Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP)
This is a collection of articles archived for the excellence of their content. |
Contents |
Medical issues
Psychiatric illnesses
Psychiatric illness costs 100 ITBP jawans their jobs
PTI | Aug 25, 2014 The Times of India
The country's frontline fighting force against China — the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) — has decided to compulsorily retire over 100 of its serving soldiers after they were found to be suffering from various type of psychiatric disorders, including the incurable Alzheimer's disease.
The cases in the mountain trained paramilitary has sent alarm bells ringing after it was found that troops who have largely served over a decade in the force could become a "serious risk" for their colleagues or could turn "maniac" while rendering sensitive duties.
Officials and medical experts in the force said while there is no conclusive reason to suggest the exact reasons for these mental disorders and disability diseases cropping up in the force, some of the reasons could be attributed to the genetic history of the individual soldier while some factors related to stress on duty and family tensions too can lead to the eruption of such traits in the personnel.
Personnel issues
Recruitment: Attracting well educated youths/ 2015
The Times of India, Nov 15 2015
Ajay Sura
College grads join ITBP as jawans
Job Security, Better Perks Key Factors
Better perks and job security seem to be attracting even the odd MBA degree-holder to the paramilitary forces. So what if they have to join at the bottom of the pyramid as jawans.
Of the 517 jawans of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) that passed out of the Basic Training Centre (BTC) at Bhanu near Panchkula on Saturday , 80% had higher education including college degrees while 20% cleared standard X schooling, the basic qualification for jawans. Data given by ITBP officials showed that 107 constable (general duty) that were inducted into the paramilitary force were class X pass-outs. As many as 417 had degrees ranging from MBA, BTech, master's in commerce, master's in arts, MSc, BSc, BCom, BA, BCA and senior secondary examination. P S Papta, deputy inspector general at the training centre, said that in every new batch of recruits, the numbers of candidates with higher degrees is increasing. Asked if this affected training in any way , he insisted that they have never witnessed any incident of insubordination. “In fact, the percentage of unsuccessful candidates has come down to 1.7 from 14,“ he said.
“An ITBP jawan gets around 25,000 per month and Rs 8,000 to Rs 9,000 special allowance while posted in high altitude areas,“ he said. “Up to 90% of his salary is saved because ration, uniform and accommodation is provided free.Ultimately , he gets a handsome amount compared to an MBA or BTech in the private sector these days.“
ITBP recruits were rigor ously trained for a period of 44 weeks during which they were taught to operate weapons, pa trol the borders, master warfare tactics, respond to natural calamities and prepare for challenges at the China border.
Telephone operators/ 2015
The Times of India, Jun 10 2015
Deeptiman Tiwary
A 2010 decision of the home ministry which had put telephone operators in combat roles on China border and forced trained commandos to supervise maintenance of vehicles has been struck down by the Delhi high court. In 2010, the home ministry had merged all cadres -as varied as motor driving, telecom, engineering and armorer (also known as minor or technical cadre) -of ITBP with general cadre (those engaged in combat roles) of the force and taken out a combined seniority list.
The notification had effectively led to a scenario where an officer with 15 years in telecom and having no experience in combat was suddenly leading battalions on China border while a commando with years of combat experience was handling purely technical work in the force.
A petition filed in the HC had challenged the notification on the ground that it adversely affected the overall efficacy of the force and unfairly granted seniority to officers of technical cadre over the general cadre.
The court, in an order passed last month, has observed that the decision was not just `bad in law' but also taken without assessing its impact on the efficacy of the force.
Calling the 2010 notification “premature“ and “violative of prescribed procedures“, the high court has said, “We have seen the original file (about the merger or der) of the respondents (union government and others). It is devoid of the consultative process and silent on the vital issues concerning the efficacy of the IndoTibetan Border Police Force (ITBP) as a paramilitary force. There is no deliberation at all in this regard let alone sufficient deliberation.“
It has also raised objections to the home ministry not consulting UPSC before issuing the notification and not taking approval of the ministry of finance. “In the circumstances, the impugned office memorandum dated 26.11.2010 cannot be sustained and hence it is quashed,“ the court order said. The order also cites the opinion of Inspector General (Training) of the force on the adverse impact of the merger on the operational capability of the force.
The IG's opinion -which held that the merger of the cadres would be “a great drawback and a minus point“ had been sought by the ministry .
