Northlines Correspondent
New Delhi, July 10: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday outlined the Centre’s vision for a technology-driven “Smart Border” management system, emphasising stronger coordination among security agencies, enhanced infrastructure, and greater public participation to safeguard India’s frontiers against emerging threats.
Addressing the Land Border Districts’ Superintendents of Police Conference-2026 in New Delhi, Shah said border management has become a key pillar of India’s internal security strategy. He added that the conference has evolved into an institutional mechanism for strengthening border security and that its scope would eventually be expanded to include coastal security as well.
The Home Minister said the government is developing an integrated security framework by bringing together border guarding forces, state governments, district administrations, Central agencies and local communities. According to him, a secure border, economically vibrant border regions and an alert local population together form the backbone of a strong national security system.
Highlighting the Centre’s efforts over the past few years, Shah said investment in border infrastructure has increased nearly four-fold under the Narendra Modi government. He noted that the emphasis is on deploying advanced technology, scientific surveillance systems and modern infrastructure to improve monitoring and response capabilities along the country’s borders.
He said India is moving beyond the traditional model of isolated border outposts towards an integrated security grid capable of addressing a wide range of contemporary security challenges.
Shah reiterated the government’s commitment to eliminating illegal infiltration and strengthening measures against proxy war, narcotics trafficking, smuggling, drone-based threats, cybercrime, organised crime and radicalisation. He expressed confidence that sustained and coordinated action by various agencies would substantially weaken narcotics networks over the next three years.
Referring to the Vibrant Villages Programme, the Home Minister said the initiative aims to transform border villages into thriving settlements by creating employment opportunities, curbing migration and ensuring effective implementation of government welfare schemes. He recalled Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s assertion that the country’s “last village” should be viewed as its “first village.”
The Home Minister also announced that the Centre is spending about ₹31,000 crore on fencing the 1,610-km India-Myanmar border to strengthen border management and prevent illegal activities.
Shah further spoke about the proposed Demography Mission, which will examine demographic trends, identify unusual population changes and recommend suitable policy interventions. He stressed the importance of timely reporting of demographic developments from the grassroots level to enable informed decision-making by the government.
The conference reaffirmed the Centre’s commitment to building a modern, technology-enabled and intelligence-driven border management system that combines infrastructure development, inter-agency coordination and community participation to strengthen India’s overall security architecture.
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