Border Insecurity

Yunus Dar

The 2019-20 budget announced by the government for the home ministry saw a modest 5.17 per cent hike over the last year. The amount allocated was Rs 1,19,025 crore, which is Rs 5,858 crore more than the last fiscal. The allocation this year has put focus on special issues such as on improving police infrastructure, border areas and modernisation of police forces.

New home minister, Amit Shah, taking charge

The Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs), which include the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Border Security Force (BSF), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), Assam Rifles and National Security Guard (NSG), received an allocation of Rs 71,713.9 crore for 2019-20. The last fiscal the budget announced for the CAPFs was Rs 67,779.75 crore.

When it comes to internal security, the CRPF is an indispensable force, which is also engaged in anti-militancy operations in Jammu and Kashmir and the Northeast, besides internal security duties have been allocated Rs 23,963.66 crore for 2019-20, the 2018-19 figure was Rs 22,646.63 crore. The BSF which is responsible for the Indo-Pak and Indo-Bangladesh borders also received a slight hike this year with the allocation of Rs 19,650.74 crore, the allocation to the BSF was Rs 18,585.96 crore in 2018-19.

The Intelligence Bureau (IB), which falls under the home ministry, and is responsible for gathering internal intelligence, received Rs 2,384.1 crore this year, the figure was Rs 2,056.05 crore in the last fiscal. The Special Protection Group (SPG) was allocated Rs 535.45 crore in the budget, as against Rs 411.68 crore in 2018-19. The SPG is responsible for the security of the prime minister, former prime ministers and their close family members.

The home ministry allocations were increased in the years following the Mumbai terror attacks in 2008, with successive budgets getting impressive hikes. The trend has, however, been discontinued this year with increasing number of ex-chiefs saying proper allocations have not been made considering the responsibilities each force has been given. FORCE spoke t