Setting up of Bureau of Port Security reviewed

Union Home Minister, Amit Shah and Union Ports, Shipping and Waterways Minister Sarbananda Sonowal reviewed progress of establishing the Bureau of Port Security (BoPS) Friday. An official statement said it was decided only licensed private security agencies should be entrusted with port security, and only those private security personnel who have received training from the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) should be deployed.

“The training of security personnel for the Port Security Training Institute (PSTI) should commence at the earliest using the existing infrastructure available for the institute,” Shah said. He further directed that a database of all security personnel to be deployed under the Bureau of Port Security (BoPS) should be created.

All ports covered under the BoPS security framework should have container scanning facilities, the Home Minister directed. The CISF has been instructed to conduct trial runs of the security arrangements proposed to be handed over to the BoPS at major ports across the country, including Visakhapatnam Port, Jawaharlal Nehru Port, and Mundra Port.


In another meeting, Sonowal reviewed progress of Sagarmala Finance Corporation Ltd (SMFCL). An official statement said the financing entity had sanctions of over Rs 10,700 crore and disbursements crossing Rs 3,700 crore.