Aviation assets for India's paramilitary forces

Heightened operational tempo as well increased area of responsibility for India's Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) necessitates the induction of more integral aviation assets for roles ranging from surveillance to casualty evacuation (CASEVAC). The inadequacy of road infrastructure in forested and mountainous regions puts a premium on rapid movement that can be mitigated only through airlift in the medium term. Moreover area domination patrols conducted by CAPFs in such theatres can benefit immensely with scouts in the air equipped with new generation sensors. As such, most CAPF's under the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) are looking to take advantage of larger homeland security (HS) budgets than in the past to bring in integral aviation assets whenever they can. Some state police departments are also looking to follow suit for surveillance and quick response roles.

Late last year the Border Security Force (BSF) sought an unspecified number of additional helicopters from the MHA in aid of its new role of guarding the 1643 km long border with Myanmar - a role it is taking over from the Assam Rifles. The border with Myanmar is characterized in the main by forested mountains and the BSF will be setting up a number of 'air-maintained border outposts' in addition to ones already present on the ground. These air-maintained outposts are likely to prove crucial to the effective operation of some 50000 personnel, the BSF is planning to deploy on this border where road connectivity is virtually non-existent at many spots.

These additional helicopters are likely to be Mi-17Vs, eight of which are already on order for the BSF with the first two from that batch expected to be delivered by September this year. The Mi-17V is a step up from the Mi-17IV, eleven of which are currently part of the BSF's air wing (although some are actually owned by the Indian Air force) in that it possesses a new KNEI-8 navigation system, multifunctional displays, next generation night vision goggles (NVGs), helmet mounted cueing system and a state-of-the art autopilot, all of which are expected to enable smoother day/night operations. The Mi-17V's avionics suite also includes a 'weather radar' that proved extremely useful in the recent rescue operations conducted by the IAF in Uttarakhand last year. Incidentally the first two Mi-17Vs will be pressed into action in areas affected by Left Wing Extremism (LWE) for general duties, CASEVAC and Search and Rescue (SAR) roles.

However owing to their size, Mi-17s sometimes cannot enter hot zones during times of inclement weather. For instance during an encounter in 2012 between Central forces and Maoists in Jharkhand, a MI-17IV sent for CASEVAC had to turn back on account of unfavourable weather and a HAL Dhruv instead was deployed for the job. Indeed, the BSF air wing also consists of some eight HAL Dhruvs with proposals to add more being muted.

It is important to note that larger numbers in the BSF's helicopter fleet have also become possible on account of an agreement it signed with the IAF a few years ago which has allowed the former to get pilots from the latter on deputation leading to vastly improved mission capable rates. In the mid-2000s the BSF was actually finding it difficult to put even 10 percent of its fleet in the air on account of an acute shortage of pilots.

The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) till now dependent on the BSF and IAF for air support is keen to get its own dedicated air wing and is probably going to induct a couple of hired HAL Dhruvs to begin with. The HAL Dhruv owing to past experiences such as the issues mentioned above has been deemed more suitable for the CRPF. Moreover, the HAL Dhruv is clearly better suited for quick response insertions in LWE affected areas. The CRPF's future 'Dhruv Park' as it were, may end up resembling the Indian Army's (IA’s) 'Soaring Gideons' unit which operates HAL Dhruvs in support of special operations against terrorists in the valley. In the CRPF's case such a unit will of course carry COBRA commandos.

Like in the case of the Soaring Gideons, intelligence for operations by a future CRPF aviation unit could come from the latter's own unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) wing. Tired of tasking battles with the National Technical Reconnaissance Office (NTRO), the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) has bitten the bullet on the Nishant UAV which is already in service with the IA and some 16 units of a customized version are set to find pride of place in its inventory. Given the terrain in which the CRPF variant will be operated, DRDO labs have worked together to reduce the number of support vehicles for it by a third. Importantly, the CRPF version will fly with an indigenously developed wankel rotary engine with a rating of 55 HP replacing its current ALVIS AR-801 engine. This engine developed by DRDO's Vehicle Research and Development Establishment is already under production at a private facility operated by SMC in Hyderabad with eight sets scheduled to be delivered soon. 

The MHA has also given the CRPF the go-ahead to acquire 10 Skylark Mini-UAVs from HAL in principle; however the final contract is pending on account of price negotiations.

The CRPF already operates the DRDO developed Netra quad-copter UAV produced by Mumbai based private firm Ideaforge. This portable vertical take-off UAV (VTUAV) weighs just 1.5 kgs and can fly up to a distance of 2.5 km from its take-off point with an operational altitude of 200 metres. Handling is via line of sight (LOS) up to a distance of 1.5 kms with an endurance of 30 minutes on a single battery charge. Equipped with a high resolution CCD camera, Netra can identify human activity up to 500 metres away while sending live video feed of objects within a radius of 5 km. It can also carry a thermal camera for night operations.

The Netra seems to have done quite well in the Indian market given that some state and police forces have already procured it besides CAPFs, with many more police units evincing interest. In fact the domestic market for small VTUAVs is believed to be quite large given typical crowd management requirements in Indian conditions. Nevertheless future growth of this segment will require VTUAVs mounted with cameras of better resolution and zoom capability and perhaps even more importantly - greater endurance.

The BSF too incidentally (along with the ITBP) operates the Netra in LWE affected areas. However the BSF like the CRPF is also keen to bring in larger fixed wing UAVs to monitor the Western sector with Pakistan. These new UAVs could either be in the class of the Nishant or perhaps even the larger IAI Herons operated by the IAF. In either case the BSF will have to work closely with the IAF for these inductions keeping airspace restrictions in mind. It is of course not clear as to where these UAVs might be based. Repair and overhaul could however well be carried out at New Delhi where the BSF bases all its fixed wing aircraft including Embraer-135 Js, Avros (HS-748) and some Super King B-200 aircraft.

Incidentally, the BSF's move to add two new fixed wing medium transport aircraft (MTA) came unstuck a couple of years ago when it was revealed that signatures on technical documents related to the 300 million dollar tender may have been forged. The forged documents apparently 'downscaled training and safety equipment and maintenance contracts'. The alleged rigging in the contract led to the entire process being re-tendered. The now cancelled contract had been won by the EADS CASA C-295W which beat out Alenia's C-27J Spartan.

While the precise status of this tender is unclear, it is understood that the BSF will require multiple MTAs in the future given its need to greatly augment troop transport and logistic capability. Added to this will be the requirements of other CPMFs, especially the CRPF and ITBP in the years to come. India's security management architecture seems to have a need to procure MTAs that can fly hot and high and in all weather conditions. It is in this context that the IAF's Avro replacement programme must be seen. The HS-748 replacement programme will not end up being for just 56 units, but probably four times that number given that the CPMF's as well as the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) are very likely customers. It is time that the Indian government cogently assessed the size of the domestic market and made decisions in a manner that leveraged India's scale requirements effectively.

By Saurav Jha in http://m.ibnlive.com/blogs/sauravjha/2976/65192/aviation-assets-for-indias-paramilitary-forces.html

Call for reshuffling of force deployment

The pattern of India’s internal security challenges has undergone a significant makeover in recent years. Chronic conflicts have either subsided or have hit a low patch and new conflict areas have emerged, necessitating a rationalisation in the way the Government deploys its security forces. But it would appear that our security policy-makers are stuck in time, steadfastly refusing to respond to the unfolding conflict dynamics. This explains, in a way, why the country, with a bourgeoning security force establishment, still struggles to find adequate forces to fight its internal wars.

There is a clear shift of violence from the age-old conflict theatres in Kashmir and the north-east, to the states affected by Left-wing extremism. Deployment of reshuffling of force Central Armed Police Forces or CAPFs (previously called Central para-military forces) has gone up from 37 to 81 battalions in the Maoist theatres. It is a substantial increase, yet remains insufficient. It is unlikely that even with a war time raising of CAPF battalions, the Centre will be able to meet the unending demands from the states. This calls for a fresh approach on the deployment of forces.

Not many would agree that the current Indo-Pakistan peace talks would ever reach a situation as to allow New Delhi to pull out some of its troops from Kashmir. Hypothetically speaking, such an eventuality would come as a boon for the force-starved Maoist theatres. Kashmir today engages close to 80 battalions of Central police forces and 65 battalions of Rashtriya Rifles (RR) of the Indian Army. 50 per cent of the RR is sourced from the army’s infantry wing and the rest from other units, making it almost an ideal force against the Maoists.

Opposition from the Indian Army and the counter-terrorism experts notwithstanding, army’s role in dealing with Left-wing extremism has grown over the years. According to a recent white paper prepared by the Indian Army, 65,000 of its personnel would be required if it is to be involved against the Maoists. It is even willing to consider the relocation of the RR battalions for the purpose. This, however, is conditioned by sufficient progress in the Indo-Pak peace process and a total halt to the cross-border infiltration and militancy. Not many would see this happening in the near future, even when the Pakistan state is undergoing a life-threatening crisis.

From where a realistic relocation of forces is possible, is the north-east. Although this restive region of the country has not exactly become a peace den, over the past years insurgency movements have constantly lost their wherewithal, popular appeal and hence, have struggled to survive. Cooperation from Bangladesh has forced the once powerful Assam-based Ulfa to start a process of dialogue with the government. Even in Manipur, where insurgency movements appeared almost intractable a few years back, over a dozen outfits are under Suspension of Operations agreement with the government. The most lethal UNLF has suffered a serious blow in the form of the arrest of its top leader R K Meghen. Since 2008, the entire north-eastern region has seen a gradual but consistent improvement in the security situation, demonstrated in the declining capacity of the militant formations. Compared to over 1,000 fatalities recorded in 2008, insurgency related deaths fell to 322 in 2010 and further to 177 in the first eight months of 2011.

If rising violence was the raison d’etre for induction of Central forces into the north-east, it is necessary that the drop in violence allows their return from the area. It not only helps remove the tag of ‘militarisation of the north-east’, allowing the state police forces to take a lead  role in dealing with the remnants of insurgency, but also makes those withdrawn forces, at least the CAPFs, available for the Maoist-affected areas. There is no reason why a state like Manipur should continue to consume over 45 to 50 battalions of the army and the CAPFs, when it records barely 10 deaths per month for the past two years. Civilian life in Manipur continues to be affected by recurrent political blockades, but these are not exactly the problems that Central forces should be dealing with. Home Minister P Chidambaram’s recent justification that a large presence of security forces in the north-eastern states is “a necessity to deal with the threat of violence and the cases of extortion” isn't a really a valid rationale.

The reality of conflict transformation needs to figure prominently in MHA’s policies as far as force deployment is concerned and stubbornness not to accept it is not going to help.

By Bibhu Prasad Routray in www.claws.in

In poll season, firsts for CRPF

As more than one lakh troops of the CRPF and other Central armed police forces spread themselves thin to successfully make way for the biggest polling exercise in any democracy in the world beginning April 7, this Indian election season has brought winds of change to the toiling life of the average Indian jawan who has quietly trudged every election summer last sixty years little knowing where his next stop would be, from the cold peaks in J&K to the hot and humid climes of Bihar to down south Kerala.

Speaking to this newspaper, CRPF DG Dilip Trivedi tells how this election journey is different for the less talked about jawan on a day when the Central forces complete the mammoth exercise of deployment across 29 states on Wednesday.

From the traditional cooking on logs of wood as they parked their bogies off railway tracks to cook khichdi, the jawans are being served packed food boxes of the IRCTC at the stations where the trains halt. The CRPF boss said the Indian railways is setting a “world record’’ of sorts as nearly six lakh food packets are being provided daily for the troops movement — which will carry on for the nine-phased election between April 7 and May 12, the highest number of phases for a general elections so far.

For the CRPF, this is a small beginning in the many “firsts’’ to the election journey of its troops. This time round a detailed plan has been worked out by the forces in consultation with the EC and home ministry where each company knows its poll schedule allowing the jawans to prepare in advance, stock appropriate clothing, inform families and break free from a life of uncertainty. For the first time, a Unique Identity Number has been provided to each Central Armed Police Forces company, on the move from any part of the country — to help the district administration identify them and prepare for their arrival and subsequent deployment, pointed out Mr Trivedi who made a detailed presentation to the EC which finally put its stamp of approval to the troop deployment plan which was then shared with all state governments.

The company commanders for the first time have been given exclusive mobile phones with numbers made available to the concerned state authorities for quick liaison, the expenses of which will be borne by the forces.

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In the deep Maoist interiors where the threat is very high, care has been taken to undergo the polling process during the moon-lit fortnight and not the dark fortnight — a lesson learnt after closely observing the challenges faced during Assembly polls in deep interiors of Chattisgarh. The gun-wielding jawan will also cast his vote through postal ballot.

Source:http://www.asianage.com/india/poll-season-firsts-crpf-753 

Central Armed Police Forces Offer Better Career Avenues

Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) offer a better avenue to those seeking careers in police forces in terms of career progression, emoluments, facilities for families and work satisfaction, apart from the opportunity to travel across the country when compared to State police services.

The number of people employed in CAPF is more than the combined strength of defence forces, said former IPS officer and HSC Director C. Anjaneya Reddy.

“Competition is less and hence better the opportunities,” he observed and said that HSC had designed a special course to train aspirants.

Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) Inspector-General (South India) N.R.K. Reddy said the representation of candidates from the State was less in CAPF, and that they should consider it as a career opportunity. “Central forces give better pay and facilities along with assured career progression. The facilities and opportunities in Central forces are unmatched,” he said.

Mr. Reddy added that a single exam was conducted for five main organisations - CRPF, Border Security Force (BSF), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) and Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB). The exam is rather easy, and vacancies are more.

He said the physical parameters could be met by anyone with minimum preparation. CRPF Deputy Inspector-General Khaja Shujanuddin shared his experiences and said that growth was fast0 and time-bound. Now, CAPF personnel are also regarded as ex-servicemen.

M.V. Krishna Rao, former SSB Director-General and Additional DG, CRPF, advised the candidates to take a shot at CAPF as success rate was high. More than 1,000 officers’ posts are filled every year unlike the State Police where the number is in two digits. Those preparing for UPSC tests and State services should explore these opportunities, he said.

Source:  The Hindu November 10, 2013