by Ravi Rikhye
IV Corps (Siliguri)
5th Mountain Division (Bomdila)
21st Mountain Division (Rangia)
71st Mountain Division (Misamari)
1 Independent Mountain Brigade
XXXIII Corps (Tezpur)
17th Mountain Division (Gangtok)
20th Mountain Division (dual-tasked to west) (Binaguri)
27th Mountain Division (dual-tasked to west) (Kalimpong)
XVII Corps (Panagarah, West Bengal)
23rd Infantry Division (also available to XXI Corps) (Ranchi)
59th Mountain Division
72nd Mountain Division (Pathankot)
2 independent tank brigades (of which 1 is raising)
2 independent infantry brigades (No information of status)
There is talk of making the 54th Division into an airmobile formation. Since this was first proposed around 1986, and since the government wants to avoid defense spending, this seems an unlikely prospect.
South Western Command (Jaipur)
The creation of SW Command has led to a change in the AORs of Western and Southern Commands: X Corps from Western Command now falls into SW Command’s AOR.
I Corps (Strike) (peace location Central Command)
TO under Central Command
X Corps (Bhatinda)
16th Infantry Division (Ganganagar)
18th RAPID Division (Kota)
24th RAPID Division (Bikaner)
6th Independent Armored Brigade (Bhatinda)
Southern Command (Pune)
XII Corps (Jodhpur)
11th Infantry Division (Ahmedabad)
12th RAPID Division (Jaisalmer)
42nd Artillery Division
4th Independent Armored Brigade
2 Independent Infantry Brigades
340th Independent Mechanized Brigade
Corps air defense group
XXI Corps (Strike) (Bhopal)
23rd Infantry Division (Ranchi) (also part of XVII Corps)
33rd Armored Division (Hissar)
54th Amphibious Division (Hyderabad-Secundrabad)
41st Artillery Division (Pune)
1 independent infantry brigade (dual-tasked, located in Andaman Islands)
The Army has three brigades trained for amphibious warfare: one in 54 Division, one independent in the Andamans, and another brigade.
There is talk of making 54th Division into an airmobile formation.
Tri-Service Command Andaman & Nicobar Islands
1 Independent Infantry Brigade (dual-tasked to XXI Corps; amphibious trained)
6.5 Border and Paramilitary Force
~925,000 personnel after current expansion of 200,000
Air Wing
8 fixed-wing (C-120, An-32, Embraer)
12 helicopters (Mi-17-5, entering service)
8 utility helicopters (Dhurv, entering service)
The Border Security Force Air wing has been abolished and its assets taken over by the Ministry of Home Affairs air wing.
Border Security Force 209 battalions (more now) (21 Reserve battalions waiting authorization) (6 more regular battalions planned for 2018)
233rd Battalion (M) highest identified
231st Battalion
11 Frontier HQs:
Gujrat (741-km)
Rajasthan
Punjab
Jammu
Srinagar
Malda
Tripura
North Bengal
South Bengal
Assam & Meghalaya
Mizoram & Cachar
6300-km of international border and Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir
~1900 Border Observation Posts
Indo-Tibetan Border Police (more now)
66 battalions (after 2016 authorized expansion) (9 more planned, authorized in 2018)
3488-km AOR, India-Tibet border
Northern Frontier
Northwestern Frontier
Central Frontier
Eastern Frontier
Northeastern Frontier
15 Sectors (under command of the frontiers)
Assam Rifles
50 battalions (Army officered; plus 22 more 2011-2019)
11 sectors (commanded by brigadiers)
19 battalions (including four new) on borders
31 on CI duty in Northeast
Special Services Bureau
91-94 battalions (by 2018)
6 Frontier HQ (not counting J and K)
Patna 14 battalions, 3 sectors (Include 3 Special
Ops Bns for CI in Maoist areas)
Siliguri 12 battalions, 3 Sectors
Lucknow 9 battalions, 2 sectors
Ranikhet 6 battalions, 2 sectors
Tezpur 6 battalions? 2 sectors
Guwahati 14 battalions, 2 sectors
1 new raising for Sikkim
Special Ops
J & K 5 battalions, 1 sector
Jharkhand and Bihar 3 battalions (we may be double counting these battalions in Patna Frontier)
25 battalions in Director General’s Reserve
14+ Sector HQ (subordinate to Frontier HQ)
Force is authorized ~120,000 but is understrength as recruitment has not kept up with its expansion.
Central Industrial Security Force (145,000)
~60 battalions (37 new authorized)
Central Reserve Police Force
(Supports states with anti-terror law and order/riot control)
Executive Battalions 205
969 personnel
6 companies each with
120 men in 3 platoons
15 men reserve
Women’s battalions 5
Rapid Action Force Battalions 10
COBRA Battalions 10 (counterinsurgent)
Signals battalions 5
Special Duty Groups 1
Special Operations Group 1
Base Hospitals 3
Arms Workshops 7
Group HQs 42 (each controls several battalions)
4 hospitals x 100 beds
17 Hospitals x 50 beds
National Security Guards (~9,000)
4 new battalions have been sanctioned after the 2008 Bombay attack, allowing NSG units to be stationed in other parts of the country. The Army, however, which contributes a significant part of the manpower, says it does not have men and officers to spare. Battalions will be posted at the four major cities of Delhi, Bombay, Madras, and Calcutta. A regional center is being opened in Hyderabad. The object is to shorten response time, which was a critical hindrance in getting troops to Mumbai in 2008 from the NSG’s center near Delhi. One aircraft is kept at 30-minutes readiness at Delhi Palam Airport for emergency response forces of the NSG.
National Disaster Response Force
16 battalions (1149 each)
(The force stood up with existing paramilitary battalions; 2 each from BSF, CRPF, ITBP, CISF) and later 2 SSB battalions joined the force. Four new battalions were sanctioned in 2017; they also will be converted battalions from the above paramilitary forces. They will be stationed at New Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand by 2019.
Battalion: 18 self-contained teams of 45 personnel each; total 1149. Battalions have regional experts, trained rescuers, engineers, paramedics, technicians, electricians and K-9 teams.
1st Battalion
Gauhati
2nd Battalion
Kolkatta
3rd Battalion
Cuttack
4th Battalion
Chennai
5th Battalion
Pune
6th Battalion
Gandhinagar
7th Battalion
Bhatinda
8th Battalion
Delhi
9th Battalion
Patna
10th Battalion
Guntur
11th Battalion
Varanasi
12th Battalion
Itanagar
13th Battalion
&nbs
p; 14th Battalion
15th Battalion
16th Battalion
India Reserve Police
Each state has Armed Police battalions. Additionally, the Ministry of Home Affairs pays states to maintain India Reserve Police battalions which are to be put under the Home Ministry as requisitioned.
175 battalions (including raising/to raise)[140]
10 Specialized India Reserve Battalions (for construction work and equipped with need machinery)
Railway Protection Force
Approximately 65,000 armed personnel for maintenance of law on order on trains and railway stations, and for protection of rail infrastructure.
The above discussion leads to the paramilitary forces. In short, their potential is being severely underutilized. In the North, it is unclear if they have the means to surveil the complete border. In the west, thanks to fencing and vehicles, they can patrol the border, though disturbingly media pictures invariably show a rifle section on foot. While even with a fence dismounted patrols are needed, the men should be working from vehicles and doing a close inspection if an anomaly is found, like a cut fence. The fence is gradually being updated with sensors. More on this in a moment.
The first thing is this nonsense of misusing border forces for internal security must stop. Perhaps Ministry of Home needs to be reminded that the “border” is with other countries, not within India. The second thing is the business of multiple border forces as independent fiefdoms within MoH must stop. We have the BSF, ITBP, SSB, and Assam Rifles. It is decades past that all were unified under the aegis of a new Border Command. I will ignore the matter of lineage and heraldry and leave it for others to debate.
6.6 Territorial Army
Territorial Army infantry battalions
The parent infantry regiment is given.
101 Infantry Battalion Maratha LI
102 Infantry Battalion Punjab
103 Infantry Battalion Sikh LI
105 Infantry Battalion Rajputana Rifles
106 Infantry Battalion Para
107 Infantry Battalion 11 Gorkha Rifles
108 Infantry Battalion Mahar
109 Infantry Battalion Maratha LI
110 Infantry Battalion Madras
111 Infantry Battalion Kumauni
112 Infantry Battalion Dogra
113 Infantry Battalion Rajput
114 Infantry Battalion Jat
115 Infantry Battalion Mahar
116 Infantry Battalion Para
117 Infantry Battalion Guards
118 Infantry Battalion Grenadiers
119 Infantry Battalion Assam
120 Infantry Battalion Bihar
121 Infantry Battalion Garhwal Rifles
122 Infantry Battalion Madras
123 Infantry Battalion Grenadiers
124 Infantry Battalion Sikh
125 Infantry Battalion Guards
126 Infantry Battalion JAK Rifles
150 Infantry Battalion Punjab
151 Infantry Battalion Jat
152 Infantry Battalion Sikh
153 Infantry Battalion Dogra
154 Infantry Battalion Bihar
155 Infantry Battalion JAK Rifles
Local defense battalions
These are called “Home & Hearth” battalions, for local defense against terrorists/insurgents
156 Infantry Battalion Punjab
157 Infantry Battalion Sikh
158 Infantry Battalion Sikh LI
159 Infantry Battalion Dogra
160 Infantry Battalion JAK Rifles
161 Infantry Battalion JAK LI
162 Infantry Battalion
163 Infantry Battalion
164 Infantry Battalion Naga
165 Infantry Battalion Assam
166 Infantry Battalion (Assam & Tripura)
168 Infantry Battalion (Poonch, Kashmir)
Ecological Battalions
Primary engaged in reforestation; River Ganga cleanup mission added 2015; water purification and tree planting, but the first battalion will raise only in 2018 with 8 officers, 20 Junior Commissioned Officers, and 500 men. Much too small for the task, 1000-1200 needed per battalion.
127 Infantry Battalion Garhwal Rifles
128 Infantry Battalion Rajputana Rifles
129 Infantry Battalion JAK LI Samba
130 Infantry Battalion Kumaon Pithoragarh
131 Infantry Battalion Rajput Gwalior
132 Infantry Battalion Delhi
133 Infantry Battalion Dogra Akpa, HP
134 Infantry Battalion Sonitpur, Assam
135 Infantry Battalion Kokrajhar, Assam
??? Infantry Battalion Allahabad, UP (River Ganga project)
??? Infantry Battalion (39 more planned for River Ganga)
Other units
6 Railway Engineer Regiments (9 disbanded)
3 Engineer battalions authorized (1 for Jammu region and 2 for Kashmir region)
7 General Hospitals (3-500 beds)
1 supply battalion
1 signal regiment
1 oil pipeline battalion
1 oil fields battalion
6.7 Aviation
6.6.1 Army
Personnel
The ACC is finally to have its own cadre of 8,531. Previously, officers from other arms would volunteer for the AAC, serve for some years, then return to their parent arm.
Training
50 hours basic
33 hours advanced
15 reconnaissance, observation, and support squadrons (normally a corps is assigned 1 squadron) (Increasing)
(flights are numbered 1, 2, and 3 after the squadron number. Thus, 2041 Fight belongs to No. 204 Squadron)
All modernized.
No. 201 Squadron
No. 662 Squadron
No. 202 Squadron (Dhurv)
No. 663 Squadron
No. 203 Squadron
No. 664 Squadron
No. 204 Squadron
No. 665 Squadron
No. 205 Squadron Leh Dhurv III
No. 666 Squadron
No. 659 Squadron
No. 667 Squadron
No. 660 Squadron
No. 668 Squadron
No. 661 Squadron
37 Flights (more now)
29 Reconnaissance & Observation Flights
6 Independent R & O flights
2 Independent utility helicopter flights
R & O Flights are numbered 1-35; the utility flights are numbered 1 and 2.
Being inducted: 6 x squadrons Rudra attack helicopter, 1 squadron raised so far, for I Strike Corps.
Aviation brigades of three squadrons each are planned for each corps.
Helicopters (2017)
Type
On strength
On order
AH-64E Block III
0
39 planned, 6 ordered
Cheetal (upgraded new SA-315)
30
16
Dhurv
140
124
Light Combat Helicopter
~10
104
Kamov Ka-226T utility
0
133
Light Combat Helicopter
100
Cheetah SA-316: Phased out. Helicopter strength to increase from 280 to ~550.
UAV
108 Searcher 1 (including air force)
68 Heron 1 (including air force)
10 Heron II armed (IAF)
22 naval Predator (Indian Navy, ordered 2017)
Rustom (India, Predator analog, MALE. Soon to enter service to replace/augment Israeli drones)
AURA (India UACV, under development, IAF)
Micro UAV Imperial Eagle (India developed, 2.5-kg)
Micro UAV Netra (India;
surveillance/reconnaissance; ~2-kg)
Bases
7 Northern Command
5 Eastern Command
3 Western Command
3 South Western Command
2 Southern Command
1 Central Command
6.7.2 Indian Air Force in support of the Army
15 CH-47F (on order) plus 7 options
22 AH-64E on order plus 11 option); Army 6 AH-64E plus options 2021 delivery)
15 Mi-35 phasing out
16 SA-315 Cheetal (new build upgraded Lama) FAC and utility
77 SA-316 (COIN/FAC) approximately, phasing out
62 Dhurv ALH + 49 being delivered, replacing SA-316)
65 Light Combat Helicopter (based on Dhurv) on order
6 AS365 Dauphin
3 Mi-26
250 Mil-17 + 54 on order; Mi-8 no longer in service
12 Augusta 101 helicopters (delivering) 8 in VVIP version with crash resistance, anti-terror protection, advanced communication suites Cancelled after 3 delivered, mothballed
VIP
Communications Squadron (Palam, Delhi)
14 Embrarer 135BJ/BBJ mid-size executive jets,
with self-protection suites
4 Embrarer 145
3 Boeing Business Jet, approximately $150-million each with hardened communications and self-defense systems
2 Boeing 777
Air India One is a call-sign given to a civil B-747 when used for the President. The Vice-President has call sign Air India Two, and the Prime Minister gets Air India Three. Two new B-777-300ERs are being fitted to take over the mission.