One Border One Force

Definition

The principle, recommended by the Kargil Review Committee and the Group of Ministers report (2001), that each stretch of India's land border should be guarded by a single designated central force to ensure clear accountability.

Key points

• The doctrine assigns one lead Border Guarding Force to each border, avoiding the confusion of multiple agencies on the same stretch.
• Border Security Force (BSF): guards the India-Pakistan and India-Bangladesh borders.
• Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP): guards the India-China border (the Line of Actual Control).
• Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB): guards the India-Nepal and India-Bhutan borders, which are open borders.
• Assam Rifles guards much of the India-Myanmar border, and the Indian Coast Guard handles the maritime frontier; all border-guarding forces operate under the Ministry of Home Affairs except Assam Rifles (administered by the MHA but operationally under the Army).

Why it matters for CAPF

This is a defining principle of India's border-management architecture and directly concerns the deployment of the CAPFs, making it a high-value internal-security and institutions topic.

Common confusion

Match the force to the border: BSF (Pakistan and Bangladesh), ITBP (China), SSB (Nepal and Bhutan), Assam Rifles (Myanmar). The LoC in Kashmir, in wartime, comes under the Army even though the BSF is present.

Related concepts

concept loc vs lac, concept ndma and ndrf

Parent note

india borders neighbours and strategic geography