In a major step toward strengthening security along the India-China Line of Actual Control (LAC), the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) has announced the establishment of 10 all-women Border Outposts (BOPs) along the sensitive Himalayan frontier.
The initiative is part of the force’s ongoing forwardisation plan, rolled out after the 2020 Ladakh standoff, to enhance deployment, surveillance, and operational reach across the 3,488-km-long LAC. As part of this expansion, the number of forward-deployed posts has already risen from 180 to 215.
Announcing the move during the ITBP’s 64th Raising Day parade in Jammu, Director General Praveen Kumar confirmed that the first two all-women posts will come up in Ladakh’s Lukung and Himachal Pradesh’s Thangi, with eight more to be established in other strategic sectors along the high-altitude border.
The deployment of women combatants at frontline posts marks a significant milestone in gender empowerment within India’s border security forces, reinforcing the ITBP’s commitment to enabling women personnel to serve in demanding operational roles on par with their male counterparts.
The expansion is being supported by seven new battalions and an additional sector headquarters sanctioned in 2023, adding nearly 9,400 personnel to the force. These reinforcements are expected to strengthen supervision, patrolling, and rapid response capabilities in forward areas.
Furthering its border posture, the ITBP also plans to raise 41 additional forward bases along the LAC amid continuing geopolitical tensions in the region.
To meet the challenges of deployment at altitudes ranging from 9,000 to over 14,000 feet, the force has restructured its training framework and introduced five new skilling modules tailored to mountain warfare, tactical survival, and high-altitude operations.
Operating under the Union Home Ministry, the ITBP—with a strength of over one lakh personnel—is continuing to modernise through smart border technology, sustainable infrastructure, and enhanced human resource capabilities, ensuring robust and resilient border management along one of India’s most sensitive and inhospitable frontiers.
