Amit Shah calls for tech-driven modernisation of border security

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday said the government will invest substantial funds to technologically modernise the country’s entire border security system to strengthen surveillance and improve operational efficiency.

Shah made the remarks during his visit to Border Out Posts (BOPs) along the International Border with Pakistan in Kathua district.

“This modernisation will provide improved border infrastructure and advanced equipment for BSF personnel, enabling them to perform their duties more effectively. These facilities will significantly reduce the hardships faced by our soldiers and enhance their operational efficiency,” he said.

Emphasising technology-driven border management, Shah said border-related challenges have evolved significantly over the past six decades.

“While courage, alertness and dedication of personnel remain crucial, many emerging challenges are now technology-driven. Advanced technological solutions must therefore be adopted to effectively address them,” he said.

His visit comes amid heightened focus on border management to scuttle infiltration of terrorists and smuggling of weapons and narcotics, and stepped-up anti-terror operations that left four hardcore Pakistani terrorists of Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) dead in nearly a dozen encounters in Kathua, Udhampur and Kishtwar districts over the past two weeks.

The Home Minister visited the Gurnam and Bobiya BOPs along the India-Pakistan border in Kathua on the second day of his Jammu visit. He also paid floral tributes at the ‘Ajey Prahari’ memorial.

Later, Shah inaugurated welfare projects worth Rs 7 crore for BSF personnel, including solar water heaters, solar power plants and an officers’ mess. He also laid the foundation stone for BSF infrastructure projects worth Rs 242 crore.

The event was attended by J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, the Union Home Secretary, the Director of the Intelligence Bureau, the Director General of the Border Security Force, and other senior officials.

Addressing BSF personnel, Shah said that whenever he visits BSF posts in remote and challenging areas such as Kutch, Rajasthan and Jammu and Kashmir, he returns inspired by the force’s sense of duty and unwavering commitment.

He said the BSF has always stood “like an impregnable wall” whenever the nation’s borders faced threats of intrusion or infiltration.

Shah said the bravery displayed by the BSF during Operation Sindoor added a golden chapter to its six-decade-long history. He noted that the BSF’s J&K Frontier destroyed 118 Pakistani posts and three terrorist launch pads during the operation.

“In this operation, Sub-Inspector Mohammad Imtiaz Ahmad and Constable Deepak Chingakham, who laid down their lives in the line of duty, were awarded the Vir Chakra, which is a matter of immense pride for us,” Shah said.

He added that whether deployed along international borders, in the difficult terrain of Manipur, or in Maoist-affected areas of Odisha and Chhattisgarh, the BSF has displayed exemplary courage.

Shah also lauded the force for its humanitarian role during natural disasters, particularly in Punjab, saying the state government had informed him that the challenges during floods would have multiplied manifold without the BSF’s assistance.

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