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Army Chief Honours 51 Special Action Group NSG
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- Chief of Army Staff General MM Naravane on Monday honoured the 51 Special Action Group of the National Security Guards in recognition of its achievements in combating terrorism.
- The ‘COAS (Chief of Army Staff) Unit Appreciation’ was conferred on the elite group for its “outstanding achievements” in anti-terror operations, the Army said.
- The group draws 100 percent of its manpower from the Indian Army and has established itself as an elite counter-terrorist force earning many gallantry awards including three Ashok Chakra which is India’s highest peacetime gallantry honour.
- Since its raising in December 1984, 51 Special Action Group has carved a niche for itself.
- The most noteworthy mission it carried out was ‘Operation Black Tornado’ during which it eliminated eight terrorists during the Mumbai terror attack in November 2008 and freed over 600 hostages, including a number of foreign nationals.
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- The National Security Guard (NSG) is an elite counter-terrorism unit under the Indian Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). It was founded on 15 October 1984, following Operation Blue Star, Golden Temple attack and the assassination of Indira Gandhi, “for combating terrorist activities and protect states against internal disturbances”
- NSG is under the authority of the Ministry of Home Affairs and is categorized under the uniform nomenclature of Central Armed Police Forces. It has a special forces mandate.
- The NSG is trained to conduct counter-terrorist tasks too including counter hijacking tasks on the land, sea, and air; Bomb disposal (search, detection, and neutralization of IEDs); PBI (Post Blast Investigation) and Hostage Rescue missions.
- The head of NSG, designated as Director General (DG), is selected by the MHA-Home Minister. Since its founding in 1984, the NSG has had 28 DGs, in 31 years, with an average tenure one year and few months.
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