India Announces ‘Smart Border’ Project Along Bangladesh, India Frontiers

Speaking at an event of India’s border guarding force in New Delhi on Friday, Indian Home Minister Amit Shah said the government plans to build an integrated border security system within the next year using advanced technologies.

According to reports by Hindustan Times, the project will involve drones, radar systems, smart cameras and modern surveillance technologies across nearly 6,000 kilometres of border areas.

Shah said the Indian government and the Ministry of Home Affairs would provide technological support to transform the country’s borders into “smart borders.”

“Within the next year, all available technologies will be integrated to create an impenetrable border security system,” he said.

He added that the upcoming system would make the work of India’s border guards easier and more effective through the use of advanced monitoring equipment and real-time surveillance tools.

India’s Border Security Force (BSF), a force of around 270,000 personnel formed in 1965, is responsible for guarding the country’s western border with Pakistan and eastern border with Bangladesh.

During his speech, Shah described the Bangladesh and Pakistan borders as “sensitive” and a matter of concern for India’s security, saying conventional border management methods were no longer sufficient.

He cited illegal infiltration, drug and arms smuggling, drone-based weapons delivery, cattle trafficking, counterfeit Indian currency and organised crime as major threats along the borders.

Shah also stressed the importance of identifying future security threats, alleging that attempts were being made to create “artificial demographic changes” through cross-border infiltration.

Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he said, the Indian government was committed not only to preventing infiltration but also to identifying and deporting undocumented migrants already living in the country.

The Indian home minister further said border security now requires coordinated efforts among state police, central armed forces, the military, narcotics control authorities, intelligence agencies and state administrations.

He noted that the governments of Tripura, Assam and West Bengal were committed to preventing infiltration and said India’s Home Ministry would soon hold meetings with the chief ministers of those states to strengthen coordination on border security issues.