and establishments located all over India. Industrial sectors like
atomic power plants, space installations, mints, oil fields and refineries, major ports,
heavy engineering, steel plants, barrages, fertilliser units, airports and hydroelectric/
thermal power plants owned and controlled by Central Public Sector Undertakings
(PSUs), and currency note presses producing Indian currency are protected by CISF.
It, thereby, covers installations all over India straddling a variety of terrain and climatic
conditions.

CISF also provides consultancy services to private industries as well as other
organisations within the Indian government. The consulting wing has amongst its clients
some of the renowned business houses and organisations of India including TISCO,
Jamshedpur; SEBI Hqrs. Mumbai; Vidhana Sabha, Bangalore; Orissa Mining Co.,

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