National Security Guards

National Security Guards Abbreviation NSG Agency Overview Formed 1985Legal personality Governmental agency Jurisdictional Structure Federal agency IndiaConstituting instrument National Security Guard Act, 1985 General nature

Civilian agency
Federal law enforcement

Specialist jurisdiction Paramilitary law enforcement, counter insurgency, armed response to civil unrest, counter terrorism, special weapons operations. Operational Structure Parent agency Indian Police Service

Indian Armed Forces
Emblem

Triservices Crest. Military Man Power Total armed forces 2,414,700 (Ranked 3rd) Active troops 1,414,000 (Ranked 3rd) Total troops 3,773,300 (Ranked 6th) Paramilitary forces 1,089,700 Components Indian Army Indian Air Force Indian Navy Indian Coast Guard Paramilitary forces of India Strategic Nuclear CommandHistory Military history of IndiaRanks Air Force ranks and insignia of India Army ranks and insignia of India Naval ranks and insignia of India

National Security Guards (NSG)[1]is India's premier counter-terrorism force, created by the Cabinet Secretariat under the National Security Guard Act of 1985. The NSG operates under the oversight of the Ministry of Home Affairs and is headed by the Director General of the Indian Police Service (IPS). The NSG members are also known as Black Cats because of the black nomex coveralls and balaclavas or assault helmets they wear.

1 Functions
2 History
3 Former NSG CHIEFS
4 In fiction
5 See also
6 External links

Functions

The NSG's roles include protecting VIPs, conducting anti-sabotage checks, rescuing hostages, neutralizing terrorist threats to vital installations, engaging terrorists and responding to hijacking and piracy. The NSG is much sought after for VVIP security for high-risk VVIPs in India; this task is done by the SRG of the NSG. The SAG is strike force in anti-terrorist and anti-hijack operations, supported by the SRG and others. NSG's specific goals include:

Neutralization of terrorist threats
Handling hijacking situations in air and on land.
Bomb disposal (search, detection and neutralisation of IEDs).
PBI (Post Blast Investigation)
Engaging and neutralizing terrorists in specific situations
Rescue of hostages

The NSG has a total personnel strength of about 14,500. The NSG was modeled on the pattern of the SAS of the UK and GSG-9 of Germany. It is a task-oriented force and has two complementary elements in the form of the Special Action Group (SAG) and the Special Ranger Groups (SRG). All the personnel are on deputation. The SAG is the offensive wing drawn from members of the Indian Army. The SRG consists of members from other paramilitary forces such as the Border Security Force (BSF) and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and State Police forces. There are other specialized units also.

The NSG Training Centre is a Centre of Excellence and the National Bomb Data Centre holds international conferences. Both are located at Manesar in Haryana. The NSG HQ Exchange is located at Mehramnagar, Palam .

History

The NSG was established under the National Security Guard Act of 1986, in response to the 1984 Operation Bluestar, the storming of the Golden Temple by the Indian military, which caused widespread damage to the temple and heavy casualties, including civilians. The operation highlighted the need for a special force to conduct counter-terrorist operations with greater efficiency.

The NSG commandos were first used to combat the insurgency movement in the Indian state of Punjab in 1985. They have now evolved into a counter-terrorist unit and have been continuing major combat operations in Jammu and Kashmir.

The NSG has been publicly deployed only rarely, with most of its operations still remaining classified. Its most recent known deployment was Operation Vajra Shakti to end the Akshardham Temple siege in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.

Some of the NSG's previous operations include:

May 12, 1988 — assault on the Golden Temple during Operation Black Thunder II
April 25, 1994 — rescue of hijacked plane Indian Airlines Boeing 737 during Operation Ashwamedh
October, 1998 — major combat missions in Jammu and Kashmir
July 15, 1999 — rescue of 12 hostages held by armed Islamic terrorists who had stormed an apartment complex in Kashmir and killed 4 people
September 25, 2002 — Operation Vajra Shakti to free hostages held by Islamic terrorists who had killed 26 worshippers at the Akshardham temple in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. They suffered their only combat death to date in this operation. Another commando, who was seriously injured and was in a coma, died after 18 months.