Context: Recently, at an unscheduled briefing during Parliament session, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar released details of the government’s projects on border infrastructure and connectivity.

• It focused on initiatives in the north and east along India’s 3,488 km border with China.

• The purpose of sharing the information was to counter the arguments raised by the opposition on the India-China situation during the parliamentary session.

• It is also said that the report was released as a response to an official Security Conference report which stated that Indian forces have lost access to 26 of 65 patrolling points along the LAC since 2020.

• It was also reported in the print media that PLA troops have encroached at some points. While at others patrolling has been suspended due to mutual agreements in order to avoid conflicts.

Why border management is needed for India?

• India's internal security challenges are invariably linked with the security of the country's borders due to the hostile attitude of some of India's neighbours and their tendency to exploit India's persistent national challenges.

• The challenge of long-standing boundary and territorial disputes, coupled with steep terrain, extreme climatic conditions and porosity of borders, has rendered India's Borders vulnerable.

• This has made efficient and effective border management a foremost priority for the Indian Government.

Initiatives highlighted during the briefings

• It was highlighted that a multi-pronged approach is being followed which comprises:

• Enhancing connectivity through roads, bridges, and tunnels, 

• Increasing cross-border connectivity to neighboring countries via highways, inland waterways, railroads, electricity lines, and fuel pipelines

• Developing integrated check posts (ICPs) at all the border crossings

• The government claimed that it has accelerated and completed the execution of many projects. For instance, the length of roads constructed along the India-China border areas from 2014 to 2022  is approximately 6806 km.

• The report also lists various projects in the neighborhood such as: 

• The railway links to Nepal and Bangladesh.

• The Mahakali motorable bridge 

• Maitri Setu between Tripura and Bangladesh

• Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project (KMTTP) 

• Sittwe port project

• South Asia’s first cross-border petroleum products pipeline between Motihari(India) and Amlekhgunj (Nepal) 

• A Bhutanese dry port in Pasakha bordering West Bengal is also being developed through an Indian government grant

Associated concern

• It is argued that the timing of such a release is of particular concern as there is back to back visits of Chinese diplomats to India including the Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang’s visit for the G-20 Foreign Minister’s Meeting (on March 2023) and Chinese Prime Minister visit for SCO summit (June 2023) and G-20 Summit (September 2023).

The strategy to deal with border security challenges involves:

• The management of international land & coastal borders

• Strengthening of border policing & guarding

• Creation of border infrastructure such as roads, fencing & floodlighting of the borders as well as the strengthening of coastal security infrastructure

• Development of Integrated Check Posts (ICPs) on the land borders of the country

• Implementation of the Border Area Development Programme (BADP)

What are the various schemes for border management?

Border Infrastructure and Management (BIM) Scheme

• It is a Central Sector Scheme comprising of projects aimed at infrastructure development & to enhance the security of India’s international borders.

• It is being implemented by Border Management-I Division under MHA.

• Eg., Border Fence, Border Roads, Border Floodlights, Border Out Posts (BOPs), Helipads and foot tracks along the international borders of the country.

• It also involves deployment of technological solutions in such patches of the borders, which are not feasible for physical fence.

Comprehensive Integrated Border Management System (CIBMS)

• CIBMS has been conceptualized to integrate manpower, sensors, networks, intelligence and command control solutions.

• It aims to improve situational awareness at different levels of hierarchy to facilitate prompt and quick response to emerging situations along the India-Pakistan Border (IPB) and India-Bangladesh Border (IBB).

Conclusion

• The details of various projects in neighboring countries and in the border areas (particularly Line of Actual Control) that have been planned, financed, or constructed were shared by the Indian Government. However, concerns have been raised about the timing of such a release as it might hamper India-China relations.