Abingdonboy
ELITE MEMBER
New Delhi: Security forces like NSG, CRPF and ITBP have turned their 'night eye' on to undertake special operations in Naxal-hit areas and along the country's borders as the government has recently sanctioned more than 19,000 night-vision devices for them.
The high-end devices, procured from public sector Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), include weapon mounted night-vision telescopes, night sights for rocket launchers, monoculars and binoculars and helmet mounted night vision devices which can be worn by troops.
The Night-Vision Devices (NVDs) are considered the most essential aid for security forces to operate better at night, with a clear vision of the enemy and other static targets. "The various variants of NVDs will give security forces deployed for anti-Naxal operations the much needed visibility in the dark. For special forces like NSG, they help the commandos accomplish a task with better precision," a senior Home Ministry officer said.
Describing the inventory of night-vision devices, he said 2,671 passive NVDs (monocular), 8,052 passive NVDs (binocular), 8,109 passive weapon sights and 203 night-vision goggles have been sanctioned by the ministry for forces like Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Border Security Force (BSF), Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and the elite 'black cat' commando National Security Guard (NSG).
While the CRPF is thick in action in Naxal-hit states, the BSF, SSB and ITBP guard Indian frontiers with Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and China.
This is good news but what are MHA playing at? These 5 agencies alone total over 620,000 personnel so what logic is there in ordering only 19,000 NVG (~3% of total force equipped with these)? Possibly with NSG post-26/11 they have already received significant NVGs and these 200 are to supplement the existing stocks but for the rest of the agencies this is an utter joke.
CRPF:252,000 (+30,000 planned)
NSG:7,500 (being fair only~1/2 are CI operators, SAG)
SSB:85,000
BSF:215,000
ITBP:60,000