Central Industrial Security Force (CISF)

• The CISF is known as India’s central armed police force functioning under the control of the Ministry of Home affairs 
• It was developed in 1969 for providing security cover to the Public Sector Enterprises (PSEs) which, in those times, occupied the commanding heights of the Indian economy
• Today, its mandate extended beyond PSEs to include critical infrastructure and private firms in the country

Role of CISF:

• CISF and Infrastructure protection: 

  • CISF is mandated to provide security to critical infrastructure installations of the country. These include atomic power plants, space establishments, airports, seaports, power plants, sensitive Government buildings and even heritage monuments
  • The CISF is currently providing security to over 58 airports, 18 of which are considered ‘sensitive’
  • CISF is also providing security cover to Delhi Metro
  • In addition to the Delhi Metro and airports, India’s 13 major seaports are also under the security umbrella of CISF 

• CISF and private establishments:

  • The CISF was primarily established to provide security cover to various public sector organizations
  • An amendment was made to the CISF Act of 1968 in 2009, to extend security cover of CISF to Public-Private joint ventures and Private establishments on a cost-reimbursement basis in the aftermath of the Mumbai terror attacks. Since then, the CISF has started to provide security cover to firms in the private sector
  • Some of the prominent private firms that had availed CISF security cover include Infosys, Tata, Reliance industries, Patanjali Food and Herbal Park Private Limited 

• CISF and VIP Security: 

  • Presently, CISF is also providing security cover to the protected persons under Z Plus, Z, X, Y categories. CISF raised the Special Security Group (SSG) for this purpose
  • CISF and Disaster Management:
  • CISF performs a major role in Disaster Management and its battalions are a part of the National Disaster Response Force
  • It has a full-fledged ‘Fire Wing’ which provides fire prevention and fire protection services to sensitive hazardous units where the CISF is on guard

• CISF and Security Consulting:

  • CISF offers highly professional security consultancy services to private firms and businesses. Services offered include threat perception and risk analysis, security and fire audit, crowd control and management procedures, crisis management schemes etc

• Other duties performed by CISF:

  • CISF has been assigned law and order maintenance duties on numerous occasions such as election security in sensitive areas 
  • Providing training to other central and state government entities. For example, CISF played an important role in training the Karnataka State Industrial Security Force (KSISF) 
  • CISF is deployed in foreign countries to protect Indian diplomats. Many CISF Personnel have served in Kathmandu, Nepal and Islamabad, Pakistan

Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB)

• It is one of India’s Central Armed Police Forces under the Ministry of Home affairs primarily tasked with the responsibility of guarding India’s international borders with Nepal and Bhutan. 
• It was created in 1963 and at that time it was called the Special Services Bureau 
• The name had been changed to Sashastra Seema Bal after it was given the charge of the Nepal border
• Its headquarters are in New Delhi, with regional offices in Lucknow (UP), Patna (Bihar), and Guwahati (Assam)
• It stretches across the states of Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Sikkim, Assam, and Arunachal Pradesh along the Indo-Nepal and Indo-Bhutan borders

Role of SSB:

• Primary role is to safeguard the security of assigned international borders (Nepal and Bhutan) of India and promote a sense of security amongst the people living in border regions
• Prevent cross-border crimes, smuggling and any other unlawful actions 
• Prevent illegal entry into or exit from the territory of India
• Carry out civic action programmes in the area of responsibility [for example construction of schools, buildings, toilets, roads under border area development plan
• Perform any other duty allocated by the Central Government (such as Law and Order, Counter-insurgency Operations, Election duty, UN missions)

Also, SSB is the lead intelligence agency along Indo-Nepal and Indo-Bhutan borders. AS the lead intelligence agency SSB is responsible for the coordination and dissemination of intelligence from its area of operations

Conclusion

The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) and Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) are an important part of the defence system of India.