Over the next few years India will spending a whopping $10 billion, or Rs 50,000 crore, to beef up its internal and coastal security and surveillance capabilities.
If pronouncements were to translate into action and money into equipment, then over the next few years India will end up spending a whopping $10 billion, or approximately Rs50,000 crore, to beef up its internal and coastal security and surveillance capabilities.
Several departments and ministries involved with security have already waved the green flag for emergency purchases, without competitive tendering and cumbersome purchase procedures.
Among the new acquisitions across the board would be dedicated surveillance satellites, new UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) stations, vehicle- and vessel-monitoring systems, interceptor boats and other ships, and several systems for surveillance and interception of various communication means. Besides, airlift capabilities in the form of transport planes and helicopters and secure communication systems are also in the pipeline.
The biggest spender could be the defence ministry, which has already told the coast guard, navy, and other agencies to go in for emergency purchases to beef up their capabilities. The coast guard is set to lease ships and buy interceptor boats off the shelf from the international market without tendering.
A defence ministry spokesman said the government had approved “global acquisition of cutting-edge equipment and interceptor boats on a fast-track basis”. The coast guard is also to set up nine new stations and put in place an electronic identification system for all-Indian ships and trawlers.
A modern identification kit that can be tracked from a centralised control room would cost $1,000 apiece. India has at least 1,50,000 registered fishing trawlers and several unregistered ones.
The government is also moving quickly to acquire radars to create a continuous network for the country’s 7,500km long coastline. This network of radars could be boosted with a network of UAV stations.
Earlier this year, the home ministry had ordered 204 interceptor boats meant for coastal security. This order is going to be speeded up. These boats would cost around Rs500 crore.
The shipping ministry has got into action on the security of ports and docks with over Rs100 crore being set apart for new systems. The se include CCTVs, vehicle-tracking systems and other high-end technology. Each Indian port would be given two dedicated interceptor boats for security, a home ministry source said.
The source said the ministry is also moving quickly to acquire systems and technologies for the newly created National Investigation Agency (NIA), a small set-up of less than 1,000 personnel but with cutting-edge technological capabilities for interception and surveillance.
The National Security Guard (NSG), which has decided to set up stations in Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, and Kolkata besides its existing base near Delhi, will be acquiring airborne capabilities. For now, the NSG will be using the C-130J Hercules plane that the Border Security Force is acquiring, but a dedicated air wing for the NSG is under active consideration. This could include transport planes and several helicopters, a source said.
A significant chunk of the money to be spent for beefing up security capabilities would be on intelligence gathering. A source said the NTRO (National Technical Research Organisation), which last year returned Rs1,414 crore of its total budget of Rs1,850 crore, is set to speed up its acquisition plans, which include dedicated satellites for surveillance.
Similarly, the Intelligence Bureau and the Research and Analysis Wing are also set to beef up their surveillance and interception capabilities. This would mean new equipment and software systems worth hundreds of crores of rupees.
Besides, state police forces are going to be given extra budgets for modernisation, the home ministry source said. The cumulative sum for this, too, is expected to run into hundreds of crores.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}