'CISF should undertake regular threat assessments to ensure security to India's economic assets'

The CISF should undertake regular threat assessments and enhance its capacity to ensure that the economic assets of the country are secured at a time when global security dynamics are changing rapidly, Union minister G Kishan Reddy said on Monday.

He said the role of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) in ensuring the security of vital assets of the country is very important as India is one of the fastest-growing economies in the world.

Addressing a batch of 100 newly-commissioned officers and sub-officers of the paramilitary force through a webcast, the minister of state for home affairs said the CISF needs to undertake regular threat assessments and enhance its capacity, especially at the civil airports under its cover and other vital installations.

"Global security dynamics are undergoing a massive change and we need to regularly undertake threat assessments and accordingly, enhance our capacity.

"A timely security audit with the help of cutting-edge technology and data analysis will prepare us for possible attacks and we will be able to take preventive steps," Reddy said.

The 100 officers and sub-officers -- 11 assistant commandants, 79 sub-inspectors, 10 assistant sub-inspectors -- graduated from the National Industrial Security Academy of the CISF in Hyderabad on Monday.

The CISF was raised in 1969. It has a strength of about 1.62 lakh personnel, who are tasked with guarding 63 civil airports in the country, the Delhi Metro, historical monuments such as the Taj Mahal and the Red Fort, apart from a number of vital installations in the nuclear and aerospace domains.

Reddy said it was due to the CISF that people feel safe at airports and other public facilities and countries across the globe are "willing to invest in India" due to the security ensured by the force.

"In the last few years, due to the efforts of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India has emerged as one of the fastest-growing economies.

"The CISF has to work to ensure the safety and security of our economic assets," he added.

Reddy said vigilance is of "utmost importance" for the force and this needs to be constantly strengthened by introducing better technology.

"Vigilance is very important for all of you, especially those posted at airports need to be extra careful and working in tandem with other agencies, and you should develop intelligence to identify terrorists, anti-nationals and criminals, who are enemies of the humankind," he said in the web address relayed from his North Block office here.

Reddy said the responsibility of the force has increased substantially and the personnel have a "challenging job".

He also talked about the ongoing combat against the coronavirus in the country.

"India is facing the pandemic like the rest of the world but under the dynamic leadership of Prime Minister Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and the collective will of the people of the country, we will win the battle against coronavirus," Reddy said.

CISF Director General Rajesh Ranjan, who also addressed the newly-commissioned officers and sub-officers from his Delhi office, said their motto should be "service with a smile".

"Our forte is our core competence in the domain and that should continue with ethics, honesty and dedication," he said.

A senior official said the 100 officers and sub-officers will soon be posted to various CISF units across the country after they undergo the mandatory Covid-19 quarantine procedure.

The personnel were trained at the academy for about a year in various domains of combat, intelligence gathering, law and industrial security, the official said.