7 new battalions, 9,400 personnel: India to bolster ITBP amid tensions with China | India News

NEW DELHI: With a hawk eye on China, the government has sanctioned seven new battalions of the Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) which will come up in the next few years.
India’s decision to bolster its border security forces comes amid continous tensions with neighbour China that led to deadly border clashes in 2020 and scuffles late last year.
The proposal was cleared during the meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) that was chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union information and broadcasting minister Anurag Thakur told reporters during a post cabinet press briefing.
The move is expected to increase the strength of the Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) to more than 10 per cent, according to reports.
Most muscle along LAC
According to the government sanction, the fresh manpower will be utilised for manning 47 new border posts and a dozen ‘staging camps’ or troops bases to be created along this frontier, largely in Arunachal Pradesh.
These bases were sanctioned in 2020, the same year Indian and Chinese troops were involved in one of the deadliest clashes in decades.
A senior officer said that the new bases were sanctioned to ensure effective guarding of the LAC, adding that now seven battalions and a new sector headquarter comprising about 9,400 personnel have also been given a go-ahead.

The battalions and the sector headquarter are expected to be put in place by 2025-26, Thakur said.
He said a non-recurring expenditure of Rs 1,808.15 crore is estimated to be spent for land acquisition, creation of office and residential buildings, and arms and ammunition while a recurring annual expenditure of Rs 963.68 crore will be done under the salaries and rations head for the fresh manpower.
Officials said the creation of 47 new border posts will lead to a 26 per cent increase in the strength of these bases while the induction of 9,400 fresh personnel will enhance its strength by 10 per cent. The force has 176 border posts at the LAC currently.
Frontier force along China border
The ITBP, which is about 90,000-personnel strong, was raised in the aftermath of the 1962 Chinese aggression.
It is tasked with guarding the 3,488-km-long Line of Actual Control (LAC) on India’s eastern flank, stretching from the Karakoram Pass in Ladakh in India’s north to Jachep La in Arunachal Pradesh state in the east.
The force is working along with the Army at this front even as the militaries of India and China are engaged in a standoff at Ladakh from 2020.
Nod to Shinkun La tunnel
The CCS also gave its nod for the construction of a 4-km-long Shinkun La tunnel with an approach road with an aim of providing all-weather connectivity between Ladakh and the rest of the country.
Providing details of the cabinet decision, Union minister Anurag Thakur said the tunnel will be completed by December 2025 at a cost of Rs 1,681 crore.
“This (project) is also very important as far as the security and safety of the country is concerned…. It will also help in the movement of our security forces in that region,” Thakur said.
Before this, the Atal tunnel was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi linking Manali to Leh and it provides all-weather connectivity throughout the year, he said.
(With inputs from agencies)