These proposals are significant considering that the NSG has long demanded its own air-wing and a lot of time was taken to fly in commandos to Mumbai. The NSG, incidentally, has over 300 vacant posts.

“As far as the need for urgent transportation of paramilitary forces, including the NSG, to spots hit by terror attacks or natural disaster, the proposal is for purchase of one large aircraft like an IL-76 and two fixed wing aircraft,” Gupta said. “The need for decentralizing the NSG was felt so that the response time in commando deployment is cut down. Fresh recruitment is proposed for state commando units.”

He said he has been holding detailed reviews with state governments on a 2006 proposal for a third tier of coastal security which includes creation of 73 new coastal police stations. The scheme is expected to be fully implemented by 2009.

“Reviews of the scheme are being done on a regular basis. The Home Ministry has received updates that 55 of the 73 coastal police stations are either fully or partly operational. A review for Maharashtra has shown that eight of the 12 sanctioned new police stations are working now,” he said. “As far as patrol boats are concerned, after initially thinking of foreign purchases, the Home Ministry has given orders for the boats to be constructed at shipyards in Goa and Kolkata.”