New Delhi: The Center has granted an enhanced tenure of seven years to Central Armed Police Forces and Assam Rifles personnel who join the Anti-Terrorism Commando Force (NSG) on deputation, keeping in mind the special combat requirements of the ‘Black Cat’ force.
The Federal Home Ministry approved the decision after the National Security Guards requested extension of the deputation period of these personnel from the current five-year period to seven years to preserve the “institutional memory” and skill sets of the trained special forces.
The Nuclear Suppliers Group is the federal counter-terrorism force, and its commandos are nicknamed the “Black Cats” because of the black clothing they wear during combat.
The force undertakes special anti-terrorism operations and provides security cover for VIPs who are at high risk, in addition to carrying out anti-kidnapping missions.
The force derives its full strength from delegations sent by the Central Armed Police Forces and the Army.
The Home Ministry issued an order on March 5 stating that CRPF and Assam Rifles personnel joining the NSG on deputation will be allowed to serve a full seven years “at the time of initial appointment”, keeping in mind the “specialized nature of the job” of the commando force, an official told PTI.
Until now, these staff have had a fixed mandate of five years in the Nuclear Suppliers Group, extendable twice for one year.
Officials felt that the five-plus-one-plus-one period resulted in a loss of time to obtain administrative clearances and only a few commandos were able to obtain clearance from their parent forces because those forces also required their service.
They proposed that the NSG should have a longer authorization period similar to those prevailing at the National Investigation Agency, the Narcotics Control Bureau, and the National Disaster Response Force.
As per the recent MHA order, the approved deputation period of 7 years in the Nuclear Suppliers Group will not be extendable, officials said.
Each commando is trained in specialized tasks such as domestic intervention, close-quarters combat, precision firing, sniping, drone and counter-drone surveillance, communications, and unarmed combat. A senior officer said that the five-year period was too short and that the commandos should serve for seven years so that their skills could be used for NSG duties and missions.
The NSG, which was raised in 1984, is setting up a new commando center at Ayodhya in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh. It plans to enhance its counter-terrorism training to fight terrorists and resolve hostage situations on cruise ships, trains and in various urban locations.
The coalition forces comprise CRPF, Border Security Force, ITBP, CISF, SSB along with Assam Rifles and operate under the control of MHA.
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