NEW DELHI: Inaugurating the two-day Vibrant Villages Programme (VVP) workshop in the capital on Tuesday, Union Home Minister Amit Shah stated that demographic changes in India’s border areas are taking place as part of a deliberate strategy, not merely due to geographical or natural conditions.
Highlighting the security implications, Shah said, “It should not be assumed that this is happening due to geographical conditions; rather, it is occurring as part of a deliberate design.”
He called upon district collectors of border regions to take appropriate measures to address illegal religious encroachments, specifically directing that all such encroachments within a 30-kilometre radius of the international border must be removed.
Citing the Gujarat government’s efforts as a model, the Ministry of Home Affairs noted in a statement that the western state has successfully cleared numerous encroachments along both its maritime and land borders.
The Home Minister outlined three core pillars of the VVP: preventing migration from border villages, ensuring that residents receive 100% coverage of Central and state government schemes, and transforming these villages into instruments of national and border security.
“Since Prime Minister Narendra Modi designated the last village of the country as the first, our entire perspective towards border villages has shifted,” Shah said. He also unveiled the official logo of the VVP during the event.
He further remarked that the villages identified in the early phase of the VVP would, over time, become significant contributors to national security. Shah also encouraged Chief Secretaries, District Collectors, and Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) to go beyond the standard implementation of the VVP and to innovate further in achieving its broader objectives.
Suggesting economic initiatives, Shah said that if homestay schemes are promoted in border villages, and tourism departments ensure proper booking systems, it could lead to meaningful employment opportunities for every household in those areas.
Launched in 2023, the centrally-sponsored Vibrant Villages Programme aims at the holistic development of select villages located along India's northern, north-eastern, and north-western borders. The second phase of the programme was rolled out in April 2025 with a financial outlay of ₹6,839 crore, extending until the financial year 2028–29.