NEW DELHI: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday said that only CISF-trained personnel from licensed private security agencies should be deployed for port security, as he reviewed the progress of the proposed Bureau of Port Security (BoPS).
Stressing the need to make India’s coastal security “impermeable”, the Home Minister also ordered early operationalisation of the Port Security Training Institute, creation of a national database of security personnel, mandatory container scanning facilities at ports under the new security framework and trial runs of the proposed security model at major ports, including Visakhapatnam, Jawaharlal Nehru Port and Mundra Port.
The review meeting, chaired jointly by Shah and Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal, was attended by the Union Home Secretary, Director of Intelligence Bureau, Secretaries of Border Management, Ports, Shipping and Waterways and Fisheries, CISF Director General and other senior officials.
In an official statement the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said, “During the meeting, Shah said port security should be entrusted only to licensed private security agencies and that personnel deployed at ports must undergo training conducted by the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF). He directed officials to begin training at the Port Security Training Institute at the earliest by utilising the existing infrastructure.”
The Home Minister also asked officials to develop a comprehensive database of personnel to be deployed under the Bureau of Port Security and ensure that every port is equipped with container scanning facilities, it said.
To test the proposed security architecture before its wider implementation, the Home Minister instructed the CISF to conduct trial runs at major ports, including Visakhapatnam Port, Jawaharlal Nehru Port and Mundra Port.
“Reiterating the government’s commitment to maritime security, Shah said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Centre is determined to build an impregnable coastal security system for the country,” the statement read.
The Bureau of Port Security is being established as a statutory body under Section 13 of the Merchant Shipping Act, 2025. Headed by a Director General, the Bureau will oversee regulatory and inspection functions related to the security of ships and port facilities.
Apart from physical security, the Bureau will be responsible for timely collection, analysis and sharing of security-related intelligence, with a special emphasis on cyber security. It will also have a dedicated division to protect the IT infrastructure of ports from cyber threats and other digital vulnerabilities.
Separately, Shah reviewed security arrangements at fishing harbours and fish landing centres. He asked the department to intensify promotion of ISRO’s ‘Nabhmitra’ mobile application so that more fishermen can access weather alerts through their phones.
‘Simplify registration process for fishermen’
The home minister has instructed the Fisheries Department to seek detailed information from DMs and SPs on all fish-landing centres in their jurisdictions. He called for simplifying the registration process for fishermen and directed district police chiefs to ensure robust security at fish-landing centres by deploying permanent police personnel.