ITBP Battalions

ITBP Battalions

News: With the Line of Actual Control remaining tense, India is raising seven new battalions of the famed patrol force ITBP, for ‘effective monitoring’ of the border region.

Background:
 The battalions are expected to be raised by 2025-26, increasing the strength of the ITBP from the current 88,000 to 97,000, making it the fourth largest CAPF.

About:
 The Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) is a border patrol organization of India deployed along its borders with Tibet Autonomous Region.
 It is one of the seven Central Armed Police Forces, established in 1962 in the aftermath of the SinoIndian War of 1962.
 The ITBP guards 3,488 km long India-China borders ranging from the Karakoram Pass in Ladakh to Jachep La in Arunachal Pradesh.
 Apart from this, the Force also has important roles in many internal security duties and operations against Left Wing Extremism in the state of Chhattisgarh.
 ITBP is a specialized Armed Police Force of the Nation, which trains its personnel in various disciplines including mountaineering and skiing apart from intensive tactical training.
 ITBP also conducts relief and rescue operations as ‘First Responders’ for natural calamities in the Himalayan region.

About CAPF:
 CAPF falls under responsibility of Ministry of Home affairs.
 The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), assists in internal security and counterinsurgency.
 The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), protects vital installations (like airports) and public sector undertakings.
 The National Security Guards (NSG), is a special counterterrorism force.
 Four border guarding forces, which are the Border Security Force (BSF), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), and Assam Rifles (AR).