Cabinet Committee on Security Gave In Principle Approval for Fencing of India-Myanmar Border | Current Affairs | Vision IAS
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Cabinet Committee on Security Gave In Principle Approval for Fencing of India-Myanmar Border

Posted 20 Sep 2024

2 min read

The government is reported to have approved fencing the entire 1,643 km porous India-Myanmar border at an approximate coast of Rs 31,000 cr.

  • So far, only 30km border of India with Myanmar is fenced. 

About Porous border

  • Definition: Porous border refers to border areas not protected enough to stop people going through. It could be both open (unfenced) and closed (fenced). 
  • Current status
    • In addition to Myanmar, India shares open borders with Nepal and Bhutan. 
    • India also shares porous border issues with Pakistan, Bangladesh and China.
  • Threats to national security: Such a border facilitates:
    • Cross-border terrorism, insurgency in the North East, arms smuggling, human trafficking etc.
    • Drug trafficking (Myanmar is part of the Golden Triangle).
    • Refugee influx (resulting from political instability neighbours).

Challenges in border fencing 

  • Rugged terrain: Marshy land, riverine borders, and extreme climatic conditions (like in Siachen Glacier) pose technological and financial challenges. 
  • Lack of demarcation: Some of India’s borders with its neighbours are disputed and therefore are not demarcated.
  • Popular discontent due to cross-border ethnic ties: For example. Zo Reunification Organisation of Mizoram protested against government’s decision to fence the India-Myanmar border and suspend the Free Movement Regime (FMR).
An image showing Initiatives for effective border management. These initiatives are-  Comprehensive Integrated Border Management System (CIBMS): Integration of manpower, sensors, networks, intelligence and command control solutions; Border Electronically Dominated QRT Interception Technique (BOLD-QIT): Being deployed under CIBM for the use of different kinds of intrusion detection sensors (radar, electro optics, etc.); Border Infrastructure and Management (BIM) Scheme:  A Central Sector Scheme for the construction of border fence, border flood lights, etc.; Forest (Conservation) Amendment Act,2023: Strategic projects concerning national security located within 100 km of distance from the International Borders, LAC, and LoC are exempted from the purview of the Act (thus exempted from some prior approvals)
  • Tags :
  • India-Myanmar Border
  • Border Fencing
  • CIBMS
  • BOLD-QIT
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