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In India,
security detail A security detail, often known as a PSD (protective services detail, personal security detachment, personal security detail) or PPD (personal protection detail), is a protective team assigned to protect the personal security of an individual or ...
s are provided to some high-risk individuals by the police and local government. Depending on the threat perception to the person, the category is divided into six tiers: SPG, Z+ (highest level), Z, Y+, Y and X. Individuals under this security blanket include (but are not limited to) the President, Vice President, Prime Minister, Supreme Court and High Court Judges, Service Chiefs of Indian Armed Forces, Governors of State, Chief Ministers and Cabinet Ministers, actors and other VIPs: In India, Top Security is given to PM of India and then there are 9 VVIPs who are given NSG Z+ Security in which some are provided ASL also and rest are not given that. Top 10 VVIPs who are getting top level of Security in India include :
Rajnath Singh Rajnath Singh (; born 10 July 1951) is an Indian politician and lecturer who is serving the Defence Minister of India since 20 May 2019. He was also the Deputy Leader of the House, Lok Sabha since 2014. He also served the Home Minister in th ...
,
Narendra Modi Narendra Damodardas Modi (born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician who has served as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India since 2014. Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Par ...
,
Yogi Adityanath Yogi Adityanath (born Ajay Mohan Singh Bisht; 5 June 1972) is an Indian Hindu monk and politician. He is currently serving as the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh since 19 March 2017, became the first to hold the office for two consecutive ter ...
,
Mayawati Kumari Mayawati (born Kumari Mayawati Das; 15 January 1956) is an Indian politician who served as the 18th Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh from 1995 to 1995, 1997 to 1997, 2002 to 2003 and from 2007 to 2012. She is the national president of t ...
, etc. (Security to President of India and Governors is different) * SPG is an elite force whose details are classified and only provided to the
Prime Minister of India The prime minister of India (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the head of government of the Republic of India. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and his chosen Union Council of Ministers, Council of Ministers, despite the president of ...
. * In case of NSG Security first comes NGG ASL and then NSG. NSG Security is above CRPF or any of the rest of CAPFs Security. * Z+ (ASL) category - Z+ cover with Advanced Security Liaison. * Z+ category is a security detail of 36 personnel, including 10+
Central Reserve Police Force The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) is a central armed police force in India under the Ministry of Home Affairs. The CRPF assists states and Union Territories in maintaining law and order and internal security. It is composed of the Cent ...
commandos and police personnel. * Z category is a security detail of 22 personnel, including 4-6
Central Armed Police Forces The Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) consist of seven armed police organizations under the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), Government of India, tasked with maintaining internal security, law and order, counterinsurgency, and protecting borde ...
commandos and police personnel. *Y+ category is a security detail of 11 personnel, including 2-4 commandos and police personnel. * Y category is a security detail of 8 personnel, including 1 or 2 commandos and police personnel. * X category is a security detail of 2 personnel, with no commandos but only armed police personnel. In a significant shift in VIP security arrangements, the
Union Government The Government of India (ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of 36 states and union territor ...
has decided to withdraw the
National Security Guard The National Security Guard (NSG) is a central armed police force in India under the Ministry of Home Affairs. It is the primary counter-terrorism force of the Government of India. It was founded on 16 October 1984, following Operation Blue ...
(NSG), also known as "black cat commandos," from VIP security duties. This decision aims to refocus the NSG on its core
counter-terrorism Counterterrorism (alternatively spelled: counter-terrorism), also known as anti-terrorism, relates to the practices, military tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, law enforcement, businesses, and intelligence agencies use to co ...
role. The Z+ level of security is now provided by CRPF commandos or other Central Armed Police Forces such as the
ITBP The Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) is a central armed police force in India under the Ministry of Home Affairs. It is responsible for guarding India’s border with Tibet . It was formed in the aftermath of the Sino-Indian War of 1962. Hi ...
,
CISF The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) is a central armed police force in India under the Ministry of Home Affairs. CISF's primary mission is to provide security to large institutions, be it state or privately-owned. It was set up unde ...
, or the respective
State Police State police, provincial police or regional police are a type of sub-national territorial police force found in nations organized as federations, typically in North America, South Asia, and Oceania. These forces typically have jurisdiction o ...
. They are armed with
Heckler & Koch MP5 The Heckler & Koch MP5 (, ) is a submachine gun developed in the 1960s by German firearms manufacturer Heckler & Koch. It uses a similar modular design to the Heckler & Koch G3, and has over 100 variants and clones, including selective fire, Se ...
sub-machine guns and modern communication equipment, and each member of the team is adept in martial arts and unarmed combat skills. Currently 40 VIPs are provided with such protection. The Z category entails protection by the
Delhi Police The Delhi Police (DP) is the law enforcement agency for the National Capital Territory of Delhi. Delhi Police falls under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. In 2024, the sanctioned strength of Delhi Police w ...
or the
ITBP The Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) is a central armed police force in India under the Ministry of Home Affairs. It is responsible for guarding India’s border with Tibet . It was formed in the aftermath of the Sino-Indian War of 1962. Hi ...
or CRPF personnel and one escort car. The Y category encompasses two personal security officers (PSOs) and the X category, one PSO. The withdrawal of the NSG from VVIP security duties will lead to the transfer of security for nine high-risk VIPs, including prominent political leaders like
Yogi Adityanath Yogi Adityanath (born Ajay Mohan Singh Bisht; 5 June 1972) is an Indian Hindu monk and politician. He is currently serving as the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh since 19 March 2017, became the first to hold the office for two consecutive ter ...
,
Mayawati Kumari Mayawati (born Kumari Mayawati Das; 15 January 1956) is an Indian politician who served as the 18th Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh from 1995 to 1995, 1997 to 1997, 2002 to 2003 and from 2007 to 2012. She is the national president of t ...
,
Rajnath Singh Rajnath Singh (; born 10 July 1951) is an Indian politician and lecturer who is serving the Defence Minister of India since 20 May 2019. He was also the Deputy Leader of the House, Lok Sabha since 2014. He also served the Home Minister in th ...
,
MK Stalin Muthuvel Karunanidhi Stalin (born 1 March 1953) is an Indian politician and former actor serving as the 8th and current chief minister of Tamil Nadu since 2021. He is the third son of the former Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi, his son Udhayan ...
,
N. Chandrababu Naidu Nara Chandrababu Naidu (; born 20 April 1950), commonly known as CBN, is an Indian politician who is currently serving as the 13th Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh. He holds the record of longest-serving Chief Minister in the political histor ...
,
L. K. Advani Lal Krishna Advani (born 8 November 1927) is an Indian politician who served as the Deputy Prime Minister of India from 2002 to 2004. He is one of the co-founders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and a member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sa ...
,
Ghulam Nabi Azad Ghulam Nabi Azad (born 7 March 1949) is an Indian politician who served as Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha between 2014 and 2021. He also served as the Chief Minister of erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir from 2005 to 2008. On 26 Septemb ...
,
Farooq Abdullah Farooq Abdullah (born 21 October 1937) is an Indian politician who serves as current president of the Jammu & Kashmir National Conference. He has served as the chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir on several occasions since 1982 till 2002, and ...
,
Sarbananda Sonowal Sarbananda Sonowal (; born 31 October 1962) is an Indian politician who has served as Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways since 2021. He also has been the Government of India, Member of the Rajy ...
, and
Raman Singh Raman Singh (born 15 October 1952) is an Indian politician who is currently serving as the speaker of the Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly since 2023. Formerly, he served as the Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh and holding the position for thre ...
, to the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF). In practice, the number of police personnel deployed for VIP security often far exceeds the officially allocated number. For example, over 200 civil police (not counting armed police, counted as a separate category, or any privately hired security) were posted at
Mulayam Singh Yadav Mulayam Singh Yadav (22 November 1939 – 10 October 2022) was an Indian politician, a socialism, socialist figure and founder of the Samajwadi Party. Over the course of his political career spanning more than six decades, he served for three t ...
's Lucknow residence during his third term as
Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh The chief minister of Uttar Pradesh is the head of the Government of Uttar Pradesh. As per the Constitution of India, the Governor (India), governor is the state's ''de jure'' head, but ''de facto'' executive authority rests with the chief minis ...
. His successor,
Mayawati Kumari Mayawati (born Kumari Mayawati Das; 15 January 1956) is an Indian politician who served as the 18th Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh from 1995 to 1995, 1997 to 1997, 2002 to 2003 and from 2007 to 2012. She is the national president of t ...
, reportedly had over 350 police officers in her security detail.Recently, Actor turned politician Vijay has been granted Y Scale Security, but considering his fanbase and popularity down south in India, he will need more. The "Blue Book" details about security given to the President, Vice-President and the Prime Minister and their families and the "Yellow Book" details about security given to other VIPs and VVIPs. The
Home Ministry An interior ministry or ministry of the interior (also called ministry of home affairs or ministry of internal affairs) is a Ministry (government department), government department that is responsible for domestic policy, public security and law e ...
in coordination with different intelligence agencies issues guidelines for security cover. The SPG (
Special Protection Group The Special Protection Group (SPG) is an agency under the Cabinet Secretariat of the Government of India, whose sole responsibility is protecting the Prime Minister of India and, in some cases, their family. It was formed in 1988 by an Act of ...
), NSG (
National Security Guards The National Security Guard (NSG) is a central armed police force in India under the Ministry of Home Affairs. It is the primary counter-terrorism force of the Government of India. It was founded on 16 October 1984, following Operation Blue ...
), ITBP (
Indo-Tibetan Border Police The Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) is a Central Armed Police Forces, central armed police force in India under the Ministry of Home Affairs (India), Ministry of Home Affairs. It is responsible for guarding Border guard, India’s border with ...
) and CRPF (
Central Reserve Police Force The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) is a central armed police force in India under the Ministry of Home Affairs. The CRPF assists states and Union Territories in maintaining law and order and internal security. It is composed of the Cent ...
) CISF (
Central Industrial Security Force The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) is a central armed police force in India under the Ministry of Home Affairs. CISF's primary mission is to provide security to large institutions, be it state or privately-owned. It was set up unde ...
) are the agencies responsible for providing securities to
VVIP A very important person (VIP or V.I.P.) or personage is a person who is accorded special privileges due to their high social rank, status, influence, or importance. The term was not common until sometime after World War II when it was popular ...
s, VIPs, politicians, high-profile celebrities and sportspersons. Many NSG personnel are seconded to the Special Protection Group (SPG) which guards the Prime Minister. Most NSG and SPG commandos have already served in
paramilitary forces A paramilitary is a military that is not a part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. The Oxford English Dictionary traces the use of the term "paramilitary" as far back as 1934. Overview Though a paramilitary is, by definiti ...
.


Categories


Security of the President

Security to the
President of India The president of India (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the head of state of the Republic of India. The president is the nominal head of the executive, the first citizen of the country, and the commander-in-chief, supreme commander of the Indian Armed ...
is ensured by The President's Bodyguard (PBG). PBG is not only the most senior unit of the Indian Armed Forces but also the oldest. During peace, PBG serves as a ceremonial unit but can also be deployed during war as they are trained paratroopers too.


Failures

* Former Prime Minister
Indira Gandhi Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (Given name, ''née'' Nehru; 19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was an Indian politician and stateswoman who served as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India from 1966 to 1977 and again from 1980 un ...
was
assassinated Assassination is the willful killing, by a sudden, secret, or planned attack, of a personespecially if prominent or important. It may be prompted by political, ideological, religious, financial, or military motives. Assassinations are orde ...
by members of her own security detail. * Rajbir Singh, a famous encounter specialist was killed in March 2008 despite a Z-level security detail. * While under protection from the security detail, former Union Minister
Pramod Mahajan Pramod Venkatesh Mahajan (30 October 1949 – 3 May 2006) was an Indian politician from Maharashtra. A second-generation leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), he belonged to a group of relatively young " technocratic" leaders. At the time ...
was shot dead by his brother.


Controversy

This is criticized often by media as a waste of taxpayer's money. Former Home Minister
P. Chidambaram Palaniappan Chidambaram (born 16 September 1945), better known as P. Chidambaram, is an Indian politician and lawyer who currently serves as Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha. He served as the Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee o ...
phased out the use of the NSG for VIP protection in all but the most serious cases. Nevertheless, controversies arose as many politicians remained under a Z+ category while many bureaucrats were moved down to Y. The excessive use of VIP security results in some police stations being understaffed since their officers are being diverted from serving the general public. Some police stations routinely operate at less than 50% capacity; one rural station near
Lucknow Lucknow () is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and the largest city of the List of state and union territory capitals in India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is the administrative headquarters of the epon ...
was noted in 2013 to have just 1-5 officers (out of 35 total) available at any given time to serve a precinct with over 100,000 people over an area of more than 100 square kilometers. In 2014 as a part of Z security, 25 personnel of the
Central Reserve Police Force The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) is a central armed police force in India under the Ministry of Home Affairs. The CRPF assists states and Union Territories in maintaining law and order and internal security. It is composed of the Cent ...
and the Punjab Police were put in attendance for the security of Ashutosh Maharaj, a spiritual leader who has been declared clinically dead by doctors.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Security Categories In India Law enforcement in India Security guards