India working on anti-drone unit to protect borders: Shah

JODHPUR: With the "menace" of unmanned aerial vehicles rising every day, India is preparing to create a comprehensive anti-drone unit to secure its borders, Union home minister Amit Shah said on Sunday.

- Dinesh Bothra

The initial results of a "laser equipped anti-drone gun-mounted" mechanism have been encouraging, Shah said in his address at the 60th Raising Day event of the Border Security Force at its training camp in Jodhpur.

"The drone menace is going to get more serious in the coming days... We are tackling this issue with a 'whole of government' approach with the defence and research organisations and the DRDO joining hands. We are going to create a comprehensive anti-drone unit for the country in the coming time," Shah said.

According to official data, more than 260 drones were downed or recovered from India's border with Pakistan this year as compared to about 110 in 2023.

The maximum number of such interdictions of drones carrying arms and drugs took place in Punjab and very few in Rajasthan and Jammu.

Shah said the ongoing Comprehensive Integrated Border Management System (CIBMS) for securing India's borders with Pakistan (2,289 km) and Bangladesh (4,096 km) is a work in progress.

"We have had an encouraging response from the CIBMS deployed along the riverine border in Assam's Dhubri (India-Bangladesh international border) but some improvements are required," he said. This has led to an increase in drone neutralisation and detection cases, up from 3% to 55%, along the India-Pakistan border in Punjab, he said.