Border Infrastructure and Management Scheme
What is BIM envisioned for?
- In order to safeguard India’s borders with Pakistan, Bangladesh, China, Nepal, Bhutan, and Myanmar, the BIM project would aid in the construction of infrastructures such as border fences, border floodlights, technology solutions, border roads, Border Outposts (BOPs), and corporate operating bases.
- It will improve border management, policing, and border protection by fortifying the border infrastructure.
- 3,323 km of the distance is the length of India’s border with Pakistan, including 775 km of the Line of Control. The border’s lengths with Bangladesh and Bangladesh are 4,096 km, China is 3,488 km, Nepal is 1,751 km, Bhutan is 699 km, and Myanmar is 1,643 km.
What other border security initiatives are there?
- Border villages with a small population, poor infrastructure, and limited connectivity frequently miss out on the development benefits, according to the Vibrant Villages Program. The new Vibrant Settlements Programme, introduced in Budget 2022–23, would encompass such northern border villages.
- Construction of village infrastructure, housing, tourism attractions, road connectivity, the availability of decentralized renewable energy, direct home access to Doordarshan and educational channels, and assistance with livelihood creation are just a few of the planned initiatives.
- The action was performed in response to Chinese “model villages” near the LAC (Line of Actual Control).
- The initiative will be a better iteration of the current border area development programme.
- Development of the Border Area Program:
- During the Seventh Five Year Plan (1985–1990), BADP was started in the border regions of the western region in order to ensure the infrastructure development of border areas and the promotion of a sense of security among the border people.
- Through the convergence of Central/State/BADP/Local schemes and a participatory approach, the programme strives to satisfy the unique development needs of the people living in remote and inaccessible areas close to the international border and to saturate the border areas with the necessary infrastructure.
- Smart Fencing in India (CIBMS): Two pilot projects for the Comprehensive Integrated Border Management System (CIBMS), totaling roughly 71 km (10 km) and 61 km respectively, have been completed.
- Thermal imagers, infrared and laser-based intruder alarms, aerostats for aerial surveillance, unattended ground sensors that can help detect intrusion bids, radars, sonar systems to secure riverine borders, fiber-optic sensors, and a command and control system that shall receive data from all surveillance devices in real time are just a few of the state-of-the-art surveillance technologies that are deployed as part of CIBMS.
- On the Indo-Bangladesh border in Assam’s Dhubri area, BOLD-QIT (Border Electronically Dominated QRT Interception Technique) is also in use.
- Border Road Structure:
- The organisation, which was established in 1960, is crucial in providing defensive infrastructure, such as buildings, tunnels, bridges, airports, and other such things.
- For the residents of Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland, Tripura, Meghalaya, Ladakh, Jammu & Kashmir, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, and the Andaman & Nicobar Islands, BRO. has built lifelines spanning more than 53,600 km.
