The
Border Security Force (
BSF) (
Hindi: सीमा सुरक्षा बल) is the primary Border police force of India. It is one of the five
Central Armed Police Forces of the Union of India, it was raised in the wake of the 1965 War on 1 December 1965, "for ensuring the security of the borders of
India and for matters connected there with". It is a
Central Armed Police Force charged with guarding India's land border during peace time and preventing transnational crime. It is a Union Government Agency under the administrative control of Ministry of Home Affairs. The BSF has its own cadre of officers but its head, designated as a
Director-General (DG), since its raising has been an officer from the
Indian Police Service. It is an Armed Force of the Union of India tasked with various assignments from time to time. The BSF has grown exponentially from a few battalions in 1965, to 186
battalions with a strength of 2.4
lakh (240,000) personnel including an expanding air wing,
marine wing, artillery regiments, and commando units. It currently stands as the world's largest border guarding force. BSF has been termed as the
First Wall of Defence of Indian Territories.