Mains · GS Paper III · 19 questions

Border management & organised crime

Every question UPSC has set on this line of the GS Paper III syllabus, newest first — with an approach for each.

Asked in 10 of 11 years

UPSC syllabus (verbatim): “Security challenges and their management in border areas - linkages of organized crime with terrorism.” Sub-topics in the detailed syllabus →

2026

GS Paper III 2026 · Q10

10 marks · 150 words

Ladakh is strategically located between China and Pakistan. As a measure to win hearts and minds of locals, discuss the Border Area Development Programmes (BADP) by the Central Government and civic actions by the Army. Also discuss demand of promulgation of provision of the Sixth Schedule of constitution for Ladakh.

🧭 How to think about this question · directive: “discuss”

Decode the demand

Directive 'discuss', three parts: BADP as a hearts-and-minds measure, the Army's civic action, and the Sixth Schedule demand. Each needs its own heading; the opening line on Ladakh's location is the frame, not a part.
The link to hold: every point must show how a road, a school or a safeguard buys trust on a frontier facing two adversaries; development here is security.
The trap: writing a scheme catalogue, or taking sides on the Sixth Schedule. Give the basis, the constitutional difficulty and a middle path.
Carry data: one BADP figure, one Sadbhavana figure, the NCST's 2019 recommendation, the LAHDC Act, 1997 and the 2025 regulations.

Think in a structure

Open with why the villager matters to the soldier, then a small map placing Leh against the LAC and Kargil against the LoC.
BADP and civic action as two short headings, each point a keyword plus the trust it earns, with verified numbers as sub-points.
The Sixth Schedule as a table (demand versus present position), then points on basis, hurdles and middle path; end with a way forward and the NCST's unrealised advice as the anchor.

Facts checked at source (5)· open

Under BADP, 38,715 projects worth ₹7,935.05 crore have been completed in 16 States and 2 UTs.PIB — Border Area Development Scheme (11 March 2026) ↗“Under Border Area Development Programme, 38715 projects of estimated cost ₹7935.05 crore have been completed in 16 States and 2 UTs in various sectors including livelihood projects.”
The Army runs seven Army Goodwill Schools in Ladakh under Operation Sadbhavana (2023 figure).PIB — Operation Sadbhavana in Ladakh (3 February 2023) ↗“Indian Army is presently running seven (07) Army Goodwill Schools (AGS) under ‘Operation SADBHAVANA’ in Ladakh Region.”
In 2025 the Centre put in place domicile and reservation regulations for Ladakh, framed through the MHA's High-Powered Committee with public representatives; the UT then began its first UPSC recruitment, for 359 gazetted posts.Administration of UT of Ladakh — UT Administration initiates filling vacant posts after formalising domicile and reservation rules (3 July 2025) ↗“Developed in consultation with public representatives through a High-Powered Committee constituted by the Ministry of Home Affairs, the framework includes robust definitions of domicile, enhanced reservation provisions”
In September 2019 the NCST recommended that Ladakh be brought under the Sixth Schedule, for democratic devolution, culture and agrarian rights.PIB — NCST conveys its recommendation to include UT of Ladakh under the Sixth Schedule (September 2019) ↗“recommends that the Union Territory of Ladakh be brought under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution. The Commission feels that this will help in: (i) Democratic devolution of powers; (ii)Preserve and promote distinct culture of the region. (iii)Protect agrarian rights including rights on land”
The Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Councils Act, 1997 extends to the districts of Leh and Kargil.FAOLEX — Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Councils Act, 1997 (text) ↗“This Act may be called the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Councils Act, 1997. (2) It extends to the whole of districts of Leh and Kargil in the State of Jammu and Kashmir.”

Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2026, GS Paper III — paper ↗. Guidance: Minimalist IAS, checked 8 Nov 2026 (how we verify). ·

Model answer· 430words · Minimalist IAS

Wedged between China and Pakistan, Ladakh's security rests as much on a trusting, prosperous population as on troops: border villagers are the Army's eyes and ears, and development, civic action and constitutional safeguards are three ways to keep them so.

✏️ Map to sketch in the exam · Ladakh between two adversaries

districts: Leh (Ladakh) = Leh: faces China (LAC)
districts: Kargil (Ladakh) = Kargil: faces Pakistan (LoC)
Legend: border development blocks

Draw on India's official outline (Survey of India boundary).

BADP as a hearts-and-minds measure

Saturation near the border: BADP (MHA, since 1986-87) funds roads, schools, health, water and livelihoods in villages closest to the border, where the State is thinnest.
- 38,715 projects worth ₹7,935 crore completed in 16 States and 2 UTs (MHA, March 2026).
Stemming out-migration: Vibrant Villages Programme (2023) adds connectivity, tourism and livelihoods in Ladakh's border blocks, so villages stay inhabited and watchful.
Trust dividend: a village with a road and a clinic reports a stray patrol; an abandoned village reports nothing.

The full answer goes on to cover

Civic action by the Army
The demand for the Sixth Schedule
Way forward

With 1 table you can reproduce in the exam.

Read the full model answer (430 words) →

Prepared by Minimalist IAS to the answer standard of Shivam Singh (mentor, 7 years) · facts checked against official sources (how we verify) · updated 8 Nov 2026. UPSC publishes no model answers: compare your structure and coverage with this, then write your own.

GS Paper III 2026 · Q20

15 marks · 250 words X-Ray · Core #39

Discuss counterfeit currency and money laundering as major sources of terror funding in India. State the actions being taken at International level to check these menaces. Highlight the role of Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and methods of compliance by its member states in preventing terror funding.

🧭 How to think about this question · directive: “discuss / state / highlight”

Decode the demand

Three directives, three parts: 'discuss' the two funding channels with reasons and India's exposure; 'state' the international actions (a list, not an argument); 'highlight' FATF's role and how members comply. Each needs its own heading.
The issue in one line: terror runs on money, and fake notes plus laundered cash are the two pipes that India must choke along with the world.
The trap: writing a general essay on terrorism, or treating FATF as just 'the grey list'. The examiner wants the mechanics: how the money moves, which UN resolution binds whom, which FATF tools press states, and what compliance looks like in a bank or a ministry.
Carry data: India's 2024 FATF rating, Pakistan's exit from monitoring, one UN convention and two resolutions, the 40 Recommendations.

Think in a structure

Open with why finance matters to terror, then the paradox: India rated well by FATF yet both channels stay live.
Channels as dimensions: fake notes, hawala, charities and shells, narco and crypto; a flowchart of laundering shows you understand the process, not just the names.
International actions as a list, FATF as standard-setter plus peer pressure, compliance as a table of method, state action and India's instrument.
End from India's seat: five measures a Home or Finance ministry officer can act on, then close on the UN resolution that made terror finance every state's duty.

Facts checked at source (4)· open

FATF's 2024 Mutual Evaluation placed India in the 'regular follow-up' category, shared by only four other G20 countries.PIB — FATF adopts India's Mutual Evaluation Report (28 June 2024) ↗“places India in the ‘regular follow-up’ category, a distinction shared by only four other G20 countries.”
FATF Plenary, October 2022: Pakistan completed 34 action items under plans set in June 2018 and June 2021 and is no longer subject to increased monitoring.FATF — Outcomes of the FATF Plenary, 20-21 October 2022: jurisdictions no longer under increased monitoring ↗“Pakistan has strengthened the effectiveness of its AML/CFT regime and addressed technical deficiencies to meet the commitments of its action plans regarding strategic deficiencies that the FATF identified in June 2018 and June 2021, the latter of which was completed in advance of the deadlines, encompassing 34 action items in total.”
FATF's 2024 Mutual Evaluation recognised India's mitigation of ML/TF risks, including laundering of proceeds of corruption, fraud and organised crime, and its shift from a cash-based to a digital economy.PIB — FATF Mutual Evaluation Report places India in 'regular follow-up' (Ministry of Finance, June 2024) ↗“Mitigating the risks arising from ML/TF, including the laundering of proceeds from corruption, fraud, and organised crime. Effective measures implemented by India to transition from a cash-based to a digital economy to reduce ML/TF risks.”
FATF credited the JAM trinity and stringent cash-transaction regulations for raising financial inclusion and digital transactions, cutting ML/TF risk.PIB — FATF Mutual Evaluation Report on India (June 2024) ↗“Implementation of the JAM (Jan Dhan, Aadhaar, Mobile) Trinity, along with stringent regulations on cash transactions, has led to a significant increase in financial inclusion and digital”

Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2026, GS Paper III — paper ↗. Guidance: Minimalist IAS, checked 8 Nov 2026 (how we verify). ·

Model answer· 589words · Minimalist IAS

Terror needs money for recruits, weapons and propaganda, so choking finance is as decisive as neutralising cadres. FATF's 2024 evaluation placed India in 'regular follow-up', a category shared by only four other G20 countries, yet fake notes and laundering keep the funding lines alive.

Counterfeit currency and money laundering as sources of terror funding

Counterfeit currency: high-quality fake Indian currency notes printed abroad enter through porous borders, paying operatives while eroding trust in the rupee.
- Entry points cluster along the Bangladesh and Nepal frontiers; the FICN Coordination Group pools BSF, NIA and state inputs.
Law treats it as terror: UAPA counts damage to monetary stability through high-quality counterfeit currency as a terrorist act, not mere forgery.
Hawala and cash couriers: value moves on trust without records, so funds reach cadres untraced and outside bank supervision.
Misuse of charities and shell firms: donations and front companies disguise terror money as welfare or trade.
Narco-terror and crypto-assets: heroin dropped by drones across the Punjab border and virtual assets fund networks beyond banks.
Risks FATF flagged: India's 2024 evaluation listed laundering of proceeds of corruption, fraud and organised crime among its main threats.

The full answer goes on to cover

Actions at the international level
Role of FATF
Methods of compliance by member states
Way forward for India

With 1 table you can reproduce in the exam.

Read the full model answer (589 words) →

2025

GS Paper III 2025 · Q19

15 marks · 250 words

What are the major challenges to internal security and peace process in the North-Eastern States? Map the various peace accords and agreements initiated by the government in the past decade.

Approach · directive: “what / map”

What it asks · Identify the drivers of insecurity in the North-East and chart the peace accords of roughly 2015–2025, with what remains unfinished.

It asks 2 things — answer each

Identify the major challenges to internal security and the peace process in the North-Eastern States
Map the peace accords and agreements initiated by the government in the past decade (2015–2025), with what remains unfinished

Open with · Insurgency incidents in the North-East fell 64% between 2014 and 2024, security-force casualties 85% and civilian deaths 86% (MHA Annual Report 2025-26); yet 294 incidents in 2024, mostly from ethnic strife in Manipur, show how fragile peace remains.

Cover

Ethnic insurgencies and inter-ethnic conflict — Naga, Kuki and Meitei groups; the Manipur violence since May 2023.
Porous Myanmar border and the Free Movement Regime; camps across the border; arms and drug trafficking from the Golden Triangle; illegal migration.
Trust deficit: AFSPA and human-rights concerns, extortion economies, unemployment feeding recruitment; inter-State boundary disputes.
Accords (Tripura–Mizoram): Naga Framework Agreement (2015); NLFT (2019) and NLFT–ATTF (2024); Bru–Reang resettlement (2020).
Accords (Assam): Bodo Accord (2020), Karbi Anglong (2021), Adivasi groups (2022), DNLA (2023), ULFA pro-talks faction (2023).
Boundaries and AFSPA: Assam–Meghalaya (2022) and Assam–Arunachal (2023) agreements; ‘disturbed areas’ under AFSPA reduced since 2022.
Unfinished: the final Naga settlement (flag and constitution demands), Manipur, and time-bound implementation of accord promises.

Close with · Accords have shrunk violence; durable peace now depends on implementing them in letter and spirit and reconciling communities, not only armed groups, so that the North-East becomes India's bridge to South-East Asia, not its frontier.

Add value (verified)

Under the Memorandum of Settlement of 29 December 2023, ULFA agreed to give up violence, surrender arms and disband.PIB, Ministry of Home Affairs — Memorandum of Settlement with ULFA (29 December 2023) ↗“under today's agreement, ULFA representatives have agreed to abjure path of violence, lay down all their arms and ammunition and disband their armed organisation.”
MHA Annual Report 2025-26: versus 2014, insurgency incidents down 64% in 2024, security-force casualties down 85%, civilian deaths down 86%.MHA Annual Report 2025-26, Chapter 2 (Security Situation in North East, para 2.47) ↗“Compared to 2014, there has been a 64% reduction in insurgency incidents in 2024. Similarly, in this period, Security Forces casualties have come down by 85% and Civilian deaths by 86%.”
AFSPA as on 1 April 2025: 3 districts and parts of a fourth in Arunachal Pradesh; 3 districts in Assam; 9 districts and 21 police stations in Nagaland; revoked from 13 police stations of 5 districts in Manipur; fully revoked in Tripura and Meghalaya.MHA Annual Report 2025-26, Chapter 2 (para 2.39) ↗“As on 01.04.2025, AFSPA is applicable only in 3 districts and 3 police stations of another district in Arunachal Pradesh. In Assam, it is applicable in only 3 districts. In Nagaland, it is applicable in 9 districts and 21 Police Stations of 5 other districts. In Manipur, it has been revoked from 13 Police Stations of 5 Districts. Further, it is completely revoked from the States of Tripura and Meghalaya.”
March 2024: the CCS gave in-principle approval for fencing the remaining length of the Indo-Myanmar border.MHA Annual Report 2025-26, Chapter 3 (Indo-Myanmar Border, para 3.24) ↗“In March 2024, the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) granted its in-principle approval for fencing of the remaining border length of Indo-Myanmar Border.”
UNLF agreement, 29 November 2023: the oldest valley-based armed group in Manipur committed to renounce violence and accept the Constitution.MHA Annual Report 2025-26, Chapter 2 (Manipur, para 2.72) ↗“On 29.11.2023, a significant peace agreement on agreed ground rules was signed between the Government of India, the Government of Manipur and the United National Liberation Front (UNLF), marking a pivotal moment in the search for peace in Manipur through political dialogue.”
Bodo Accord (MoS, January 2020): a ₹1,500 crore Special Development Package (₹750 crore each from the Centre and Assam) over three years for Bodo areas.MHA, North East Division — Important events and major achievements in North Eastern Region since 2014 (March 2022) ↗“As per MoS, a Special Development Package(SDP) for 1500 crore (Rs. 750 crore by Gol (M/o DoNER) and Rs.750 crore by Govt. of Assam) will be provided for over a period of three years for overall development of Bodo areas in Assam.”

Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2025, GS Paper III — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 3 Oct 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·

Model answer· 368words · Minimalist IAS

Insurgency incidents in the North-East fell 64% between 2014 and 2024, security-force casualties 85% and civilian deaths 86% (MHA Annual Report 2025-26). Yet 294 insurgency-related incidents in 2024 show how fragile peace remains.

Major challenges to internal security and the peace process

Ethnic insurgency and inter-ethnic conflict: Naga, Kuki and Meitei claims over land and identity; the Manipur violence since May 2023 is the starkest case.
Porous Myanmar border: the 1,643 km border and the Free Movement Regime allow rebel camps, arms and drugs from the Golden Triangle, and migration that stokes identity anxieties.
Trust deficit: AFSPA and human-rights concerns, extortion economies, unemployment that feeds recruitment, and inter-State boundary disputes.
Peace-process hurdles: factional splits, rival demands such as a Naga flag and constitution, and slow delivery of promises.

The full answer goes on to cover

Mapping the peace accords and agreements, 2015–2025
What remains unfinished

With 1 map you can reproduce in the exam.

Read the full model answer (368 words) →

Prepared by Minimalist IAS to the answer standard of Shivam Singh (mentor, 7 years) · facts checked against official sources (how we verify) · updated 3 Oct 2026. UPSC publishes no model answers: compare your structure and coverage with this, then write your own.

GS Paper III 2025 · Q20

15 marks · 250 words

Why is maritime security vital to protect India’s sea trade? Discuss maritime and coastal security challenges and the way forward.

Approach · directive: “why / discuss”

What it asks · Explain why secure seas matter for India’s trade and energy, set out the maritime and coastal threats, and propose a way forward.

It asks 3 things — answer each

Explain why maritime security is vital to protect India's sea trade
Discuss the maritime and coastal security challenges
Discuss the way forward — institutions, capacity, partnerships and resilience

Open with · Nearly 95% of India's trade by volume and about 70% by value moves by sea (PIB, 2025); the sea lanes of the Indian Ocean are the arteries of the economy, so their security is a national interest, not only a naval task.

Cover

Why vital: oil, LNG and container trade pass chokepoints (Hormuz, Bab-el-Mandeb, Malacca); disruption raises freight and insurance costs, as in the Red Sea crisis.
Non-traditional threats: piracy off Somalia, attacks on merchant ships, illegal fishing, drug and arms smuggling by sea.
Strategic threats: growing extra-regional naval presence, dual-use ports and research vessels in the Indian Ocean, grey-zone tactics.
Coastal gaps: long coastline and islands; seaborne infiltration as in 26/11; tracking lakhs of small boats; coordination among Navy, Coast Guard, marine police.
Climate and disaster: cyclones, sea-level rise and oil spills threaten ports and coastal communities.
Way forward — institutions: coastal radar chain, IFC-IOR at Gurugram, transponders on fishing boats, National Maritime Security Coordinator, stronger marine police.
Way forward — capacity and partners: blue-water navy and shipbuilding, deep-water ports, Andaman and Nicobar Command; SAGAR/MAHASAGAR, IORA, Quad, Colombo Security Conclave.

Close with · A secure Indian Ocean is the precondition for the Maritime Amrit Kaal Vision 2047; integrated maritime governance and partnerships can make India the region's preferred security partner.

Add value (verified)

Nearly 95% of India’s trade by volume and about 70% by value moves through maritime routes.PIB Backgrounder — Maritime India: From Vision 2030 to Amrit Kaal 2047 (26 October 2025) ↗“Nearly 95% of India’s trade by volume and about 70% by value moves through maritime routes, underlining the sector’s centrality to India’s economy and competitiveness.”
Coastal Security Scheme Phase I (2005–11, ₹646 crore): 73 coastal police stations, 204 interceptor boats; Phase II (2011–20, ₹1,579.91 crore).MHA Annual Report 2025-26, Chapter 3 (Coastal Security) ↗“The CSS (Phase-I) was implemented from 01.04.2005 to 31.03.2011 with an outlay of Rs.646 Cr. Under the Scheme, Coastal States/UTs were provided with 73 Coastal Police Stations (CPS), 97 check posts, 58 outposts, 30 barracks, 204 interceptor boats, 153 jeeps, 312 motor cycles and 10 Rigid Inflatable Boats (RIBs). The CSS (Phase-II) was implemented w.e.f. 01.04.2011 to 31.03.2020 with an approved outlay of Rs. 1579.91 Cr.”
Coastal Security Scheme Phase II provided 131 coastal police stations, 37 jetties and 6 marine operational centres.MHA Annual Report 2025-26, Chapter 3 (Coastal Security) ↗“Under the Phase-II, the coastal States/UTs were provided with 131 CPS, 37 jetties, 06 Marine Operational Centres, 131 four wheelers and 242 motorcycles”
National Academy of Coastal Policing, Devbhoomi Dwarka (outlay ₹441 crore): 18 batches of the Marine Police Foundation Course and 1,914 coastal police personnel trained.MHA Annual Report 2025-26, Chapter 3 (para 3.41) ↗“National Academy of Coastal Policing (NACP) at Devbhoomi Dwarka, Gujarat with an outlay of Rs. 441 Cr. To date, the project is 53% completed and is likely to be fully functional by early 2027. A temporary campus of the Academy started functioning in October 2018. So far, 18 batches have completed the Marine Police 44 Foundation Course (MPFC) and 1914 coastal police personnel have completed their training.”
Sagarmala, a core pillar of Maritime India Vision 2030 and Maritime Amrit Kaal Vision 2047: 840 projects worth ₹5.8 lakh crore being implemented by 2035.PIB backgrounder, Maritime India: From Vision 2030 to Amrit Kaal 2047 (26 October 2025) ↗“Sagarmala Programme, a flagship initiative to transform India into a global maritime hub is a core pillar of the Maritime India Vision 2030 and Maritime Amrit Kaal Vision 2047. The programme focuses on cutting logistics costs, enhancing trade efficiency, and creating employment through smarter, greener transport networks. Under its sphere, 840 projects worth ₹ 5.8 lakh crore are being implemented by 2035”
PIB (2025): a ₹25,000 crore Maritime Development Fund to expand shipping tonnage and shipbuilding capacity.PIB backgrounder, Maritime India: From Vision 2030 to Amrit Kaal 2047 (26 October 2025) ↗“With a ₹ 25,000 crore corpus, the Maritime Development Fund (MDF) is set to provide long-term financing to expand India’s shipping tonnage and shipbuilding capacity.”

Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2025, GS Paper III — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 3 Oct 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·

Model answer· 363words · Minimalist IAS

Nearly 95% of India's trade by volume and about 70% by value moves by sea (PIB, 2025). The sea lanes of the Indian Ocean are the arteries of the economy, so their security is a national interest, not only a naval task.

Why maritime security is vital to protect India's sea trade

Energy and trade lifelines: crude, LNG and container traffic pass the chokepoints of Hormuz, Bab-el-Mandeb and Malacca; disruption raises freight and insurance costs, as the Red Sea crisis showed.
Ports and the blue economy: Sagarmala's 840 projects worth ₹5.8 lakh crore to 2035 and the ₹25,000 crore Maritime Development Fund all presume secure waters.
Strategic weight: a secure Indian Ocean underpins India's role as a net security provider and its Indo-Pacific partnerships.

The full answer goes on to cover

Maritime and coastal security challenges
The way forward

With 1 table you can reproduce in the exam.

Read the full model answer (363 words) →

2024

GS Paper III 2024 · Q9

10 marks · 150 words X-Ray · Core #39

Explain how narco-terrorism has emerged as a serious threat across the country. Suggest suitable measures to counter narco-terrorism.

Approach · directive: “explain / suggest”

What it asks · Show how drug trafficking funds and fuels terrorism across India's regions, then suggest security, financial and social countermeasures.

It asks 2 things — answer each

Explain how narco-terrorism has emerged as a serious threat across the country: regions, routes and funding links
Suggest suitable measures to counter narco-terrorism: coordination, interdiction, finance and demand-side

Open with · Definition and data: narco-terrorism is the use of drug-trade proceeds to finance terror and insurgency; wedged between the Golden Crescent and Golden Triangle, India seized narcotics worth ₹16,914 crore in 2024 (MHA).

Cover

Western border: heroin and arms into Punjab and J&K, increasingly by drones; proceeds fund militancy and gangs.
North-East: heroin and synthetic drugs via Myanmar feed insurgent groups and organised crime.
Sea route: DRI seized 2,988 kg of heroin at Mundra port (September 2021), Afghan-origin via Iran; NIA took over under UAPA.
New channels: dark-web sales, cryptocurrency and hawala; record seizures worth ₹16,914 crore in 2024 (MHA).
Coordinate: four-tier NCORD, Anti-Narcotics Task Forces in all States and UTs (MHA).
Interdict and investigate: anti-drone systems, coastal surveillance, container scanning; NIA powers; NDPS and PMLA asset attachment; UNODC, BIMSTEC cooperation.
Demand side: Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan (15 August 2020, 272 districts, now nationwide), de-addiction, school and community awareness.

Close with · Treat narco-terror as one ecosystem — supply, money and demand — and strike all three through coordinated agencies.

Add value (verified)

MHA reported record narcotics seizures in 2024 as part of its push against the narco-terror ecosystem.PIB — Regional conference on ‘Drug Trafficking and National Security’ (MHA) ↗“Narcotics worth Rs. 16,914 crore were seized in 2024, the highest recorded since independence”
The Tribune (national newspaper, 6 October 2021): the NIA took over the DRI case of 2,988.21 kg of heroin seized at Mundra Port on 13 September 2021, disguised as semi-processed talc from Afghanistan via Bandar Abbas, Iran.The Tribune (national newspaper) report, 6 October 2021: NIA takes over probe into seizure of 3,000 kg of heroin ↗“seizure of 2988.21 kg of Narcotics substance (Heroin) seized at Mundra Port, Gujarat disguised as a consignment of ‘Semi-processed Talc stones’ originating from Afghanistan which had arrived from Bandar Abbas Port, Iran”
MHA (PIB backgrounder, March 2024): dedicated Anti-Narcotics Task Force units have been formed in all States and UTs; coordination runs through the four-tier NCORD structure.PIB / Ministry of Home Affairs backgrounder (March 2024) on the fight against drugs: NCORD and Anti-Narcotics Task Forces ↗“dedicated Anti-Narcotics Task Force (ANTF) units have been formed in all States and Union Territories.”
Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan launched on 15 August 2020 under the National Action Plan for Drug Demand Reduction, first in 272 high-risk districts and since expanded to all districts.PIB backgrounder (May 2025) on the Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan ↗“the Government of India launched the Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan (NMBA) on 15 August 2020, a key initiative under the National Action Plan for Drug Demand Reduction (NAPDDR). Initially implemented in 272 high-risk districts—identified through the National Survey on Substance Use and inputs from the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB)—the Abhiyaan has since expanded to encompass all districts nationwide.”

Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2024, GS Paper III — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 3 Oct 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·

Model answer· 223words · Minimalist IAS

Narco-terrorism is the use of drug-trade proceeds to finance terror and insurgency. Wedged between the Golden Crescent and Golden Triangle, India seized narcotics worth ₹16,914 crore in 2024, a record (MHA).

How narco-terrorism threatens the whole country

Western border: heroin and arms into Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir, increasingly by drones, funding militancy.
North-East: heroin and synthetic drugs from Myanmar finance insurgents and organised crime.
Sea route: the DRI seized 2,988 kg of heroin at Mundra port in September 2021, disguised as Afghan talc via Iran; the NIA took over under the UAPA.

✏️ Map to sketch in the exam · Narcotics routes into India

Shade: Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir = Golden Crescent heroin route
Shade: Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram = Golden Triangle route via Myanmar
Mark: Mundra port (22.85, 69.73)
Legend: 2021 Mundra heroin haul

Draw on India's official outline (Survey of India boundary).

The full answer goes on to cover

Measures to counter it

Read the full model answer (223 words) →

GS Paper III 2024 · Q19

15 marks · 250 words

India has a long and troubled border with China and Pakistan fraught with contentious issues. Examine the conflicting issues and security challenges along the border. Also give out the development being undertaken in these areas under the Border Area Development Programme (BADP) and Border Infrastructure and Management (BIM) Scheme.

Approach · directive: “examine / give out”

What it asks · Examine disputes and security threats on the China and Pakistan borders, and describe development and infrastructure under BADP and BIM.

It asks 3 things — answer each

Examine the conflicting issues along the borders with China and Pakistan
Examine the security challenges along these borders: traditional, non-traditional and terrain
Give out the development being undertaken in border areas under BADP and the BIM scheme

Open with · China's annexation of Tibet in 1950 removed the historical buffer, and its claims on Aksai Chin and Arunachal Pradesh led to the 1962 war (NCERT); with Pakistan, the LoC, Siachen and Sir Creek remain unsettled.

Cover

China: an undefined LAC; Aksai Chin occupied 1957–59 with a strategic road; claims on Arunachal; Galwan (June 2020); October 2024 consensus on Depsang and Demchok.
Pakistan: LoC ceasefire violations, infiltration and cross-border terrorism; Siachen; the Sir Creek line in the Rann of Kutch; the Indus Waters Treaty.
Non-traditional threats: drones dropping arms and narcotics, smuggling, fake currency and tunnels; terrain and logistics favour China's faster build-up.
BADP: roads, schools, health, water and livelihoods near the border; 38,715 projects worth ₹7,935.05 crore completed in 16 States and 2 UTs (March 2026).
BIM: ₹13,020 crore umbrella scheme (2021-22 to 2025-26) for fence, roads, floodlights, border outposts, helipads, foot tracks and technology.
Complementary: Vibrant Villages Programme-I (₹4,800 crore, 2023) for 46 blocks in 19 northern border districts; VVP-II (₹6,839 crore to 2028-29).

Close with · Secure borders need hard infrastructure and prosperous border communities in equal measure; BIM and Vibrant Villages must go with steady diplomacy, as the October 2024 Depsang–Demchok understanding showed.

Add value (verified)

Under BADP, 38,715 projects worth ₹7,935.05 crore have been completed in 16 States and 2 UTs (PIB, March 2026).PIB — Border Area Development Scheme (MHA, 11 March 2026) ↗“Under Border Area Development Programme, 38715 projects of estimated cost ₹7935.05 crore have been completed in 16 States and 2 UTs in various sectors including livelihood projects.”
Since then: on 21 October 2024 India and China reached a consensus on disengagement in Depsang and Demchok, and patrolling to traditional areas has resumed (MoD year-end review 2024).PIB — Ministry of Defence, Year End Review 2024 ↗“on 21 October 2024, broad consensus has been achieved to restore ground situation based on principles of Equal and Mutual Security. Consensus achieved includes disengagement and relocation of troops from the friction areas of Depsang and Demchok followed by joint verification.”
BIM scheme: ₹13,020 crore for 2021-22 to 2025-26 for fence, roads, floodlights, border outposts, helipads and foot tracks.Ministry of Home Affairs — Border Management-I Division ↗“The approved cost of the scheme during the period 2021-22 to 2025-26 is Rs. 13,020 crore. The scheme aims to enhance the security along the borders of the country and involve implementing a number of projects for the development of border infrastructure such as Border Fence, Border Roads, Border Floodlights, Border Out Posts (BOPs), Helipads and foot tracks”
Vibrant Villages Programme-I covers villages in 46 blocks of 19 districts abutting the northern border.PIB — Border Area Development Scheme (11 March 2026) ↗“Government approved the Vibrant Villages Programme-I (VVP-I) for comprehensive development of select villages in 46 blocks abutting northern border in 19 districts of Arunachal Pradesh”
Vibrant Villages Programme-II approved as a Central Sector Scheme with ₹6,839 crore till FY 2028-29.PIB — Border Area Development Scheme (11 March 2026) ↗“Government of India has approved the Vibrant Villages Programme-II (VVP-II) as a Central Sector Scheme with a financial outlay of ₹6839 crores till the FY 2028-29”
Cabinet approved the Vibrant Villages Programme on 15 February 2023 with ₹4,800 crore for 2022-23 to 2025-26.PMINDIA — Cabinet approves Vibrant Villages Programme (15 Feb 2023) ↗“Cabinet approves Centrally Sponsored Scheme- “Vibrant Villages Programme” for the Financial Years 2022-23 to 2025-26 with financial allocation of Rs. 4800 Crore”
MoD: the LoC has remained peaceful since the DGsMO understanding of February 2021.PIB — Ministry of Defence year-end review 2024 ↗“Situation along the LC remains peaceful post the Director General Military Operations (DGsMO) Understandings of February 2021”

Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2024, GS Paper III — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 3 Oct 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·

Model answer· 370words · Minimalist IAS

China's annexation of Tibet in 1950 removed the historical buffer, and its claims on Aksai Chin and much of Arunachal Pradesh led to the 1962 war. With Pakistan, the Line of Control, Siachen and Sir Creek remain unsettled.

Conflicting issues along the two borders

China: an undefined Line of Actual Control with differing perceptions in the western, middle and eastern sectors; Aksai Chin occupied in 1957–59 with a strategic road; the Galwan clash of June 2020; an October 2024 consensus restored patrolling in Depsang and Demchok.
Pakistan: the unsettled LoC in Jammu and Kashmir, Siachen, the demarcation line in Sir Creek in the Rann of Kutch, and differences over the Indus Waters Treaty.

The full answer goes on to cover

Security challenges along the border
Development under BADP and the BIM scheme

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2023

GS Paper III 2023 · Q10

10 marks · 150 words X-Ray · Core #39

The use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) by our adversaries across the borders to ferry arms/ammunitions, drugs, etc., is a serious threat to the internal security. Comment on the measures being taken to tackle this threat.

Approach · directive: “comment”

What it asks · Explain why cross-border drones are a distinct internal-security threat and comment on the technological, legal and operational measures against them.

It asks 2 things — answer each

Establish why cross-border drones are a serious internal-security threat
Comment on the measures being taken (technological, operational, regulatory, legal and diplomatic) and their adequacy

Open with · Cheap, low-flying drones now ferry arms, heroin and cash across the Punjab and Jammu borders, slipping past the fence and the patrol; in the three years to June 2023, 53 drones carrying arms or narcotics were recovered in Punjab alone (MHA, August 2023).

Cover

Threat: payloads of arms, explosives and heroin feed terror modules and narco-networks; the June 2021 drone attack on the Jammu air force station showed offensive use; a cheap drone bypasses an expensive fence.
Technology: DRDO-BEL D4 counter-drone system (detection, tracking, soft or hard kill); anti-drone systems in Punjab and, since 2024, Rajouri and Poonch.
Operations: BSF round-the-clock domination, anti-rogue-drone SOP, joint intelligence with Punjab Police, village vigilance.
Regulation: Drone Rules 2021, Digital Sky single window, red-yellow-green airspace map, registration.
Law and diplomacy: UAPA, Arms Act, NDPS Act; the issue raised with Pakistan at border-force meetings.
Gaps: patchy detection on a long border; cheaper, autonomous drones; counter-drone grids, manpower and R&D must scale.

Close with · A layered defence of detection, neutralisation, regulation and intelligence, built on indigenous systems such as D4, is how the border sky is sealed as firmly as the border fence.

Add value (verified)

MHA (PIB, 1 August 2023): 53 incidents of recovery of drones used to smuggle arms or narcotics across the Punjab border in three years to 30 June 2023.PIB release, Ministry of Home Affairs, 'Smuggling of arms and narcotics' (1 August 2023), text as mirrored by GlobalSecurity.org ↗“In last three years and till 30th June, 2023, 53 incidents of recovery of drones involved in smuggling of Arms/Narcotics have been detected.”
MHA (PIB, 1 August 2023): anti-drone systems deployed in Punjab's border areas and an anti-rogue-drone SOP circulated to field units.PIB release, Ministry of Home Affairs, 'Smuggling of arms and narcotics' (1 August 2023), text as mirrored by GlobalSecurity.org ↗“Anti-drone systems have been deployed in border areas of Punjab to counter the drone threats. Further, an anti-rogue drone SOP has been formulated and circulated to field units and is being followed.”
PIB (January 2022): Drone Rules 2021 run on the Digital Sky single-window platform with an airspace map of red, yellow and green zones.PIB backgrounder on the drone ecosystem and Drone Rules 2021 (January 2022) ↗“Digital sky platform being developed as a user-friendly online single-window system. There will be minimal human interface and most permissions will be self-generated. • Interactive drone airspace map with red and yellow zones shall be displayed. • No permission required for operating drones in green zones.”
Department of Defence Production: the DRDO-BEL D4 Counter Drone System detects, tracks and neutralises micro and small UAVs by soft or hard kill.Department of Defence Production, Ministry of Defence: Anti-Drone System (D4) ↗“The Counter Drone System (D4 System) is capable of performing real time search, detection, tracking and neutralization (Soft/ Hard Kill) of the flying drones (Micro/Small UAVs)”
News On AIR (12 March 2024): the Army and BSF deployed anti-drone systems in Rajouri and Poonch.News On AIR (Prasar Bharati), 12 March 2024: Army and BSF deploy state-of-art anti-drone systems in border districts of Rajouri and Poonch ↗“the Army and Border Security Force (BSF) have deployed state-of-the-art anti-drone systems in the twin border districts of Rajouri and Poonch.”

Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2023, GS Paper III — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 3 Oct 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·

Model answer· 223words · Minimalist IAS

Cheap, low-flying drones ferry arms, heroin and cash across the Punjab and Jammu borders, past fence and patrol; in three years to June 2023, 53 drones carrying arms or narcotics were recovered in Punjab alone (MHA, August 2023).

Why a serious internal-security threat

Payloads: arms, explosives and heroin feed terror modules and narco-networks; the June 2021 drone attack on Jammu air force station showed offensive use.
Asymmetry: a cheap drone beats an expensive fence; small, low flights evade radar.

The full answer goes on to cover

Measures being taken
Assessment and way forward

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2022

GS Paper III 2022 · Q9

10 marks · 150 words X-Ray · Core #39

Discuss the types of organised crimes. Describe the linkages between terrorists and organised crime that exist at the national and transnational levels.

Approach · directive: “discuss / describe”

What it asks · List the main types of organised crime, then describe how terrorists link with crime groups within India and across borders.

It asks 3 things — answer each

Discuss the types of organised crime
Describe the linkages between terrorists and organised crime at the national level
Describe the linkages at the transnational level

Open with · Organised crime is a continuing criminal enterprise run for profit and sustained by violence and corruption; terrorism pursues political ends, but the two increasingly share money, routes and manpower.

Cover

Types: trafficking in drugs, arms, humans and wildlife and smuggling of gold; predatory crime such as extortion, contract killing and illegal mining; financial and cyber crime such as fake currency, hawala, money laundering and cybercrime.
National funding links: extortion and levies on contractors and traders finance insurgent and extremist groups.
National logistics: narcotics and arms smuggling in Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir, fake currency and hawala channels, and local gangs that give shelter, weapons and couriers.
Nexus: the Vohra Committee (1993) pointed to ties among crime syndicates, politicians and officials that shelter both crime and terror.
Transnational: drug routes from the Golden Crescent and Golden Triangle finance terror and carry arms; crime networks with terror links, as in the 1993 Mumbai blasts; enablers such as the dark web, cryptocurrency, shell companies and safe havens abroad.
Response: the UAPA amendment (2019) lets the Centre designate individuals as terrorists; NIA, FIU-IND and FATF standards; the UN Convention against Transnational Organised Crime and its three protocols, ratified by India in 2011.

Close with · Cutting the money, the arms routes and the protection networks together, at home through UAPA and financial intelligence and abroad through the UN Convention against Transnational Organised Crime and FATF standards, breaks the crime-terror nexus.

Add value (verified)

India ratified the UN Convention against Transnational Organised Crime and its three protocols, and the UN Convention against Corruption, in May 2011; UNTOC is the main international instrument against transnational organised crime.PIB (13 May 2011), Ministry of External Affairs: India ratify UN Conventions against Transnational Organised Crime and Corruption ↗“India has ratified the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organised Crime and its three protocols and the United Nations Convention against Corruption. The United Nations Convention against Transnational Organised Crime is the main international instrument in the fight against transnational organized crime.”
The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment Bill, 2019 (passed by Lok Sabha on 24 July 2019) aimed at speedy investigation and prosecution of terror offences and at designating an individual as a terrorist, in line with international practice.PIB (24 July 2019), Ministry of Home Affairs: Lok Sabha passes the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment Bill, 2019 ↗“the object of the proposed amendments is to facilitate speedy investigation and prosecution of terror offences and designating an individual as terrorist in line with the international practices.”

Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2022, GS Paper III — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 3 Oct 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·

Model answer· 224words · Minimalist IAS

Organised crime is a continuing criminal enterprise for profit, sustained by violence and corruption; terrorism pursues political ends, yet the two increasingly share money, routes and manpower.

Types of organised crime

Trafficking: drugs, arms, humans and wildlife, and gold smuggling.
Predatory: extortion rackets, contract killing and illegal mining.
Financial and cyber: fake currency, hawala, money laundering and cybercrime.

The full answer goes on to cover

Linkages at the national level
Linkages at the transnational level
Way forward

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GS Paper III 2022 · Q10

10 marks · 150 words

What are the maritime security challenges in India ? Discuss the organisational, technical and procedural initiatives taken to improve the maritime security.

Approach · directive: “what / discuss”

What it asks · Set out India's maritime security challenges and discuss the organisational, technical and procedural steps taken to improve coastal and maritime security.

It asks 4 things — answer each

What: the maritime security challenges India faces
Discuss the organisational initiatives taken to improve maritime security
Discuss the technical initiatives
Discuss the procedural initiatives

Open with · With a long coastline, island territories and busy sea lanes, India faces threats from the sea ranging from terrorism to piracy; the 26/11 attack came by sea and exposed how thin coastal security was.

Cover

Challenges: sea-borne terrorism as on 26/11, piracy, smuggling of arms, drugs and people, illegal fishing and migration, maritime boundary disputes and a growing extra-regional naval presence.
Vulnerabilities: ports and offshore assets, cyber attacks on port systems, oil spills and marine disasters.
Organisational: a three-tier structure, the Navy for overall maritime security, the Coast Guard for coastal waters and Marine Police for the shallows, coordinated by the National Committee for Strengthening Maritime and Coastal Security and joint operations centres.
Technical: coastal radar chain, AIS transponders and vessel tracking, the National Command Control Communication and Intelligence network, and the Information Fusion Centre for the Indian Ocean Region.
Procedural: identity cards for fishermen and registration of boats, exercises such as Sea Vigil, first held in January 2019 as the largest coastal defence exercise, and Sagar Kavach, ISPS Code port security and information-sharing protocols.
Regional and gaps: the SAGAR vision, joint patrols and anti-piracy cooperation; gaps remain in manpower, coordination among many agencies and asset maintenance.

Close with · Fixing the weakest links, intelligence sharing, State marine police and fishing communities as the eyes of the coast, is how SAGAR begins at India's own shore.

Add value (verified)

The first coastal defence exercise Sea Vigil, conducted by the Navy and Coast Guard with State Governments and Union Territories, concluded on 23 January 2019 as the largest such exercise the country had witnessed.PIB (23 January 2019), Ministry of Defence: Two-Day Coastal Defence Exercise Sea Vigil Concludes ↗“The first coastal defence Exercise Sea Vigil, conducted by the Navy and Coast Guard, in close coordination with State Governments and Union Territories concluded today, 23 Jan 2019. It was the largest such exercise the country had ever witnessed in recent times”

Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2022, GS Paper III — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 3 Oct 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·

Model answer· 223words · Minimalist IAS

With a long coastline, island territories and busy sea lanes, India faces threats from the sea ranging from terrorism to piracy; the 26/11 attack came by sea and exposed how thin coastal security was.

Maritime security challenges

Threats: sea-borne terrorism as on 26/11, piracy, smuggling of arms, drugs and people, illegal fishing and migration.
Strategic and systemic: boundary disputes, a growing extra-regional naval presence, vulnerable ports and offshore assets, cyber attacks on port systems.

The full answer goes on to cover

Organisational initiatives
Technical initiatives
Procedural initiatives

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2021

GS Paper III 2021 · Q20

15 marks · 250 words X-Ray · Core #39

Analyse the complexity and intensity of terrorism, its causes, linkages and obnoxious nexus. Also suggest measures required to be taken to eradicate the menace of terrorism.

Approach · directive: “analyse / suggest”

What it asks · Analyse why terrorism is complex and intense, its causes, and its links with crime and other actors, and suggest measures to eradicate it.

It asks 4 things — answer each

Analyse the complexity and intensity of terrorism
Analyse its causes
Analyse its linkages and the crime-terror nexus
Suggest measures to eradicate terrorism

Open with · Terrorism is organised violence against civilians and the State for ideological or political ends; in India it fuses external sponsorship, local grievance and organised crime, which explains its complexity and intensity even as terrorist-initiated incidents in Jammu and Kashmir fell from 228 in 2018 to 43 in 2023.

Cover

Complexity: religious, ethnic and political ideologies, state sponsorship, lone-wolf actors and online radicalisation; tactics shift from bombs to fidayeen attacks and drones.
Intensity: Parliament (2001), Mumbai (2008) and Pulwama (2019) brought heavy casualties, fear, economic loss and India-Pakistan crises.
Causes: alienation, poverty and unemployment, regional or communal grievances, weak governance, indoctrination; state support as a major source of backing (PM at NMFT, 2022).
Linkages: drug trafficking, hawala, counterfeit currency, crypto and cyber channels; nexus of terrorists with criminals, smugglers and corrupt officials under cross-border havens.
Security and law: intelligence integration, police modernisation, NIA, border and coastal security, counter-drone capability, UAPA, MHA's CFT Cell with FATF, speedy trials.
Preventive: deradicalisation, community policing, counter-narratives, jobs and inclusive development.
Global: No Money for Terror conferences (Paris 2018, Melbourne 2019, New Delhi 2022); press for the CCIT India proposed at the UN in November 1996.

Close with · Terrorism yields to force only when justice, inclusion and global action against its sponsors move with it; a universal legal framework through the CCIT remains the unfinished piece.

Add value (verified)

MHA (December 2023): terrorist-initiated incidents in J&K fell from 228 in 2018 to 43 in 2023 (to 30 November); civilians killed from 55 to 13; security personnel killed from 91 to 25.PIB, Ministry of Home Affairs (December 2023): Decline in terror incidents in Jammu and Kashmir (Parliament reply) ↗“Description 2018 2023 (upto 30 th November) Terrorist Initiated Incidents 228 43 Encounters 189 48 Civilians killed 55 13 Security personnel killed in action 91 25”
India proposed the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism at the UN General Assembly in November 1996 and still seeks its adoption.PIB backgrounder: 12 Years of India's Zero Tolerance Against Terror ↗“India originally proposed the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism (CCIT) at the UN General Assembly in November 1996 and continues to call for its early adoption to establish a universal legal framework against terrorism.”
MHA runs a Countering Financing of Terrorism (CFT) Cell to coordinate with the FATF.PIB backgrounder: 12 Years of India's Zero Tolerance Against Terror ↗“Countering Financing of Terrorism Cell (CFT Cell) in the Ministry of Home Affairs to coordinate with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an inter-governmental international body dealing with anti-money laundering and CFT issues.”
The third No Money for Terror conference, New Delhi, 18-19 November 2022, followed the Paris (2018) and Melbourne (2019) conferences on terrorist financing.PIB, Ministry of Home Affairs (November 2022): 3rd Ministerial Conference on Countering Financing of Terrorism, No Money for Terror, to be held in New Delhi on November 18 and 19 ↗“The Conference aims to progress the discussions on combating terrorist financing held by the international community in the previous two Conferences in Paris (2018) and Melbourne (2019).”
At that conference the Prime Minister identified state support as a major source of political, ideological and financial support to terrorism.PIB, PMO (18 November 2022): PM attends third 'No Money for Terror' Ministerial Conference on Counter-Terrorism Financing in New Delhi ↗“The Prime Minister highlighted state support as one of the major sources of political, ideological and financial support to terrorism.”

Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2021, GS Paper III — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 3 Oct 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·

Model answer· 369words · Minimalist IAS

Terrorism is organised violence against civilians and the State for ideological or political ends. In India it fuses external sponsorship, local grievance and organised crime; that fusion explains both its complexity and its intensity, even as terrorist-initiated incidents in Jammu and Kashmir fell from 228 in 2018 to 43 in 2023 (to 30 November).

Complexity and intensity of terrorism

Many faces: religious, ethnic and political ideologies, state sponsorship, lone-wolf actors and online radicalisation, each needing a different response.
Shifting tactics: from bombings to fidayeen attacks and drones; targets range from civilians to security forces and symbols of the State.
Intensity: the Parliament attack (2001), Mumbai (2008) and Pulwama (2019) caused heavy casualties, fear, economic loss and India-Pakistan crises.

The full answer goes on to cover

Causes of terrorism
Linkages and the obnoxious nexus
Measures to eradicate terrorism

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2020

GS Paper III 2020 · Q10

10 marks · 150 words X-Ray · Core #54

For effective border area management, discuss the steps required to be taken to deny local support to militants and also suggest ways to manage favourable perception among locals.

Approach · directive: “discuss / suggest”

What it asks · Give two sets of measures: those that cut the shelter, information, supplies and recruits militants draw from border communities, and those that win the locals' trust.

It asks 2 things — answer each

Discuss the steps required to deny local support to militants in border areas
Suggest ways to manage a favourable perception among locals

Open with · A fence can stop an infiltrator; it cannot stop a village from sheltering one. Militants live on local shelter, information, supplies and recruits, so the community matters as much as the line.

Cover

Intelligence and policing: village-level informant networks, community policing, local police strength and quick response to tip-offs, with intelligence sharing between forces.
Cut the lifelines: curb smuggling, hawala and narcotics money that fund militancy; tighten cross-border movement with fencing, sensors and drones.
Development: roads, schools, health centres and connectivity in border villages through the Border Area Development Programme, so that locals have a stake in peace.
Livelihoods: skills, jobs and local recruitment into forces and border works, and support for border trade and local produce.
Conduct of forces: disciplined behaviour, respect for human rights and local custom, prompt redress of complaints, and civic action such as medical camps.
Communication: local-language outreach through community leaders, youth and local media, counter-narratives on social media, and quick rebuttal of rumours.
Political outreach: dialogue with elected local bodies, rehabilitation and surrender schemes for militants, and swift justice in local grievances.

Close with · A border is held by trust as much as by troops; as the Vibrant Villages Programme puts it, people who stay in border villages add to the security of the border.

Add value (verified)

BADP guidelines (MHA, revised 2008, hosted by the Punjab Planning Department): the programme covers 362 border blocks in 96 border districts of 17 States, to meet the special developmental needs of people in remote and inaccessible areas near the international border.Ministry of Home Affairs, Border Area Development Programme: Revised Guidelines 2008 (hosted by Punjab Planning Department) ↗“The main objective of the BADP will be to meet the special developmental needs of the people living in remote and inaccessible areas situated near the international border and to bridge the divide in the physical and social infrastructure of such areas.”
PM India (15 February 2023): the Cabinet approved the Vibrant Villages Programme for 2022-23 to 2025-26 with Rs 4,800 crore, to encourage people to stay in border villages and reverse out-migration, adding to border security.PMINDIA: Cabinet approves Centrally Sponsored Scheme Vibrant Villages Programme, 15 February 2023 ↗“This will help in encouraging people to stay in their native locations in border areas and reversing the outmigration from these villages adding to improved security of the border.”

Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2020, GS Paper III — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 3 Oct 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·

Model answer· 226words · Minimalist IAS

A fence can stop an infiltrator; it cannot stop a village from sheltering one. Militants live on local shelter, information, supplies and recruits, so the community matters as much as the line.

Steps required to deny local support to militants

Intelligence from below: village informant networks, community policing and quick response to tip-offs, shared across forces.
Cut the lifelines: curb smuggling, hawala and narcotics money; tighten the border with fencing, sensors and drones.
Pull recruits out: surrender and rehabilitation schemes that separate militants from the community.
Protect the refusers: swift action against those who shelter militants, protection for villagers who refuse.

The full answer goes on to cover

Ways to manage a favourable perception among locals

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GS Paper III 2020 · Q20

15 marks · 250 words

Analyze internal security threats and transborder crimes along Myanmar, Bangladesh and Pakistan borders including Line of Control (LoC). Also discuss the role played by various security forces in this regard.

Approach · directive: “analyse / discuss”

What it asks · Analyse the threats and crimes border by border (Pakistan and the LoC, Bangladesh, Myanmar), then explain which forces guard which frontier and how they cooperate.

It asks 2 things — answer each

Analyse the internal security threats and transborder crimes along the Pakistan border and the LoC, the Bangladesh border and the Myanmar border
Discuss the role played by the various security forces on these borders, and the way forward

Open with · India guards 3,323 km with Pakistan, including the Line of Control, 4,096.7 km with Bangladesh and 1,643 km with Myanmar (MHA); each frontier breeds its own mix of threats and crimes, and each is held under the principle of 'One Border, One Border Guarding Force'.

Cover

Pakistan and LoC: infiltration under cover of ceasefire violations; heroin, arms and fake currency through tunnels and drones; hawala financing terror.
Bangladesh: illegal migration, cattle, gold and drug smuggling, trafficking, fake currency across riverine, unfenced stretches.
Myanmar: insurgent sanctuaries (563 insurgents apprehended, 47 killed in 2015-18), Golden Triangle drugs, misuse of the 16-km Free Movement Regime, which MHA decided to scrap in February 2024.
Forces: BSF on the Pakistan and Bangladesh borders, Assam Rifles on Myanmar's, Army on the LoC; patrols, nakas, fencing, floodlighting, floating BOPs, CIBMS; IB, NIA, NCB, customs, State police; DGMO hotlines, flag meetings, ICPs.
Way forward: technology for unfenced and riverine gaps, anti-drone systems, manpower, clear command, Border Area Development Programme.

Close with · Borders are secured not by fences and forces alone but by the goodwill of the people who live on them: development, legal trade through integrated check posts and cooperation with neighbours turn a frontier from a vulnerability into a bridge.

Add value (verified)

MHA: India's border with Bangladesh is 4,096.70 km (West Bengal, Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, Mizoram) and with Pakistan 3,323 km (Gujarat, Rajasthan, Punjab, J&K, Ladakh).Ministry of Home Affairs: Border Management-I Division ↗“(i) Bangladesh - 4096.70 kms running along West Bengal, Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram. (ii) Pakistan - 3323 kms running along Gujarat, Rajasthan, Punjab, Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir and Union Territory of Ladakh.”
MHA: the Myanmar border is 1,643 km, along Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram.Ministry of Home Affairs: Border Management-I Division ↗“(vi) Myanmar - 1643 kms running along Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram.”
MHA Annual Report 2023-24: deployment follows 'One Border, One Border Guarding Force'; the BSF holds the Bangladesh and Pakistan borders.Ministry of Home Affairs, Annual Report 2023-24, Chapter 3: Border Management ↗“3.5 Deployment of forces along the borders is based on the principle of One ' Border, One Border Guarding Force (OBOBGF)'. Accordingly, domination of each border has been entrusted to a particular Border Guarding Force (BGF) as under: - 28 Name of Border Name of BGF India-Bangladesh and India-Pakistan Borders Border Security Force (BSF)”
MHA (Lok Sabha, January 2019): the Myanmar border is open with a 16-km Free Movement Regime; 563 insurgents apprehended and 47 killed there in 2015-18; Assam Rifles deployed; Pakistan and Bangladesh borders fenced where feasible, with riverine gaps covered by technology and floating BOPs.PIB, Ministry of Home Affairs, 8 January 2019: Infiltration of Terrorists (Lok Sabha reply) ↗“Indo-Myanmar border is an open border with free movement regime (FMR) within 16 kms on both sides of the border. 563 insurgents have been apprehended and 47 insurgents have been killed along the Indo-Myanmar Border during the years 2015 to 2018. Assam Rifles (AR) has been deployed along this border to monitor and check infiltration across the border.”
MHA decided on 8 February 2024 to scrap the Free Movement Regime with Myanmar for internal security and to maintain the demographic structure of the North Eastern States.PIB, Ministry of Home Affairs, 8 February 2024: MHA decides to scrap Free Movement Regime (FMR) between India and Myanmar ↗“Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has decided to scrap the Free Movement Regime (FMR) between India and Myanmar to ensure the internal security of the country and to maintain the demographic structure of India’s North Eastern States bordering Myanmar.”

Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2020, GS Paper III — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 3 Oct 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·

Model answer· 373words · Minimalist IAS

India guards 3,323 km with Pakistan, including the Line of Control, 4,096.7 km with Bangladesh and 1,643 km with Myanmar (MHA). Each frontier breeds its own mix of threats and crimes, and each is held under the principle of 'One Border, One Border Guarding Force'.

Pakistan border and the LoC: terror and narcotics

Infiltration under fire: terrorists cross the LoC under cover of ceasefire violations that keep the Army's counter-infiltration grid under pressure.
Narco-terror economy: heroin, arms and fake currency moved through tunnels and dropped by drones over the Punjab border; hawala launders the proceeds.

The full answer goes on to cover

Bangladesh border: migration and smuggling
Myanmar border: insurgency and drugs
Role of the security forces
Way forward

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2019

GS Paper III 2019 · Q9

10 marks · 150 words X-Ray · Core #63

The banning of ‘Jamaat-e-Islami’ in Jammu and Kashmir brought into focus the role of over-ground workers (OGWs) in assisting terrorist organizations. Examine the role played by OGWs in assisting terrorist organizations in insurgency affected areas. Discuss measures to neutralize influence of OGWs.

Approach · directive: “examine / discuss”

What it asks · Explain what OGWs do for militant groups in insurgency-hit areas, why they are hard to counter, and what mix of security, legal and social measures can neutralise their influence.

It asks 2 things — answer each

Examine the role of over-ground workers in assisting terrorist organisations in insurgency-affected areas
Discuss measures to neutralise the influence of OGWs

Open with · In 2019 the Centre banned Jamaat-e-Islami (J&K) as an unlawful association under section 3(1) of the UAPA, and in February 2024 extended the ban five years; the ban spotlighted the unarmed network that keeps militancy alive, the over-ground workers.

Cover

Who: civilians living ordinary lives (relatives, sympathisers, drivers, shopkeepers, students) who covertly serve militants; Maoist areas have similar village networks.
Logistics: shelter, food, medicines, transport, safe houses and couriers; local knowledge of terrain and patrols aids ambush and escape.
Eyes, money and voice: tip-offs on security forces, hawala funds, propaganda, radicalising youth, mobilising crowds at encounter sites.
Why hard to counter: unarmed and shielded by kinship, fear or sympathy; heavy-handed action alienates the community whose help is needed.
Intelligence-led policing: MHA's J&K strategy names identifying 'the strategic supporters of terrorism' and investigating how they aid and abet as a core preventive operation (2023).
Law with due process: UAPA (amended 2019 to designate individuals as terrorists), NIA action against financiers and unlawful associations, hawala tracking; no blanket detentions.
Drain the pool: youth outreach, skills and jobs, counselling and de-radicalisation, rehabilitation for those who leave, swift and fair justice when forces overstep.
Results: terrorist-initiated incidents in J&K fell from 228 (2018) to 43 (2023, to 30 November) and civilian deaths from 55 to 13 (CID J&K via MHA).

Close with · Neutralising OGWs is less about arrests than about legitimacy: precise intelligence, lawful pressure on networks and development that gives young people a stake leave militancy without the local sympathy it feeds on.

Add value (verified)

PIB (MHA, 27 February 2024): Jamaat-e-Islami Jammu Kashmir was declared an unlawful association for a further five years under section 3(1) of the UAPA, 1967.PIB: Government declares Jamaat-e-Islami Jammu Kashmir an unlawful association for a further 5 years (2024) ↗“Government of India has declared ‘Jamaat-e-Islami Jammu Kashmir’ as an 'Unlawful Association' for a further period of 5 years under Section 3(1) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) 1967.”
PIB (MHA, Lok Sabha reply, December 2023): preventive operations in J&K include identifying the strategic supporters of terrorism and investigating their mechanisms of aiding and abetting it.PIB: Decline in Terror Incidents in Jammu and Kashmir (2023) ↗“preventive operations involve identifying the strategic supporters of terrorism and initiating investigations to expose their mechanisms of aiding and abetting terrorism, identifications of vulnerable spots to prevent terrorist attacks on civilians”
PIB (MHA, 2023, source CID J&K): terrorist-initiated incidents fell from 228 in 2018 to 43 in 2023 (to 30 November); civilians killed from 55 to 13; security personnel killed from 91 to 25.PIB: Decline in Terror Incidents in Jammu and Kashmir (2023) ↗“Description 2018 2023 (upto 30 th November) Terrorist Initiated Incidents 228 43 Encounters 189 48 Civilians killed 55 13 Security personnel killed in action 91 25 (Source: CID, J&K)”
PIB (24 July 2019): the UAPA Amendment Bill, 2019 aimed to speed investigation and prosecution of terror offences and to allow designating an individual as a terrorist, in line with international practice.PIB: Lok Sabha passes the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment Bill, 2019 ↗“the object of the proposed amendments is to facilitate speedy investigation and prosecution of terror offences and designating an individual as terrorist in line with the international practices.”

Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2019, GS Paper III — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 3 Oct 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·

Model answer· 224words · Minimalist IAS

In 2019 the Centre banned Jamaat-e-Islami (J&K) under section 3(1) of the UAPA, a ban extended five years in 2024. It spotlighted the unarmed network behind militancy: over-ground workers.

Role of OGWs in assisting terrorist organisations

Who: civilians living ordinary lives (relatives, drivers, shopkeepers, students) who covertly serve militants.
Logistics: shelter, food, medicines, transport, safe houses, couriers; local knowledge of patrols aids ambush and escape.
Eyes, money and voice: tip-offs on patrols, hawala funds, propaganda, radicalising youth, crowds at encounter sites.
Why hard to counter: unarmed, shielded by kinship, fear or sympathy; heavy-handed action alienates the community.

The full answer goes on to cover

Measures to neutralise the influence of OGWs

Read the full model answer (224 words) →

GS Paper III 2019 · Q20

15 marks · 250 words X-Ray · Core #39

Cross-border movement of insurgents is only one of the several security challenges facing the policing of the border in North-East India. Examine the various challenges currently emanating across the India-Myanmar border. Also, discuss the steps to counter the challenges.

Approach · directive: “examine / discuss”

What it asks · Identify the security challenges along the India-Myanmar border beyond insurgent movement, such as smuggling, trafficking, migration and open-border rules, and discuss steps to counter them.

It asks 2 things — answer each

Examine the security challenges across the India-Myanmar border beyond insurgent movement
Discuss steps to counter them

Open with · The 1,643 km India-Myanmar border crosses forested hills whose kin communities straddle the line; in February 2024 the Government decided to fence all of it and scrap the Free Movement Regime for internal security and the North-East's demographic structure, a decision that shows how many challenges the border carries beyond insurgent crossings.

Cover

Sanctuaries: NSCN (K), ULFA (I) and Manipur groups stage attacks from Myanmar camps, as in the Chandel ambush of June 2015 (18 soldiers killed).
Free Movement Regime: the 16 km visa-free belt was misused by militants and smugglers; MHA moved to scrap it in February 2024.
Narcotics and arms: Golden Triangle heroin and methamphetamine via Manipur and Mizoram; DRI's 52.67 kg methamphetamine seizure from Zokhawthar (April 2025); small arms, fake currency.
Migration: after Myanmar's 2021 crisis the Centre advised the four border States on 10 March 2021 to check illegal influx; strain on resources and identities.
Physical control: fence and patrol track along 1,643 km; 10 km fenced at Moreh, hybrid-surveillance pilots, 20 km more approved; registered crossings.
Cooperation and development: coordinated operations, Land Border Crossing Agreement (May 2018); Vibrant Villages Programme-II (Rs 6,839 crore) and peace talks.

Close with · Fencing where terrain allows, documented crossings for genuine communities, joint action with Myanmar and VVP-II's vision of safe, secured and vibrant land borders shrink the space insurgents, smugglers and traffickers share with ordinary border life.

Add value (verified)

MHA decided on 8 Feb 2024 to scrap the Free Movement Regime with Myanmar for internal security and the demographic structure of the North-Eastern States, recommending its immediate suspension.PIB (MHA), 8 Feb 2024 — MHA decides to scrap Free Movement Regime between India and Myanmar ↗“Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has decided to scrap the Free Movement Regime (FMR) between India and Myanmar to ensure the internal security of the country and to maintain the demographic structure of India’s North Eastern States bordering Myanmar.”
Fence along the entire 1,643 km border with a patrol track; 10 km already fenced at Moreh; two 1 km Hybrid Surveillance System pilots in Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur; about 20 km more approved in Manipur.PIB (MHA), 6 Feb 2024 — Modi government has decided to construct a fence along the entire Indo-Myanmar border ↗“Out of the total border length, a 10 km stretch in Moreh, Manipur already been fenced Two pilot projects of fencing through a Hybrid Surveillance System (HSS) are under execution, the projects will fence a stretch of 1 km each in Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur Fence works covering approximate 20 km in Manipur have also been approved”
DRI seized 52.67 kg of methamphetamine tablets on 11 April 2025 from a truck that had originated at Zokhawthar on the Mizoram-Myanmar border.PIB (Ministry of Finance), 13 Apr 2025 — DRI thwarts major methamphetamine smuggling operation on outskirts of Mizoram ↗“The truck, registered in Nagaland, had originated from Zokhawthar—a sensitive border town near the Indo-Myanmar frontier—and was enroute to Tripura.”
On 10 March 2021 the Centre advised Manipur, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland to check the illegal influx of Myanmar nationals arising from the situation in Myanmar.PIB (MHA), 27 Jul 2021 — Illegal influx of people (Lok Sabha reply) ↗“Central Government has issued advisory to the State Governments of Manipur, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland on 10.03.2021 to take appropriate action as per law to check the illegal influx from Myanmar into India.”
Vibrant Villages Programme-II: Rs 6,839 crore for villages in blocks abutting international land borders (other than the northern border), including Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Mizoram and Nagaland, under the vision of safe, secured and vibrant land borders.PIB (Cabinet), 4 Apr 2025 — Cabinet approves Vibrant Villages Programme-II for 2024-25 to 2028-29 ↗“With a total outlay of Rs.6,839 crore, the programme shall be implemented in select strategic villages in the States/UTs of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Gujarat, J&K (UT), Ladakh (UT), Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland”

Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2019, GS Paper III — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 3 Oct 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·

Model answer· 373words · Minimalist IAS

The 1,643 km India-Myanmar border runs through Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram, across forested hills whose kin communities straddle the line. In February 2024 the Government decided to fence all of it and scrap the Free Movement Regime for 'internal security' and 'the demographic structure' of the North-East, a decision that reflects challenges well beyond insurgent crossings.

✏️ Map to sketch in the exam · India-Myanmar border: 1,643 km across four States

Shade: Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram = States on the Myanmar border
Mark: Moreh (24.25, 94.30), Zokhawthar (23.37, 93.39)
Legend: crossing points

Draw on India's official outline (Survey of India boundary).

Challenges across the India-Myanmar border

Sanctuaries: NSCN (K), ULFA (I) and Manipur-based groups stage attacks from camps in Myanmar, as in the Chandel ambush of 4 June 2015 that killed 18 soldiers.
Misused free movement: the 16 km visa-free belt let militants and smugglers pass as villagers, which is why MHA moved to suspend and scrap it in 2024.
Narcotics: Golden Triangle heroin and methamphetamine enter through Manipur and Mizoram; in April 2025 the DRI seized 52.67 kg of methamphetamine on a truck from Zokhawthar on the Mizoram border.
Arms and currency: small arms, fake currency and wildlife products also cross.
Migration: after Myanmar's 2021 upheaval the Centre advised the four border States on 10 March 2021 to check the illegal influx of Myanmar nationals; inflows strain resources and identities.
Thin presence: few roads, posts and sensors leave policing stretched and intelligence patchy.

The full answer goes on to cover

Steps to counter the challenges

Read the full model answer (373 words) →

2018

GS Paper III 2018 · Q20

15 marks · 250 words X-Ray · Core #39

India’s proximity to two of the world’s biggest illicit opium-growing states has enhanced her internal security concerns. Explain the linkages between drug trafficking and other illicit activities such as gunrunning, money laundering and human trafficking. What counter-measures should be taken to prevent the same?

Approach · directive: “explain / what counter-measures”

What it asks · Explain how narcotics trafficking links with gunrunning, money laundering, human trafficking and terror around India, and suggest counter-measures.

It asks 2 things — answer each

Explain the linkages between drug trafficking and gunrunning, money laundering, human trafficking and terror funding, with the enabling geography
What counter-measures should be taken: enforcement and coordination, financial tracking, borders, regional cooperation and demand reduction

Open with · India sits between the Golden Crescent and the Golden Triangle across a 3,323 km border with Pakistan and a 1,643 km border with Myanmar; the 2019 national survey counted about 2.26 crore opioid users, 77 lakh needing urgent help, so transit has become consumption and the trade feeds other crimes.

Cover

Terror link: drug money is used to fund insurgent and terrorist groups (narco-terrorism), and drugs are sometimes bartered for weapons, as reported along the western border and in the north-east.
Gunrunning: the routes and networks that bring heroin across the western and eastern borders also move arms, ammunition and explosives.
Money laundering: proceeds move through hawala, front companies, real estate and trade-based laundering, and can fund terror and other crime.
Human trafficking: the same organised networks exploit porous, unfenced borders to traffic women and children, and use victims as drug couriers; corruption in enforcement helps them.
Enabling factors: difficult terrain and open stretches on the Punjab-Pakistan and Myanmar borders, the Myanmar free movement regime, weak coastal surveillance, corruption, and domestic demand.
Counter-measures, enforcement: the NDPS Act, 1985 and PIT-NDPS Act, 1988; the Narcotics Control Bureau; the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 and FIU-India; joint action by NCB, BSF, customs, the Coast Guard and State police.
Counter-measures, wider: border fencing and surveillance, coastal security, financial tracking, intelligence-sharing with neighbours and UN conventions, and demand reduction, treatment and alternative livelihoods in poppy areas.

Close with · Drugs, arms, money and trafficked people move through one criminal system, so the response must be equally joined up: sealed borders, tracked money, regional cooperation and the drug-free India that Nasha Mukt Bharat intends, through treatment as much as enforcement.

Add value (verified)

MHA Border Management Division: India's border with Pakistan is 3,323 km along Gujarat, Rajasthan, Punjab, Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh; with Myanmar 1,643 km along Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram.Ministry of Home Affairs, Department of Border Management: Annexure I, BM-I Division (2021) ↗“Myanmar 1643 kms running along Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram.”
The same MHA annexure lists the Pakistan border as 3,323 km along Gujarat, Rajasthan, Punjab, and the Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh.Ministry of Home Affairs, Department of Border Management: Annexure I, BM-I Division (2021) ↗“Pakistan 3323 kms running along Gujarat, Rajasthan, Punjab, Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir”
PIB (May 2025), citing the 2019 national survey: about 2.26 crore people use opioids, nearly 77 lakh needing urgent intervention; Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan was launched on 15 August 2020 in 272 high-risk districts.PIB backgrounder: Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan, a national movement towards a drug-free India (6 May 2025) ↗“Opioids, one of the most harmful categories of drugs, are used by approximately 2.26 crore individuals, with nearly 77 lakh requiring urgent intervention and support.”
Newspaper report (The Tribune, 8 February 2024): the Home Ministry decided to scrap the Free Movement Regime with Myanmar for internal security, and to fence the entire 1,643 km Indo-Myanmar border.The Tribune (newspaper report): Government scraps free movement between India and Myanmar to ensure internal security (8 February 2024) ↗“The Home Ministry has decided that the Free Movement Regime (FMR) between India and Myanmar be scrapped to ensure the internal security of the country”
PIB (October 2024): a four-tier NCORD mechanism, an NCORD portal and a Joint Coordination Committee coordinate the fight against narcotics under a whole-of-government approach.PIB backgrounder on the Government's fight against narcotics (October 2024) ↗“NCORD: A four-tier NCORD mechanism was established for coordination and collaboration. NCORD Portal: Functions as a data integration and knowledge management system. A Joint Coordination Committee (JCC) was formed for detailed investigations.”

Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2018, GS Paper III — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 3 Oct 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·

Model answer· 371words · Minimalist IAS

India sits between the Golden Crescent (Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran) and the Golden Triangle (Myanmar, Laos, Thailand), across a 3,323 km border with Pakistan and 1,643 km with Myanmar. The 2019 national survey counted about 2.26 crore opioid users, 77 lakh needing urgent help: transit has become consumption, and the trade feeds other crimes.

Linkages between drug trafficking and other illicit activities

Narco-terrorism: drug money funds insurgent and terrorist groups, and drugs are at times bartered for weapons along the western border and in the north-east.
Gunrunning: the routes, carriers and handlers that bring heroin across the borders also move arms, ammunition and explosives.
Money laundering: proceeds are washed through hawala, front companies, real estate and trade-based laundering, and the cleaned money finances further crime and terror.
Human trafficking: the same networks exploit porous borders to traffic women and children and use victims as couriers; corruption keeps the chain intact.
Enablers: difficult terrain, the Myanmar free movement regime, weak coastal surveillance and rising domestic demand.

✏️ Map to sketch in the exam · Drug entry routes into India

Shade: Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Rajasthan, Gujarat = Pakistan border (3,323 km): Golden Crescent routes
Shade: Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram = Myanmar border (1,643 km): Golden Triangle routes
Legend: border States as per MHA

Draw on India's official outline (Survey of India boundary).

The full answer goes on to cover

Counter-measures to prevent the nexus

Read the full model answer (371 words) →

2017

GS Paper III 2017 · Q10

10 marks · 150 words

The North-East region of India has been infested with insurgency for a very long time. Analyze the major reasons for the survival of armed insurgency in this region.

Approach · directive: “analyse”

What it asks · Analyse the causes that let armed insurgency persist in India's North-East despite decades of peace efforts.

Open with · Historical opening: Nagaland and then Mizoram saw separatist movements soon after independence; insurgency outlived decades of peace efforts before incidents fell 71% between 2014 and 2023 (MHA).

Cover

Identity and autonomy: fear of losing land, culture and political voice drives homeland demands that persist despite Statehood, the Sixth Schedule and autonomous councils.
Migration and land: influx on tribal land fed the Assam agitation; the Assam Accord (1985) brought peace but not a solution to immigration.
Geography: the Siliguri corridor is the only land link, and porous borders with Myanmar, Bangladesh and Bhutan give camps, arms routes and drug money.
Development gap: few jobs push youth to recruitment; extortion and parallel 'taxation' make insurgency a livelihood.
Governance: delayed accords, weak justice and alleged excesses under AFSPA (1958) create resentment.
Fragmentation: deals with one faction, as after the 1997 NSCN-IM ceasefire, leave rivals fighting on.
Way forward: accords honoured in full (Mizo 1986; Bodo 2020 and Karbi Anglong 2021 brought 1,615 NDFB cadres to surrender) and calibrated security (AFSPA lifted from Tripura 2015, Meghalaya 2018).

Close with · Accords honoured in full and development that reaches the last village can turn the North-East from a frontier of insurgency into India's bridge to South-East Asia.

Add value (verified)

MHA (December 2024): 71% fewer insurgency incidents in 2023 than in 2014; security force casualties down 60%, civilian deaths down 82%.Major initiatives and peace process in the North Eastern Region — Ministry of Home Affairs (December 2024) ↗“Compared to 2014, there has been 71% reduction in insurgency incidents in 2023. Similarly, in this period, Security Forces casualties have come down by 60% and Civilian deaths by 82%.”
AFSPA 'disturbed area' notification fully withdrawn from Tripura (2015) and Meghalaya (2018).Major initiatives and peace process in the North Eastern Region — Ministry of Home Affairs (December 2024) ↗“Reduction of ‘disturbed areas’ under AFSPA: (i) Tripura: completely withdrawn w.e.f. 27.5.2015 (ii) Meghalaya: completely withdrawn w.e.f. 1.4.2018”
Bodo Peace Accord signed 27 January 2020; 1,615 NDFB cadres surrendered.Major initiatives and peace process in the North Eastern Region — Ministry of Home Affairs (December 2024) ↗“Bodo Peace Accord (2020): A Memorandum of Settlement(MoS) was signed on 27.1.2020 with Bodo Groups of Assam to solve the long pending Bodo issue, following which 1615 cadres of NDFB groups surrendered”
Karbi Peace Accord signed 4 September 2021 to end the Karbi Anglong crisis.Major initiatives and peace process in the North Eastern Region — Ministry of Home Affairs (December 2024) ↗“Karbi Peace Accord (2021): A Memorandum of Settlement (MoS) was signed on 4.9.2021 with representatives of Karbi Groups to end the decades old crisis in Karbi Anglong area of Assam”

Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2017, GS Paper III — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 3 Oct 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·

Model answer· 225words · Minimalist IAS

Nagaland and then Mizoram saw separatist movements soon after independence; insurgency outlived decades of peace efforts before incidents fell 71% between 2014 and 2023 (MHA).

Identity and political causes

Land and voice: homeland demands persist despite Statehood, the Sixth Schedule and autonomous councils.
Migration: influx on tribal land fed the Assam agitation; the 1985 Assam Accord brought peace, not a solution to immigration.

The full answer goes on to cover

Geography and sanctuaries
Economy, governance and fragmentation
Way forward

With 1 map you can reproduce in the exam.

Read the full model answer (225 words) →

2016

GS Paper III 2016 · Q17

12½ marks · 200 words X-Ray · Core #54

The terms Hot Pursuit and ‘Surgical Strikes’ are often used in connection with armed action against terrorist attacks. Discuss the strategic impact of such actions.

Approach · directive: “discuss”

What it asks · Explain the two terms and discuss what cross-border counter-terror actions achieve strategically and what risks and limits they carry.

It asks 2 things — answer each

Explain: the terms hot pursuit and surgical strikes
Discuss: the strategic impact of such actions, with their gains, risks and limits

Open with · Definitions with recent events: hot pursuit is the immediate chase of attackers across a border, as along the Myanmar border in June 2015; a surgical strike is a planned, precise action on a specific target, as across the Line of Control in September 2016 after Uri.

Cover

Meaning: hot pursuit is chasing attackers across a border straight after an attack; a surgical strike is a planned, targeted action with limited scope and low collateral damage.
Strategic gains: they impose costs on terror groups and their sponsors, signal resolve, restore public confidence and raise the morale of security forces.
Doctrinal shift: they show willingness to act beyond strategic restraint, and they may deter by raising the risk of retaliation for future attacks.
Risks: escalation between nuclear-armed neighbours, denial and retaliation by the other State, and reputational costs if facts are contested.
Law: hot pursuit is recognised at sea (UNCLOS Article 111), not on land; some States argue that self-defence allows action where the other State is unable or unwilling to act, a contested view.
Limits: such actions damage launch pads and camps but do not end sponsorship; terror groups regroup, so they are a supplement to defence, intelligence and diplomacy.
Way forward: pair calibrated force with better intelligence, border defence, financial pressure through global forums and diplomacy that isolates sponsors.

Close with · A strike restores deterrence only while the sponsor keeps paying; UNSC Resolution 1373 (2001), binding all States to prevent and suppress the financing of terrorist acts, is the instrument that makes the price permanent.

Add value (verified)

The UN Charter recognises a State's inherent right of self-defence against an armed attack, the legal basis on which cross-border counter-terror action is usually justified.Charter of the United Nations, Article 51 — United Nations ↗“Nothing in the present Charter shall impair the inherent right of individual or collective self-defence if an armed attack occurs against a Member of the United Nations, until the Security Council has taken measures necessary to maintain international peace and security.”
UNCLOS Article 111: the right of hot pursuit exists at sea and ceases when the pursued ship enters the territorial sea of its own or a third State.UN: UNCLOS Part VII, Article 111 (Right of hot pursuit) ↗“3. The right of hot pursuit ceases as soon as the ship pursued enters the territorial sea of its own State or of a third State.”
FATF, 21 October 2022: Pakistan removed from increased monitoring (the 'grey list').FATF: Pakistan country page, Jurisdictions under Increased Monitoring, 21 October 2022 ↗“Nicaragua and Pakistan are no longer subject to increased monitoring by the FATF.”
UNSC Resolution 1373 (2001), operative paragraph 1: all States shall prevent and suppress the financing of terrorist acts and criminalise the collection of funds for terrorism.UN Security Council Resolution 1373 (2001), text hosted by UNODC ↗“1. Decides that all States shall: (a) Prevent and suppress the financing of terrorist acts; (b) Criminalize the wilful provision or collection, by any means, directly or indirectly, of funds by their nationals or in their territories”

Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2016, GS Paper III — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 3 Oct 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·

Model answer· 293words · Minimalist IAS

Hot pursuit is the immediate chase of attackers across a border, as along the Myanmar border in June 2015. A surgical strike is a planned, precise action on a specific target, as across the Line of Control in September 2016 after Uri. Their worth lies less in the damage done than in what they signal.

Aspect	Hot pursuit	Surgical strike
Timing	Immediate, after an attack	Planned, intelligence-led
Scope	Follows fleeing attackers	Specific target, limited depth
Legal anchor	UNCLOS Article 111, at sea only	Self-defence, Article 51 UN Charter

Strategic impact: what such actions achieve

Imposing cost: the burden of an attack shifts back to perpetrators and sponsors, ending the assumption of unconditional restraint.
Signalling: political will and capability are demonstrated; an announced, calibrated action also signals its limits.
Space below the nuclear threshold: punitive action short of war shows that nuclear blackmail cannot shield cross-border terrorism.
Diplomatic framing: invoking the inherent right of self-defence under Article 51 of the UN Charter isolates the sponsor.

The full answer goes on to cover

Strategic impact: risks and limits
Way forward

Read the full model answer (293 words) →

GS Paper III 2016 · Q18

12½ marks · 200 words X-Ray · Core #39

“Terrorism is emerging as a competitive industry over the last few decades.” Analyze the above statement.

Approach · directive: “analyze”

What it asks · Analyse how terror groups increasingly behave like competing organisations, with funding, recruitment, branding and rivalry, and what follows for counter-terrorism.

It asks 2 things — answer each

Analyse: how terrorism has come to behave like a competitive industry, in funding, supply, recruitment, branding and rivalry
Analyse: what follows for counter-terrorism, and the limits of the industry analogy

Open with · A paradox: terror groups now run budgets, supply chains, brands and recruitment drives, and compete for money, members and attention much as firms compete for market share; the analogy illuminates their economics.

Cover

Funding: terror groups raise money through extortion, kidnapping, smuggling, narcotics, illegal mining or oil, donations and criminal enterprises, and move it by hawala and crypto assets.
Organised crime nexus: arms, fake currency, drug and human trafficking networks supply and finance terror, which blurs the line between crime and ideology.
Competition: groups outbid each other with bigger, more visible attacks to win recruits, funds and sponsors; al-Qaeda and ISIS rivalry is an example.
Branding and franchising: affiliates use a common name and message, and social media is used for marketing, propaganda and recruitment, including of lone actors.
State sponsorship and professional support: use of terror as a low-cost proxy, provision of training, safe havens and weapons, and paid or skilled operatives.
Response: cut finances through financial intelligence and international norms, tighten borders, prosecute crime networks, counter online radicalisation and isolate sponsors.
Limits of the analogy: ideology, grievance and identity still drive many groups, so counter-radicalisation and development remain necessary.

Close with · Treating terrorism as an industry means bankrupting it, which SDG 16.4, significantly reduce illicit financial and arms flows by 2030, asks of every State, while politics drains the demand that keeps it in business.

Add value (verified)

UNSC Resolution 1373 (2001): all States shall prevent and suppress terror financing and criminalise fund collection for terrorism.UN Security Council Resolution 1373 (2001), text hosted by UNODC ↗“1. Decides that all States shall: (a) Prevent and suppress the financing of terrorist acts; (b) Criminalize the wilful provision or collection, by any means, directly or indirectly, of funds by their nationals or in their territories”
FATF, 21 October 2022: Pakistan no longer under increased monitoring, after four years on the grey list.FATF: Pakistan country page, 21 October 2022 ↗“Nicaragua and Pakistan are no longer subject to increased monitoring by the FATF.”
UN 1267 sanctions regime: assets freeze, travel ban and arms embargo on everyone on the ISIL (Da'esh) and Al-Qaida Sanctions List.UN Security Council: ISIL (Da'esh) and Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee page ↗“the assets freeze, travel ban and arms embargo affecting all individuals and entities on the ISIL (Da'esh) & Al-Qaida Sanctions List.”
Origin of the 1267 regime: resolution 1267 (1999) first imposed a limited air embargo and assets freeze on the Taliban.UN Security Council: 1267 Committee background ↗“The Committee was initially established pursuant to resolution 1267 (1999) , which imposed a limited air embargo and assets freeze on the Taliban.”
SDG 16.4 wording: significantly reduce illicit financial and arms flows and combat organised crime by 2030.UN SDG 16 targets (sdgs.un.org) ↗“Target 16.4 By 2030, significantly reduce illicit financial and arms flows, strengthen the recovery and return of stolen assets and combat all forms of organized crime”

Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2016, GS Paper III — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 3 Oct 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·

Model answer· 296words · Minimalist IAS

Terror groups today run budgets, supply chains, brands and recruitment drives, and compete for money, members and media attention much as firms compete for market share. The analogy illuminates their economics.

How terrorism behaves like a competitive industry

Revenue streams: extortion, ransom, narcotics, smuggling, illegal mining and oil sales, as by ISIS in Syria and Iraq; money moves by hawala, shell companies and virtual currencies.
Supply chain: arms, explosives, fake currency and safe houses from organised crime; the 1993 Mumbai blasts ran through smuggling networks, India's own crime-terror nexus.
Competition for share: spectacle wins recruits and sponsors; after 2014 affiliates switched between al-Qaeda and ISIS.
Branding and franchising: a global name, media wings and online magazines market the cause to lone actors, while local groups adopt the franchise.
Labour and capital: paid trainers, bomb-makers and hackers, foreign fighters, and State sponsors investing in proxies as low-cost policy.

The full answer goes on to cover

What follows for counter-terrorism
Limits of the industry analogy

Read the full model answer (296 words) →

GS Paper III 2016 · Q19

12½ marks · 200 words

Border management is a complex task due to difficult terrain and hostile relations with some countries. Elucidate the challenges and strategies for effective border management.

Approach · directive: “elucidate”

What it asks · Explain the terrain, political and security challenges along India's land and coastal borders and the strategies that can make border management effective.

It asks 2 things — answer each

Elucidate: the challenges of border management arising from difficult terrain and hostile relations
Elucidate: the strategies for effective border management

Open with · Data: India guards 15,106.7 km of land border and an 11,098.81 km coastline (MHA), including 4,097 km with Bangladesh, 3,488 km with China and 3,323 km with Pakistan; each stretch pairs hard terrain with hard politics.

Cover

Terrain: high Himalayan heights, deserts, marshes and creeks, riverine and forested tracts make fencing, patrolling and surveillance difficult and costly.
Politics and disputes: unsettled boundaries such as the Line of Actual Control, hostile relations with some neighbours, and hostile actors using the border for infiltration.
Illegal movement: cross-border terrorism, smuggling of arms, drugs and fake currency, human trafficking, illegal migration and insurgent camps across the border, in some places an open border.
Institutional gaps: several forces and agencies with overlapping roles, gaps in coordination and intelligence sharing, thin infrastructure and manpower and slow work on roads and fences.
Strategies, physical: fencing, floodlighting, roads and border outposts, integrated check posts, and technology under an integrated border management system: sensors, radars, drones and cameras.
Strategies, institutional: clear force-to-border responsibility (BSF, ITBP, SSB, Assam Rifles, Coast Guard), joint intelligence, and specialised training for each terrain.
Strategies, people and diplomacy: development of border areas and villages to give locals a stake, dialogue and boundary settlement, such as the land boundary agreement with Bangladesh (1974 agreement, 2011 protocol, implemented in 2015).

Close with · A fence watches a line, a connected border village watches a region; CIBMS and ICPs with VVP and settled boundaries turn hostile borders into managed ones, in the spirit of SDG 16.a on institutions that prevent violence and combat terrorism and crime.

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MHA: India's land borders run 4,096.7 km with Bangladesh, 3,323 km with Pakistan and 3,488 km with China, the three longest stretches; useful to open a border-management answer with precise lengths.Ministry of Home Affairs, Border Management-I Division ↗“Bangladesh - 4096.70 kms running along West Bengal, Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram. (ii) Pakistan - 3323 kms running along Gujarat, Rajasthan, Punjab, Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir and Union Territory of Ladakh. (iii) China - 3488 kms”
MHA: 15,106.7 km of land border and 11,098.81 km of coastline; the Department of Border Management was created on the Group of Ministers' recommendations.MHA: Border Management-II Division page ↗“India has 15106.7 Km of land border and a coastline of 11098.81 Km including island territories. In pursuance of Group of Ministers recommendations on Border Management, the Department of Border Management was created in the Ministry of Home Affairs”
MHA's border infrastructure scheme: Rs 13,020 crore for 2021-22 to 2025-26 for fences, roads, floodlights, BOPs, helipads and foot tracks.MHA: Border Management-I Division page, infrastructure scheme ↗“The approved cost of the scheme during the period 2021-22 to 2025-26 is Rs. 13,020 crore. The scheme aims to enhance the security along the borders of the country and involve implementing a number of projects for the development of border infrastructure such as Border Fence, Border Roads, Border Floodlights, Border Out Posts (BOPs), Helipads and foot tracks”
CIBMS defined by MHA: integration of manpower, sensors, networks, intelligence and command-control on the Pakistan and Bangladesh borders.MHA: Border Management-I Division page, CIBMS ↗“a Comprehensive Integrated Border Management System (CIBMS) has been conceptualized which is the integration of manpower, sensors, networks, intelligence and command control solutions.”
MHA BM-II: Vibrant Village Programme (VVP-I and VVP-II) and Integrated Check Posts through the Land Ports Authority of India.MHA: Border Management-II Division page, VVP and ICPs ↗“initiatives such as the Vibrant Village Programme (VVP-I and VVP-II) and establishment and maintenance of Integrated Check Posts (ICPs) through the Land Ports Authority of India (LPAI).”
SDG 16.a wording: strengthen national institutions to prevent violence and combat terrorism and crime.UN SDG 16 targets (sdgs.un.org) ↗“Target 16.a Strengthen relevant national institutions, including through international cooperation, for building capacity at all levels, in particular in developing countries, to prevent violence and combat terrorism and crime”

Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2016, GS Paper III — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 3 Oct 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·

Model answer· 298words · Minimalist IAS

India guards 15,106.7 km of land border and an 11,098.81 km coastline (MHA), including 4,097 km with Bangladesh, 3,488 km with China and 3,323 km with Pakistan; each stretch pairs hard terrain with hard politics.

Challenges of difficult terrain and hostile relations

Terrain: Himalayan heights, the Thar desert, the Rann's creeks and forested north-eastern hills make fencing and patrolling costly and porous.
Hostile and unsettled lines: infiltration on the Line of Control, an undemarcated Line of Actual Control, porous Bangladesh and Myanmar borders.
Cross-border crime: terrorism, arms, drugs from the Golden Crescent and Golden Triangle, fake currency, cattle and human trafficking.
Institutional gaps: overlapping forces, weak intelligence sharing, thin roads and slow land acquisition for fences.

Border	Force	Main challenge
Pakistan	BSF	Infiltration, drugs
Bangladesh	BSF	Riverine gaps, cattle and human trafficking
China	ITBP	Undemarcated LAC, high altitude

The full answer goes on to cover

Strategies for effective border management

Read the full model answer (298 words) →

The Syllabus X-Ray of this syllabus line

1 of its 7 sub-topics is Core

1 Core · 1 High · 4 Steady · 1 Rare

Core #39Organised crime, drugs & terror linkages · 8 questions
HighBorder-area development · 3 questions

The X-Ray ranks all 928 sub-topics of the UPSC syllabus by what UPSC has asked since 2016. The 78 Mains Core sub-topics are behind 66% of Mains questions.

See the whole X-Ray →

More of GS Paper III

Quick answers

How many UPSC Mains questions have been asked on Border management & organised crime?

19 questions in GS Paper III from 2016 to 2026, asked in 10 of 11 years, most recently in 2026. Each is above, newest first, with the demand, an approach and a model answer.

What does the UPSC syllabus say on Border management & organised crime?

The GS Paper III syllabus line reads, in UPSC's words: “Security challenges and their management in border areas - linkages of organized crime with terrorism.”

Where are the GS Paper III PYQs topic-wise as a free PDF?

The GS Paper III syllabus-wise PDF — every question since 2016 under its syllabus line, with an approach — is a free download on the Vault's downloads page (one sign-up, no cost).

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