Union Home Ministry has asked the BSF to identify anti-drone technologies including offensive drones with features like "fire and forget" technology to counter threats emanating from Pakistan that is suspected to have recently dropped arms and ammunition via drones in Punjab.

The Indian army already possesses such technologies. The BSF guards the Indo-Pak and Indo-Bangladesh borders. The Government has also the BSF to send a proposal in a time-bound after identifying suitable anti-drone technologies for further action.

The directive to the BSF comes in the backdrop of arms dropping incident in Punjab through a heavy-duty drone, suspected to be the handiwork of Pakistan Army-ISI combine.

The Government has asked the BSF to look for all technological capabilities to counter threats from drones of the adversaries.

The instruction was issued during the meeting with the chiefs of the border guarding forces during a security review meeting, chaired by Union Home Minister Amit Shah.  Other border guarding forces have also been asked to identify gaps in securing the borders in their respective jurisdiction and flag technological solutions, sources said. 

Besides the directive for technological solutions to plug the gaps in border gaurding, the chiefs of the border guarding forces have been asked to spend more time with regular visits to the field units rather than remaining ensconced in the headquarters based in the national capital, the sources further said.

The Director Generals (DGs) of Border Security Force( BSF), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) and Assam Rifles have been given a timeframe to come out with a plan to acquire the desired technological solutions to prevent any arms dropping incident like Punjab.

As part of fortification of the border defences, the forces will also need to identify vulnerable points, both geographically and in terms of present capabilities. The forces will need to strengthen the defences in a phased manner and make the international borders full proof from the security standpoint.

The chiefs of the forces, who attended the review meeting at the North Block, were told that the Minister would again review the progress made on the directives issued during the recent meet, officials added.