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The National Security Guard (NSG), commonly known as Black Cats, is a
counter-terrorism Counterterrorism (also spelled counter-terrorism), also known as anti-terrorism, incorporates the practices, military tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, law enforcement, business, and intelligence agencies use to combat or el ...
unit of
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
under the
Ministry of Home Affairs An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministry ...
. It was founded on 16 October 1984, following
Operation Blue Star Operation Blue Star was the codename of a military operation which was carried out by Indian security forces between 1 and 10 June 1984 in order to remove Damdami Taksal leader Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and his followers from the buildings of ...
, for combating terrorist activities and protect states against internal disturbances. Formalised in the
Parliament of India The Parliament of India (International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: ) is the supreme legislative body of the Republic of India. It is a bicameralism, bicameral legislature composed of the president of India and two houses: the R ...
under the National Security Guard Act, 1986. It is one of the seven
Central Armed police forces Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) is the collective name of central police organisations in India under the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). These are technically paramilitary forces formerly known as Central Para-Military Forces (CPMF). Since ...
of India.


Mission

The National Security Guard states its mission as:
"Train, equip and keep in readiness a special force capable of swiftly and effectively combating terrorism to live up to its motto ''Sarvatra Sarvottam Suraksha''"
The NSG is a 'Federal Contingency Deployment Force' to tackle all facets of
terrorism Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...
in the country. As a specialised counter-terrorism force, it is intended to be used "only in exceptional situations" and is not meant to take over the "functions of the State Police Forces or other Para Military Forces". Yet, over the years its role has been expanded to provide personal security to influential politicians regardless of the real threat that they face. However, in January 2020, the NSG was withdrawn from this task of VIP security to ensure its focus on its original roles as an elite
counter-terrorism Counterterrorism (also spelled counter-terrorism), also known as anti-terrorism, incorporates the practices, military tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, law enforcement, business, and intelligence agencies use to combat or el ...
and anti-hijacking force. The NSG is trained to conduct counter-terrorist tasks, including countering hijackings on the land, sea, and air; bomb disposal (search, detection, and neutralisation of IEDs); PBI (Post Blast Investigation) and Hostage Rescue missions.


Directors General

M A Ganapathy (DOB: 01-03-1964) is an
Indian Police Service The Indian Police Service ( IPS) is a civil service under the All India Services. It replaced the Indian Imperial Police in 1948, a year after India became independent from the British Raj. Along with the Indian Administrative Service (IAS ...
officer of the 1986 batch of Uttarakhand cadre, now serving as the Director General, National Security Guard w.e.f. 18-03-2021. He has previously served as Director General of Bureau of Civil Aviation Security and Director General of Police, Uttarakhand.


Organisation

According to the NSG website, it is modelled on the British
Special Air Service The Special Air Service (SAS) is a special forces unit of the British Army. It was founded as a regiment in 1941 by David Stirling and in 1950, it was reconstituted as a corps. The unit specialises in a number of roles including counter-terro ...
as well as Germany's
GSG 9 , formerly (), is the police tactical unit of the German Federal Police ''(Bundespolizei (Germany), Bundespolizei)''. The state police (''Landespolizei'') maintain their own tactical units known as the ''Special Deployment Commando, Spezialein ...
(Grenzschutzgruppe 9 or "Border Guard Group 9").


Headquarters

'' At Mehram Nagar, Palam
Administration The Director-General is assisted by four
Indian Police Service The Indian Police Service ( IPS) is a civil service under the All India Services. It replaced the Indian Imperial Police in 1948, a year after India became independent from the British Raj. Along with the Indian Administrative Service (IAS ...
officers for administrative matters of whom two are Inspectors General each for Administration and Headquarters (HQ) who in turn are assisted by Deputy Inspectors General. The Financial Advisor of the NSG has been an officer of the rank of Joint Secretary from Central Accounts Services and is assisted by Dy Financial Advisors. '' At Manesar
Operation and training: A
Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...
of the
Indian Army The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...
, on deputation, designated as Inspector General (operations), is responsible for the planning and conduct of operations. Training is under another Inspector General (Training), located in
Manesar Manesar is a town and municipal corporation, know new Gurugram City in the Gurugram district of the state of Haryana, India and a part of the National Capital Region (NCR) of Delhi. It is an industrial hub. Its proximity to the burgeoning cit ...
,
Gurgaon Gurgaon (pronunciation: ʊɽɡãːw, officially named Gurugram (pronunciation: ʊɾʊɡɾaːm, is a city located in the northern Indian state of Haryana. It is situated near the Delhi–Haryana border, about southwest of the nationa ...
. They are further assisted by two DIGs – DIG (Operations) and DIG (Training). The strength of the NSG is estimated to be about 7000+ personnel. Air transport to support NSG is located at Indira Gandhi Airport.


Special Action Group (SAG)

There are 2 Special Action Groups – 51 and 52 SAGs. Both, along with 11 SRG, constitute the counter terrorist force (CTF) which is the counter-terrorist arm of NSG. 51 SAG along with 11 SRG are tasked for counter-terrorist and counter insurgency operations while 52 SAG deal with anti-hijacking operations. While SAG members are drawn from the
Indian Army The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...
, SRG members are largely drawn from CAPFs.


Special Ranger Group (SRG)

There are 3 Special Ranger Groups (SRG) – 11,12 and 13. 11 SRG is under counter terrorist force (CTF) and is used purely for counter terrorist operations along with 51 SAG. SRG members are drawn both from the border guarding forces like BSF,
ITBP The Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) is a border patrol organization of India deployed along its borders with Tibet Autonomous Region. It is one of the seven Central Armed Police Forces, established in 1962 in the aftermath of the Sino-Indian ...
and SSB and Internal Security Forces such as
CRPF The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) is a federal police organisation in India under the authority of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) of the Government of India. It is one among the Central Armed Police Forces. The CRPF's primary role lie ...
,
CISF The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) is a federal police organisation in India under the Ministry of Home Affairs. It is one among the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF). CISF provides security to over 356 industrial units (including 1 ...
and
Assam Rifles The Assam Rifles (AR) is a central paramilitary force responsible for border security, counter-insurgency, and maintaining law and order in Northeast India. It guards the Indo-Myanmar border. The Assam rifles is the oldest paramilitary force ...
. In recent times GoI has decided to remove SRGs from protection duties and re-orient them exclusively for the mandate of NSG like SAG and 11 SRG.


Special Composite Group (SCG)

NSG has set five regional hubs under regional deployment. SCG consists of personnel both from Army and CAPFs for counter-terror operations within their area of responsibility. Each SCG is headed by an officer of rank colonel from the Indian Army on deputation as Group Commander. The five regional hubs are *26 SCG
Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
*27 SCG
Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...
*28 SCG
Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...
*29 SCG
Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...
*30 SCG
Gandhinagar Gandhinagar (, ) is the capital of the state of Gujarat in India. Gandhinagar is located approximately 23 km north of Ahmedabad, on the west central point of the Industrial corridor between Delhi, the political capital of India, and Mu ...


Electronic Support Group (ESG)

The electronic support group stationed at Manesar, provides communication and technological support. The group is headed by a Group Commander level officer on deputation.


National Bomb Data Centre

The National Bomb Data Centre (NBDC) was established in the year 1988 and redefined its role in the year 2000. NBDC was assigned the role of monitoring, recording and analyzing all bombing incidents in the country. It also records and analyses various bombing incidents across the world to gain expertise knowledge in bombing and related incidents to effectively counter such situations and shares information with relevant security agencies. NBDC also performs research and development in the field of
explosives engineering Explosives engineering is the field of science and engineering which is related to examining the behavior and usage of explosive materials. Topics Some of the topics that explosives engineers study, research, and work on include: * Development ...
. At present NBDC act as a nodal agency for all bombing related facets in the country. It is headed by a Group Commander who can be either from the Army or para military force. The current Group Commander is a Commandant rank officer from
CRPF The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) is a federal police organisation in India under the authority of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) of the Government of India. It is one among the Central Armed Police Forces. The CRPF's primary role lie ...
.


Regional deployment

In response to the criticism, due to the time taken by NSG units to arrive in
November 2008 Mumbai attacks The 2008 Mumbai attacks (also referred to as 26/11, pronounced "twenty six eleven") were a series of terrorist attacks that took place in November 2008, when 10 members of Lashkar-e-Taiba, an Islamist terrorist organisation from Pakistan, c ...
, from its base in
Manesar Manesar is a town and municipal corporation, know new Gurugram City in the Gurugram district of the state of Haryana, India and a part of the National Capital Region (NCR) of Delhi. It is an industrial hub. Its proximity to the burgeoning cit ...
, Haryana, the MHA decided to deploy NSG contingents in major regions across India.


Hyderabad

NSG hub is the regional hub of the National Security Guard and it's commando training is located near
Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...
,
Telangana Telangana (; , ) is a States and union territories of India, state in India situated on the south-central stretch of the Indian subcontinent, Indian peninsula on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the List of states and union territories of India b ...
,
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
. With the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) giving its nod and sanctioning in 2017, the National Security Guard (NSG) officials geared up to establish the Southern Regional Center (SRC) at Ibrahimpatnam, Hyderabad for training commandos. It will be home to 300 black cat commandoes and is tasked with tackling any terror threat in the four states of
Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...
, Telangana,
Odisha Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of ...
and
Chhattisgarh Chhattisgarh (, ) is a landlocked state in Central India. It is the ninth largest state by area, and with a population of roughly 30 million, the seventeenth most populous. It borders seven states – Uttar Pradesh to the north, Madhya Prade ...
. The hub land area is and constructed at a cost of . The Hyderabad hub of 28 Special Composite Group (SCG) of the NSG is among the four regional hubs in the country. By 2018, 300 commandos were stationed at the NSG hub at Trimulgherry. The state has two trained anti-terror striking forces. Besides the NSG, the
Telangana Police The Telangana State Police Department is the law enforcement agency for the state of Telangana in India. It has jurisdiction concurrent with the 33 revenue districts of the state. The police force was created from the remnants of the Andhra Pra ...
's counter-terrorist group,
OCTOPUS An octopus ( : octopuses or octopodes, see below for variants) is a soft-bodied, eight- limbed mollusc of the order Octopoda (, ). The order consists of some 300 species and is grouped within the class Cephalopoda with squids, cuttle ...
, also has a training facility in the same neighbourhood at Ibrahimpatnam, that has a strength of over 250 personnel.Central nod for 'Black Cats' training campus near Hyderabad – Times Of India
Articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com (24 June 2013). Retrieved on 2013-08-17.
NSG and OCTOPUS personnel undergo a gruelling training, including handling sophisticated weapons, after which commandos are sent back to their parent department when they reach the age of 35, ensuring that the force remains young and fighting fit.


Planning in Hyderabad

As of 2013, the proposal to set up a state-of-the-art NSG training centre at Ibrahimpatnam on the lines of NSG Manesar training centre had been pending for over three years. But the MHA officials, in their annual report released recently, announced the release of funds for developing infrastructure. "Post the 26/11 Mumbai terror strike, four regional hubs of NSG were operationalised in Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chennai and Kolkata to reduce reaction time. A regional centre at Hyderabad is also being raised, for which of land has been acquired. MHA has conveyed sanction of towards the construction of this Southern Regional Centre, NSG at Ibrahimpatnam," the MHA report said.


Trimulgherry

Hyderabad would have an NSG hub at Trimulgherry as well as the SRC for training 'Black Cats'. As of now, nearly 300 commandos, ready for anti-terror operations round-the-clock, are stationed at the NSG hub at Trimulgherry.


Kolkata

On 1 March 2020, the 29 Special Composite Group complex was inaugurated by the Home Minister
Amit Shah Amit Anil Chandra Shah (born 22 October 1964) is an Indian politician currently serving as the Minister of Home Affairs since 2019 and the first Minister of Co-operation of India since 2021. He served as the President of the Bharatiya Janata P ...
at
New Town New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...
,
West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...
.


Gandhinagar

In July 2018, NSG operationalized its fifth regional hub at
Gandhinagar Gandhinagar (, ) is the capital of the state of Gujarat in India. Gandhinagar is located approximately 23 km north of Ahmedabad, on the west central point of the Industrial corridor between Delhi, the political capital of India, and Mu ...
in
Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...
. Around 100 people will be based for counter-terror and counter-hijack operation.


Amritsar

NSG proposed
Amritsar Amritsar (), historically also known as Rāmdāspur and colloquially as ''Ambarsar'', is the second largest city in the Indian state of Punjab, after Ludhiana. It is a major cultural, transportation and economic centre, located in the Majha r ...
as a regional hub to improve its counter action capability in
Northern India North India is a loosely defined region consisting of the northern part of India. The dominant geographical features of North India are the Indo-Gangetic Plain and the Himalayas, which demarcate the region from the Tibetan Plateau and Central ...
.


Rank structure and designation

;Officers ;Enlisted ranks


History

The NSG was established in the wake of 1984
Operation Blue Star Operation Blue Star was the codename of a military operation which was carried out by Indian security forces between 1 and 10 June 1984 in order to remove Damdami Taksal leader Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and his followers from the buildings of ...
, and the high collateral damage to Golden Temple, and civilian and military collateral casualties. Since its founding the NSG has been used in the
Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...
in 1986, and Jammu and Kashmir. Some of the NSG's known operations include: * 29–30 April 1986: About 300 NSG commandos and 700
Border Security Force The Border Security Force (BSF) is India's border guarding organisation on its border with Pakistan and Bangladesh. It is one of the seven Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) of India, and was raised in the wake of the 1965 war on 1 December 1 ...
troops stormed the Golden Temple in Operation Black Thunder I. The Temple was cleared and handed over to Punjab Police on 1 May 1986. 300 Sikh militants were captured, and there were no deaths or injuries for either side. * January 1988: The NSG conducted Op Black Hawk, a heliborne operation in the Mand area of Punjab. In this operation two terrorists were killed and one 7.62mm rifle was recovered. It was a massive operation, says former NSG Director-General
Ved Marwah Ved Prakash Marwah (15 September 1934 – 5 June 2020) was an Indian police officer, who after retirement, served as governor of Manipur, Mizoram and Jharkhand. He died at Goa at the age of 87 after a three-week hospitalisation. Early life ...
, though it did not get many spectacular results like in Black Thunder. * 12 May 1988: 1,000 NSG commandos (all ranks) surrounded the Golden Temple for yet another assault, in Operation Black Thunder II. Sniper teams armed with Heckler & Koch PSG-1 rifles with night scope took up positions, including atop a 300-foot water tower. While commandos from the 51 SAG divided into assault squadrons, the SRG was used to seal off the area around the temple and for tactical support. In the three-day operation between 15 and 18 May 1988, the NSG cleared the temple. 40 terrorists were killed, and 200 surrendered. In the mid-1990s, a NSG battalion was again deployed in Punjab to confront the Sikh rioters. There they began training the Punjab Police in counter-terrorism. * 5 September – 15 January 1988: Guarding of high-risk terrorist code-named 'Jack'. * 4 August 1989: Operation Mouse Trap in the Tarn Taran district of Punjab, in conjunction with Punjab Police and other security forces. NSG was able to demonstrate that it was possible to achieve area dominance at night, if the strategy and tactics were right.
Ved Marwah Ved Prakash Marwah (15 September 1934 – 5 June 2020) was an Indian police officer, who after retirement, served as governor of Manipur, Mizoram and Jharkhand. He died at Goa at the age of 87 after a three-week hospitalisation. Early life ...
calls this Operation Night Dominance. * 10 November 1990: NSG task force flown to Kolkata to rescue hostages of a Thai airbus by Burmese students. * 25–26 January 1991: The NSG was involved in Operation Ani Ben, on CI tasks in
Baroda Vadodara (), also known as Baroda, is the second largest city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Vadodara district and is situated on the banks of the Vishwamitri River, from the state capital ...
, (Gujarat) where Punjab terrorists were holed up inside a house. Two terrorists were killed and two AK-47s were recovered. * 1 July-20 September 1991: NSG employed along with SIT in search and strike missions after the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi. * 25 November – 16 December 1992: 150 commandos were deployed at Ayodhya during the Ram Janambhoomi and Babri Masjid crisis. * 27 March 1993: 52 SAG mobilised and moved to Adampur for rescue of hostages of Indian Airlines Flight IC 486. * 24–25 April 1993: NSG Commandos stormed a hijacked Indian Airlines Boeing 737 with 141 passengers on board at Amritsar airport during Operation Ashwamedh. Two hijackers, including their leader, Mohammed Yousuf Shah, were killed and one was disarmed before any hostages were harmed. * October 1998: As part of the implementation of the Union Home Ministry's decision to conduct pro-active strikes against militants, commando teams supported by IAF Mi-25/35 helicopter gun-ships began striking at terrorist groups deep inside the mountains and forests of Kashmir. After helicopter reconnaissance was conducted to pinpoint the militants, the commandos – comprising NSG and Rashtriya Rifles personnel – were para-dropped, along with supplies, into the area to hunt the militants. They had to rely on these supplies and their ability to live off the land until replenishment every fortnight or so. These missions are possibly ongoing. * 15 July 1999: NSG commandos ended a 30-hour standoff by killing 2 terrorists and rescuing all 12 hostages unharmed in J&K. The terrorists had attacked a BSF campus near Srinagar, killed 3 officers and the wife of another. The 12 hostages were kept locked in a room. * 21 August 1999: After interrogating three captured terrorists, the Delhi Police Crime branch confirmed that two more terrorists were hiding in a one-storied house in Rudrapur, Uttar Pradesh. Since the terrorists were considered armed and dangerous (their colleagues were arrested with 100+ pounds of RDX), the Delhi Police sought assistance from the NSG. A 16-man team arrived at the house at 4:45 am They began their assault at 5:30 am, before first light. The first militant managed to fire at the commandos with a pistol he kept by his bedside, but was killed an instant later. The second terrorist was shot before he had a chance to fire and died 40 minutes later. No NSG personnel were injured. * December 1999: Terrorists hijacked Indian Airlines flight IC814 from
Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...
, and landed in
Amritsar Amritsar (), historically also known as Rāmdāspur and colloquially as ''Ambarsar'', is the second largest city in the Indian state of Punjab, after Ludhiana. It is a major cultural, transportation and economic centre, located in the Majha r ...
,
Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...
. Within minutes of landing, the Crisis Management Group (CMG), which authorised the use of the NSG, was informed. But the CMG wasted precious hours and by the time the go-ahead was issued, it was too late. On the other hand, the NSG team on alert was elsewhere and no other team was raised during the delay. The hijacked plane took off before the NSG reached Amritsar Airport. The plane landed in
Kandahar Kandahar (; Kandahār, , Qandahār) is a List of cities in Afghanistan, city in Afghanistan, located in the south of the country on the Arghandab River, at an elevation of . It is Afghanistan's second largest city after Kabul, with a population ...
,
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
where one hostage was killed. Finally, the Indian Government agreed to the terrorists' demands to release three jailed terrorists. The hostages were released and the terrorists escaped to Pakistan. * February 2000: Following the Flight IC 814 fiasco, the Indian Government decided to implement an Air Marshaling programme. At least two NSG operators were to be present on flights over select routes. These operators would be armed with weapons firing lethal, but low-velocity, fragmentation rounds to minimize danger to the passengers and prevent penetration of the aircraft. Another decision taken was to deploy NSG teams permanently at eight sensitive airports around the country, especially those bordering Pakistan and the North East. This decision was to cut short reaction times for the NSG and eliminate hassles involved in flying the teams to the hijack site. It is not known if this plan has been put into action. * September 2002 – SAG commandos flew to
Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...
, to catch sandalwood smuggler and forest brigand
Veerappan Koose Munisamy Veerappan (18 January 1952 – 18 October 2004) was an Indian bandit turned domestic terrorist who was active for 36 years, and kidnapped major politicians for ransom. He was charged with sandalwood smuggling and poaching o ...
, in the wake of the kidnapping of a former minister of the state cabinet, Nagappa. They pulled out after suggesting that intelligence for the operation was inadequate. A small team was left behind to help, the hostage was eventually killed in December 2002. * October 2002 – Two terrorists attacked the Akshardham temple complex in Gujarat. NSG flew in, delayed by traffic in Delhi. They carried out assaults in which one commando was killed and another one was seriously injured and died after 18 months in a coma. By morning the two terrorists were neutralised and the operation completed successfully. * December 2002 – Terrorists attacked the
Raghunath temple Raghunath Temple is a Hindu temple located in Jammu in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It consists of a complex of seven Hindu shrines. Raghunath Temple was constructed by the first Dogra ruler Maharaja Gulab Singh in the ye ...
in
Jammu Jammu is the winter capital of the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), Jammu and Kashmir. It is the headquarters and the largest city in Jammu district of the union territory. Lying on the banks of the river Tawi Ri ...
. NSG was ready to be flown out but was called back at the last minute. *
26 November 2008 Mumbai attacks The 2008 Mumbai attacks (also referred to as 26/11, pronounced "twenty six eleven") were a series of terrorist attacks that took place in November 2008, when 10 members of Lashkar-e-Taiba, an Islamist terrorist organisation from Pakistan, ...
Operation Black Tornado and Operation Cyclone to flush out terrorists & rescue hostages after multiple attacks across
Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
, India.
Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan Sandeep Unnikrishnan, AC (15 March 1977 – 28 November 2008) was an Indian Army officer, who was serving in the 51 Special Action Group of the National Security Guards on deputation. He was Martyred in action during the November 2008 Mumbai ...
and Havaldar Gajender Singh Bisht of the Special Action Group were killed in action during the operations. Over 900 rooms were scanned, 8 terrorists killed and over 600 hostages rescued during the operation. *
2013 Hyderabad blasts On 21 February 2013, at around 19:00 IST, two blasts occurred in the city of Hyderabad, India. The bombs exploded in Dilsukhnagar, a crowded shopping area, within of each other. The first explosion occurred outside a roadside eatery named A1 ...
– Deployed in
Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...
after the bomb blasts. * 2013 Bangalore Bomb Blast – NSG was deployed in
Bangalore Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...
after the bomb blast took place in the city. * 2013 Patna bombings – A team of the NSG, which was sent to
Patna Patna ( ), historically known as Pataliputra, is the capital and largest city of the state of Bihar in India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Patna had a population of 2.35 million, making it the 19th largest city in India. ...
for post-blasts analysis, said at least three more Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) were defused. *
2016 Pathankot attack The 2016 Pathankot attack was a terrorist attack committed on 2 January 2016 by a heavily armed group of Islamic militants which attacked the Pathankot Air Force Station, part of the Western Air Command of the Indian Air Force. Four attacker ...
– An NSG team took part in the operation to neutralise terrorists where Lt. Col. Niranjan lost his life defusing a grenade or IED booby-trapped on the body of a dead terrorist, and 12 other members of the unit were injured. Six terrorists were neutralised in the operation by the NSG,
Defence Security Corps The Defence Security Corps (DSC), is a corps of the Indian Army responsible for providing security cover to the defence installations of the three services (Army, Navy, Air Force) and other sensitive installations. The DSC troops are sanctioned ...
and the
Garud Commando Force The Garud Commando Force is the special forces unit of the Indian Air Force. It was formed in September 2004 and has a current strength of over 1500 personnel. The unit derives its name from ''Garuda'', a divine bird-like creature in Hindu cultur ...


Selection and training

Selection is demanding and has a drop out rate of about 70–80 percent. Three of their 14 months of training in
Manesar Manesar is a town and municipal corporation, know new Gurugram City in the Gurugram district of the state of Haryana, India and a part of the National Capital Region (NCR) of Delhi. It is an industrial hub. Its proximity to the burgeoning cit ...
,
Haryana Haryana (; ) is an Indian state located in the northern part of the country. It was carved out of the former state of East Punjab on 1 Nov 1966 on a linguistic basis. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with less than 1.4% () of India's land ar ...
, are devoted to the basics. Physical fitness training has 26 elements, ranging from a cross-country obstacle course to jumping from heights and across divides and scaling different kinds of terrain. One endurance test involves martial arts, target shooting at the end of an obstacle-ridden cross-country run. This is meant to gauge the candidate's performance under conditions of stress and exhaustion. Those who successfully complete the tests are sent for nine months of advanced training. Before being inducted into the NSG, aspirants also have to undergo a rigorous
psychological Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries between t ...
test. The training includes learning to conduct urban
counter-terrorism Counterterrorism (also spelled counter-terrorism), also known as anti-terrorism, incorporates the practices, military tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, law enforcement, business, and intelligence agencies use to combat or el ...
, underwater operations, house intervention, counter-
UAV An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft without any human pilot, crew, or passengers on board. UAVs are a component of an unmanned aircraft system (UAS), which includes adding a ground-based controller ...
and anti-drone operations, bomb detection and disposal skills, apart from various other specialisations.


United States

Exercise between NSG and
United States Army Special Forces The United States Army Special Forces (SF), colloquially known as the "Green Berets" due to their distinctive service Berets of the United States Army, headgear, are a special operations special operations force, force of the United States Ar ...
, code named ''Balanced Iroquois'', started on 18 October 2015. This three-week long exercise was preceded by a joint airborne-jump at
Aero India Aero India is a biennial air show and aviation exhibition held in Bengaluru, India at the Yelahanka Air Force Station. It is organised by the Defence Exhibition Organisation, Ministry of Defence. Organisers The Defence Ministry of India, Indi ...
2015. In February 2018,
Green Berets The United States Army Special Forces (SF), colloquially known as the "Green Berets" due to their distinctive service headgear, are a special operations force of the United States Army. The Green Berets are geared towards nine doctrinal m ...
from the
1st Special Forces Command (Airborne) The 1st Special Forces Command (Airborne) is a division-level special operations forces command within the United States Army Special Operations Command. The command was first established in 1989 and reorganized in 2014 grouping together the Arm ...
conducted a joint training exercise with the NSG in
Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...
. The Green Berets learnt some urban warfare strategies from the NSG while the NSG learnt about some advanced equipment of the US soldiers. The drill included intervention techniques, training in the
Kolkata Metro The Kolkata Metro is a rapid transit system serving the city of Kolkata in West Bengal, India. , it has two operational lines, a line from Dakshineswar to Kavi Subhash and a line from Salt Lake Sector V to Sealdah, for a total of . Four o ...
system and a drill at the
Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur (IIT Kharagpur) is a public institute of technology established by the Government of India in Kharagpur, West Bengal, India. Established in 1951, the institute is the first of the IITs to be established ...
. In March 2019, the NSG and US
1st Special Forces Group The 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne) (1st SFG) (A) is a unit of the U.S. Army Special Forces operating under the United States Pacific Command. It is designed to deploy and execute nine doctrinal missions throughout the Indo-Pacific Command a ...
carried joint exercises in
Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...
.


Germany

After the
2008 Mumbai attacks The 2008 Mumbai attacks (also referred to as 26/11, pronounced "twenty six eleven") were a series of Terrorism, terrorist attacks that took place in November 2008, when 10 members of Lashkar-e-Taiba, an Islamist terrorist organisation from P ...
, the NSG decided to have a joint exercise with the German
GSG 9 , formerly (), is the police tactical unit of the German Federal Police ''(Bundespolizei (Germany), Bundespolizei)''. The state police (''Landespolizei'') maintain their own tactical units known as the ''Special Deployment Commando, Spezialein ...
. In November 2009, a team from NSG visited the GSG 9 headquarters. Joint training exercises between GSG 9 and NSG were subsequently conducted in
Manesar Manesar is a town and municipal corporation, know new Gurugram City in the Gurugram district of the state of Haryana, India and a part of the National Capital Region (NCR) of Delhi. It is an industrial hub. Its proximity to the burgeoning cit ...
.


Equipment

The National Security Guard utilizes the following equipment:


Small Arms

*
Glock-17 Glock is a brand of polymer- framed, short recoil-operated, locked-breech semi-automatic pistols designed and produced by Austrian manufacturer Glock Ges.m.b.H. The firearm entered Austrian military and police service by 1982 after it was the ...
pistol. * SIG SG 551 assault rifle. *
Beretta AR70/90 The Beretta AR70/90 is a gas operated assault rifle chambered for the 5.56×45 mm NATO cartridge, and is the standard issue service rifle of the Italian Armed Forces. The weapon is also designed to be fitted with a rifle grenade, and has gr ...
Assault rifle. *
Franchi SPAS-15 The Franchi SPAS-15 is a dual-mode 12 gauge combat shotgun manufactured by the Italian company Luigi Franchi S.P.A. Design The weapon is based on the SPAS-12, and has similar pump-action/ semi-automatic firing modes. In semi-automatic mode, ...
Shotgun. * TriCa 7.62x39 mm Carbine. *
M249 The M249 light machine gun (LMG), also known as the M249 Squad Automatic Weapon (SAW), which continues to be the manufacturer's designation, and formally written as Light Machine Gun, 5.56 mm, M249, is the American adaptation of the Belgian F ...
Light machine gun * Heckler & Koch MSG90 sniper rifle. * Heckler & Koch PSG1 A1 sniper rifle. * IWI Tavor X95 bullpup rifle. *
Barrett Model 98B The Barrett Model 98B (also known as the Barrett Model 98 Bravo) is a bolt-action sniper rifle chambered in .338 Lapua Magnum (8.6×70mm or 8.58×70mm) and manufactured by Barrett Firearms Manufacturing. The Model 98B was officially announced in ...
Sniper rifle *
Heckler & Koch MP5 The Heckler & Koch MP5 (german: Maschinenpistole 5) is a 9x19mm Parabellum submachine gun, developed in the 1960s by a team of engineers from the German small arms manufacturer Heckler & Koch. There are over 100 variants and clones of the MP5, ...
submachine gun. *
SIG MPX The SIG MPX is a gas-operated submachine gun designed and manufactured by SIG Sauer, and is primarily chambered in 9×19mm Parabellum cartridge. It is a gas-operated firearm featuring a closed, rotating bolt. These design features, rare in submac ...
Submachine gun. *
Glock Glock is a brand of polymer- framed, short recoil-operated, locked-breech semi-automatic pistols designed and produced by Austrian manufacturer Glock Ges.m.b.H. The firearm entered Austrian military and police service by 1982 after it was th ...
knives. *corner-shot guns.


Drones

* Black Hornet Nano military micro
UAV An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft without any human pilot, crew, or passengers on board. UAVs are a component of an unmanned aircraft system (UAS), which includes adding a ground-based controller ...
. * 'Kamikaze', an Indian
drone Drone most commonly refers to: * Drone (bee), a male bee, from an unfertilized egg * Unmanned aerial vehicle * Unmanned surface vehicle, watercraft * Unmanned underwater vehicle or underwater drone Drone, drones or The Drones may also refer to: ...
.


Vehicles and transport

* Remote-Operated Vehicle, which can transport 150 kg of
Improvised explosive device An improvised explosive device (IED) is a bomb constructed and deployed in ways other than in conventional military action. It may be constructed of conventional military explosives, such as an artillery shell, attached to a detonating mechan ...
and, alternatively, can transport biological, chemical, radiological and nuclear material. * Maruti Suzuki Gypsy * Ford F550 Super Duty tactical ladder truck. * Renault Sherpa Light Armoured Personal Carrier. * The NSG has access to
Indian Air Force The Indian Air Force (IAF) is the air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its complement of personnel and aircraft assets ranks third amongst the air forces of the world. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial w ...
transport aircraft.


In popular culture

*A biographical movie named
Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...
is made on Major
Sandeep Unnikrishnan Sandeep Unnikrishnan, AC (15 March 1977 – 28 November 2008) was an Indian Army officer, who was serving in the 51 Special Action Group of the National Security Guards on deputation. He was Martyred in action during the November 2008 Mumbai ...
who was one of the team commanders of 51 Special Action Group of NSG and was killed in action (KIA) during the
2008 Mumbai attacks The 2008 Mumbai attacks (also referred to as 26/11, pronounced "twenty six eleven") were a series of Terrorism, terrorist attacks that took place in November 2008, when 10 members of Lashkar-e-Taiba, an Islamist terrorist organisation from P ...
. * State of Siege: Temple Attack is a 2021 Indian Hindi-language film . It is based on the 2002
Akshardham Temple attack On 24 September 2002, two terrorists attacked the Swaminarayan Akshardham (Gandhinagar), Akshardham complex in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India, killing 33 and injuring more than 80. India's National Security Guard intervened and ended the siege t ...
and the subsequent operation to kill the perpetrators. * State of Siege: 26/11 is a
Zee5 ZEE5 is an Indian subscription video on-demand and over-the-top streaming service, run by Zee Entertainment Enterprises. It was launched in India on 14 February 2018 with content in 12 languages. The ZEE5 mobile app is available on Web, Androi ...
web series presents the 26/11 terror attacks from the viewpoint of NSG. * NSG soldiers featured in the 2019 thriller film ''
Hotel Mumbai ''Hotel Mumbai'' is a 2018 action thriller film directed by Anthony Maras and co-written by Maras and John Collee. An Indian-Australian-American co-production, it is inspired by the 2009 documentary ''Surviving Mumbai'' about the 2008 Mumbai ...
'', which is based on the
2008 Mumbai attacks The 2008 Mumbai attacks (also referred to as 26/11, pronounced "twenty six eleven") were a series of Terrorism, terrorist attacks that took place in November 2008, when 10 members of Lashkar-e-Taiba, an Islamist terrorist organisation from P ...
.


See also

* Special Forces of India *
Paramilitary forces of India India maintains 10 paramilitary forces. List of Paramilitary forces From 1986 to 2011 the Central Armed Police Forces were considered as Central Police Forces (CPF). However, as per their respective acts they all are Armed Police Forces. R ...
*
Central Armed Police Forces Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) is the collective name of central police organisations in India under the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). These are technically paramilitary forces formerly known as Central Para-Military Forces (CPMF). Since ...
*
Special Protection Group The Special Protection Group (SPG) is an agency of the Government of India whose sole responsibility is protecting the Prime Minister of India and in some cases, his or her family. It was formed in 1988 by an Act of the Parliament of India. The ...


References


External links

* {{Authority control Non-military counterterrorist organizations 1986 establishments in Delhi Specialist law enforcement agencies of India Government agencies established in 1986