Govt wakes up from slumber, to give NSG two jets, more men

NEW DELHI: A day after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announced strengthening of the National Security Guard (NSG) and setting up four regional hubs for the elite antiterror force, the home ministry on Monday agreed in principle to procure at least two aircraft for it besides recruiting more personnel in the next six months.

The proposal ��� which has been pending in the ministry for the last three years ��� will soon go to the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) for final approval.

Sources in the home ministry said that NSG chief JK Dutt was informed of the ministry's decision when he called on senior officers in North Block on Monday. Dutt is learnt to have briefed home secretary Madhukar Gupta about the force's operations, they added.

Since the NSG is mandated to take part in commando operations anywhere in the country, it had asked the ministry to procure at least two aircraft for it so that its anti-terrorist crack team could reach the spot directly from its base at Manesar (Haryana) without any delay.

Currently, the NSG has to bank on the aircraft from the Air Force and Aviation Research Centre (ARC) of the India's external intelligence agency RAW to meet the requirement.

Sources said that the decision to recruit more commandos for the NSG was taken in view of setting up four regional hubs ��� including Kolkata and Hyderabad ��� of the force so that its response time can be reduced. Referring to the Mumbai incident, officials said that had the units of the NSG been station near the metropolis, many lives could have been saved there on Wednesday night and early Thursday morning.

Courtesy: The Times of India