Context:
The Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) announced that it is establishing 10 all-woman border posts along the 3,488-km India–China Line of Actual Control (LAC) as part of its forward-positioning and women-led deployment strategy.
Key Highlights
- Women-led deployment
- 10 all-women Border Outposts (BOPs) to be raised along difficult high-altitude stretches of the LAC.
- Eight of the 10 all-women BOPs will become operational this year.
- Forward-positioning strategy
- Plan initiated after the 2020 military clash in Ladakh to enhance frontline presence and mobility along the LAC.
- ITBP has moved 215 border posts forward, up from 180 earlier, along India’s northern and eastern Himalayan front.
- Force Expansion
- Centre sanctioned seven more ITBP battalions and a sector headquarters, adding approx. 9,400 personnel.
- Deployment Locations
- All-woman BOPs will be set up in Ladakh’s Lukung and Hinarak initially; remaining units will follow across the frontier.
Relevant Prelims Points
- ITBP — Quick Facts
- Raised: 1962 after the India-China war.
- Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).
- Mandate: Border guarding along the LAC, high-altitude operations, intelligence, disaster response.
- LAC (Line of Actual Control)
- Not a formally demarcated boundary; military control line separating India and China.
- Sectors: Western (Ladakh), Middle (Uttarakhand/HP), Eastern (Sikkim/Arunachal Pradesh).
- Women in Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs)
- Government target: 33% reservation for women in CRPF & CISF, 14–15% in BSF, ITBP, SSB (progressively adopted).
Relevant Mains Points
- Strategic Significance
- Improves border vigilance, sensitivity to local populations, and operational diversity.
- Enhances gender representation in combat-ready roles within CAPFs.
- Security Context
- Post-2020 developments require increased forward deployments, better surveillance, and sustained infrastructure build-up.
- Social & Institutional Impact
- Strengthens women’s representation in decision-making and tactical command within armed policing forces.
- Way Forward
- Improve training for high-altitude warfare, specialised medical support, family accommodation, and rotation schedules for women personnel.
- Accelerate border infrastructure under VVP, BRO & MHA to complement deployment.
UPSC Relevance (GS-wise):
- GS-3: Internal Security — Border Management, CAPFs, LAC
- GS-1: Women empowerment in defence and security roles
- Prelims: ITBP, CAPF mandates, 2020 Ladakh clash, LAC sectors