New Delhi: As of December 2022-23, three of the seven Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) had not spent even a penny of the “modernisation” funds allocated to them for the financial year 2022-23, government data shows.
These forces are the National Security Guard (NSG), India’s premier anti-terrorist-contingency force, the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), responsible for securing the border with China, and the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), which is deployed along the borders with Nepal and Bhutan.
According to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs’ (MHA’s) annual report for 2022-23, the NSG was allocated Rs 33.38 crore for modernisation in FY 2022-23, while the ITBP got Rs 3 crore. The SSB was allocated Rs 20 crore in the same period.
The CAPFs — which have cited “inadequate funds” as a deterrent to development and technology upgrade — had overall spent less than 10 percent of their modernisation funds for 2022-23 three quarters into the financial year.
The funds were allocated under the Union government’s Modernisation Plan-IV for CAPFs, which was launched on 1 February, 2022, and had an outlay of Rs 1,523 crore for upgrading weapons, vehicles and equipment used by the forces. The entire amount was stipulated to be spent by 31 March 2026.
The allocation for 2022-23, according to the report, was Rs 248.30 crore, of which only Rs 17.45 crore — or 7.03 percent — had been spent by 31 December 2022.
Asked about the lack of fund utilisation, officials in the NSG — created in 1986 and drawing its forces from the CAPFs as well as state police forces — said it was a “conscious choice”, adding that the force aimed to spend the money on technology that is unlikely to become redundant soon.
A detailed questionnaire in this regard has also been sent to the official spokesperson for the ITBP, which was raised in 1962 after the war with China and guards the 3,488-km border with the country, apart from other roles.
A comment is also awaited from the spokesperson for the SSB, which was set up in 1963, also in the wake of the India-China conflict.
This report will be updated when a response is received.
All seven CAPFs — NSG, ITBP, SSB, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), Assam Rifles, and Border Security Force (BSF) — are overseen by the MHA.
Former CAPF officers told ThePrint that the procurement process is often time-consuming. While funds may appear to be under-utilised at some point, it doesn’t mean the process has stopped, they said.
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‘A conscious choice’
Speaking to ThePrint, an NSG officer privy to its policymaking said modernisation is not a yearly phenomenon, adding that they are waiting for “maturity” in technology to utilise the modernisation funds.
“There are advanced technologies that we need to procure for modernisation and… developments keep on happening in this space,” said the officer, on the condition of anonymity.
“Hence, the force has put on hold the procurement process for new technology as they are waiting for some more time before they can upgrade their technology to a level that could last for some time,” he added.
The official said the NSG had enough funds under its ‘machine and equipment’ budget, adding that the modernisation funds are “over and above it”.
The officer also said there is “a list of some 18 items” that the NSG wants to be included in the Modernisation Plan-IV, and the force is waiting for a nod from the MHA before acquiring them.
Budgetary allocation, the officer added, doesn’t lapse in case of disuse or partial use, and remains in the kitty of the force.
Other CAPFs don’t fare much better
According to the MHA annual report, the Modernisation Plan-IV was brought in to “bridge the gap” between current technology used by the CAPFs and the latest options available, “in view of the current security scenario across the country”
“Through this plan, the CAPFs will be further equipped with the latest weapons, surveillance and communication equipment, specialised vehicles, protective gears etc. to enable them to perform important tasks such as guarding the borders and maintaining internal security,” the report says.
Under the plan, it adds, the government has envisaged the procurement of the latest types of equipment such as the multi-grenade launcher, under-barrel grenade launcher (UBGL), assault rifle, bomb detection and disposal equipment, mine-protected and bullet-proof vehicle, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAVs), lightweight sleeping bag, hand-held satellite tracker and thermal imager, and satellite phone.
It was launched amid demands from the CAPFs for greater fund allocations to improve technology and develop infrastructure.
Just before the Union Budget was presented earlier this year, officials in the CAPFs had told ThePrint that a major chunk of their funds was being spent on salaries and allowances, leaving little for development and upgradation.
“Money for infrastructure, technological advancement and security-related equipment — which includes drones, early warning systems, equipment to enhance reaction time, for better training, intelligence gathering and operations — is what needs to be focussed on,” one of the officials had said.
Even so, the MHA report shows that the modernisation funds were largely unused as of December 2022.
The highest expenditure against allocation had been made by the Assam Rifles — whose roles span from border-security to counter-insurgency — at 33.25 percent (see graphic).
The CISF, which provides security cover to 355 establishments across the country, was second on the list, having utilised 7.69 percent of their allocated funds for 2022-23.
The CRPF, whose mandate includes riot control as well as quelling homegrown insurgencies such as Left-Wing Extremism (LWE), had utilised 1.23 percent as of December 2022.
Speaking to ThePrint, a senior CRPF officer cited the “time-consuming nature of the procurement process” and “the fact that the funds don’t lapse if unused” as the reasons for the low utilisation.
The officer added that sometimes there “is a process of tendering and retendering because technology evolves in the time between the ordering of equipment and its delivery”. “That’s why, while the funds may appear to have been under-utilised, the process [of procurement] did not stop,” the officer added.
The BSF, which guards the borders with Pakistan and Bangladesh, had used 3.10 percent of its modernisation funds by December 2022.
“Procurement is not something that you can go to the market and do… There are laid-out procedures, which take time,” a former senior officer from one of the CAPFs told ThePrint.
“Many times, for things you want, there are few bidders and there is a need for the retendering process and hence it might take time,” he added.
The former officer emphasised that “under-utilisation of funds in eight or nine months does not necessarily hinder the forces’ operational capabilities”.
(Edited by Sunanda Ranjan)
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