Smart Border Project and High Powered Demography Mission Announced for National Security

Key facts

• The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) will launch the Smart Border Project equipped with drones, radars, and advanced cameras to create an impregnable security grid along the borders within the next year.
• Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi announced the formation of a High Powered Demography Mission to address unnatural demographic changes and identify illegal infiltrators.
• The Border Security Force (BSF), established in 1965 under K.F. Rustamji, has expanded from 25 battalions to become the world’s largest border guarding force with 2.70 lakh personnel.
• The central government has extended the operational jurisdiction of the BSF from 15 kilometres to 50 kilometres to strengthen border management and coordination with state administrations.
• A comprehensive welfare programme for all Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) personnel and their families is scheduled to be introduced by the government within the next two months.