IB to double strength in mega expansion drive; focus on stricter checks at borders

Majority to join BoI

A majority of the new recruits will go to the Bureau of Immigration (BoI), which is part of the IB, with an objective to strengthen deployment at the immigration checkpoints (ICPs) spread all across the country.

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Sources said the recruitment drive is in line with the Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s oft-stated objective of filling critical gaps in India’s border security.

Stress on stringent security at frontiers

While inaugurating two Border Security Force (BSF) outposts in Gujarat’s Bhuj on May 29, Shah had provided a glimpse of the government’s plan by saying that in the days to come, a “quadrangular security grid” would be established and the border management would move to “a new concept of 'territorial security' to replace the traditional approach of mere border security”.

Under the new grid, responsibility would be shared among the public, the civil administration, the local police, and the military, alongside the BSF personnel.

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Again on July 9, addressing a conference of Superintendents of Police of Land Border Districts, Shah said by strengthening border security, the government wants to “prevent proxy war, illegal infiltration, the spread of radicalisation, narcotics trafficking, smuggling, drone-related threats, cybercrime, organised crime, and demographic changes”.

He added these measures would make border areas more livable in a secure environment, besides preventing migration from these regions.

BoI staff to double, handle ICPs

Sources said a major component of the plan to strengthen border security involves fortifying intelligence gathering capabilities in the bordering areas. Over 10,000 new vacancies have already been created in the first phase of the recruitment drive in the IB, and the government intends to add another 14,000 new posts in the domestic intelligence agency by next year.

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Sources say, as of now, BoI has a strength of around 7,000 personnel, and it is expected to have 20,000 personnel by the end of the expansion drive. As per the government record, there are 114 ICPs (sea/air/land/rail/river) that cater to international traffic. Besides, there are 15 Foreigners Regional Registration Officers working under it.

Importantly, not all Immigration Check Posts (ICPs) are manned by the BoI. As per the November, 2024 government data, only 59 out of 114 ICPs were under the BoI, the rest were taken care of by the state governments concerned.

But following the new recruitments, the BoI is expected to take over all ICPs from the state governments.

Need for bigger workforce

Most of the new posts created in the IB are in the ranks of Security Assistants, Junior Intelligence Officers and Assistant Central Intelligence Officers.

Sources added that the workload of the IB has also increased manifold in the present government, with more inquiries coming its way. A recent example was when the government used the services of the IB at the time of retest of National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET-UG) to keep an eye on troublemakers. The first NEET-UG exam had to be cancelled due to a widespread leak of the question paper.

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Another example of strengthening the intelligence apparatus came to the fore when the Union Home Ministry recently sought 50 acres of land from the West Bengal government in the bordering districts of the state for setting up 40 offices of the IB.