His father Prakash Singh, who is known for introducing several police reforms and has been awarded Padma Shri as well, had served as the BSF DG from 1993-94.
The Border Security Force (BSF) is training specialized 'drone commandos' and 'drone warriors' for modern warfare, with plans to deploy them in missions like Operation Sindoor. A 'School of Drone Warfare' has been inaugurated to provide training in UAV operations, anti-drone warfare, and surveillance.
Asthana is at present working as the Director General of Bureau of Civil Aviation Security in New Delhi.
Border Security Force Director General D K Pathak is rushing to border areas along the International Border in Jammu and Kashmir in the wake of heavy shelling from Pakistan that left a trooper dead on Monday and caused damage to civilian infrastructure.
"They have set up camps for Rohingyas coming from within the country and not from Bangladesh," Sharma said.
There are always attempts from across the border to push in more terrorists before the onset of winter and closure of tracks due to heavy snowfall, but the security forces are alert and would foil any infiltration bids, Border Security Force Director General Nitin Agrawal said in Srinagar Thursday.
The Director General of Bangladesh's Border Guard (BGB), Maj Gen Mohammad Ashrafuzzaman Siddiqui, has denied reports of attacks on minorities in Bangladesh after the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government in August 2024, calling them "exaggerated." He cited the peaceful celebration of Durga Puja as evidence and pointed to the security provided by BGB to minority communities. The BGB also raised objections to India's fencing along the border during the bi-annual talks with the BSF.
Bangladesh has summoned the Indian High Commissioner in Dhaka over border tensions, accusing India of violating a bilateral agreement by constructing fences at five locations along the Indo-Bangla border. The development comes after Bangladesh officials alleged that India had halted construction of barbed wire fencing due to strong opposition from the Border Guard Bangladesh and local residents.
He said the force, which guards over 6,300 km of India's land border with Pakistan in the west and Bangladesh on the east, is faced by four main challenges on the security front.
Officials said the personnel of the force stopped about 120-140 Bangladeshi citizens who were attempting to cross over to the Indian side from multiple locations in the eastern state.
Small Chinese-made drones, carrying narcotics in 95 per cent cases, are flying over from across the border into Punjab and Jammu regions and these flights are a "cause of concern" for which technology solutions are being scouted actively, BSF director general (DG) Pankaj Kumar Singh said on Tuesday.
Asthana is the 27th chief of the force and is expected to hold office till July next year, his scheduled date for retirement from service.
Accusing the Pakistani Army and the Rangers of facilitating infiltration, Border Security Force chief Raman Srivastava said on Tuesday that the Indian Army and the BSF have been alerted along the border to foil attempts by a large number of militants waiting at different launching pads to cross over.
The order has been issued by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet that is headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and has home minister Amit Shah as its member.
"The director of the film had asked me to see the movie in New Delhi but what I saw was really bad for the Bodo community as a whole," R S Mooshahary said.
Former Director General of BSF E N Rammohan has been asked to conduct the inquiry and submit a report within 15 days to establish the circumstances preceding and the sequence of events leading to the incident of April 6, 2010.
Pakistan has been building bunkers and other defence structures across the "relatively quiet" border, Border Security Force Director General A K Mitra said on Saturday.
Yadav's family had expressed desire to meet the DG following which the meeting was arranged.
Bangladesh has promised action against the Indian insurgents who may be operating from their soil, the list of whom was handed over to it by India, Border Security Force Director General Raman Srivastava said on Thursday.
Director General of Border Security Force U K Bansal is scheduled to visit Jammu and Kashmir's Samba sector on Thursday to review the situation arising after the detection of a 400-metre-long cross-border tunnel in the sector. Bansal will arrive in Srinagar on Thursday morning from New Delhi and visit Chachwal border belt on the India-Pakistan border in Samba sector, the BSF official said.
The appointment came just days before his retirement on July 31.
The pilgrimage will be a big security challenge for the government as Jammu and Kashmir has been witnessing a number of targeted killings by terrorists in recent weeks.
Asserting that India wants peaceful relations with all countries but it should not be treated as its weakness, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday said security forces have been directed to give a "befitting" reply to ceasefire violations by Pakistan.
BSF's role has become more important now as we are the first line of Indian defence, said DG Rakesh Asthana.
Former Border Security Force director general E N Rammohan, appointed to inquire into the circumstances leading to the massacre of 76 security personnel by Naxals in Chhattisgarh's Dantewada district, has begun his probe.
Singh said the NDA government has given a free hand to the Army to act against terrorists.
The BSF also said multiple infiltration bids by Pakistan along the International Border have been foiled in recent past.
Top commanders of the border guarding forces of India and Bangladesh will meet later this week to thrash out a number of issues including illegal crossing over and migration to Indian side, and smuggling of narcotics along the eastern frontier.
She has sought a high-level inquiry into his disappearance as well as the recent rejection of his plea for voluntary retirement.
In the wake of a storm over Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwats's controversial remarks on Mother Teresa, RSS national prachar pramukh Manmohan Vaidya on Saturday said that Bhagwat's comments had been "blown out of context".
BSF chief K K Sharma said Pakistani forces are deliberately trying to "create a flash point" to facilitate infiltration of terrorists into India and asserted that these designs will be foiled.
Pakistan on Friday handed over to India a BSF jawan who was captured by Pakistan Rangers after he was swept away into their territory by strong currents of Chenab river.
Singh said India has a policy of maintaining cordial relations with neighbours.
The director general-level talks between border forces of India and Pakistan kicks off on Thursday days after parleys between their national security advisers were cancelled with the host nation set to flag the "most important" issue of ceasefire violations and cross-border infiltration.
Amid cross-border firing incidents and India's efforts to stop the ceasefire violations, Director General of Border Security Force D K Pathak on Tuesday said the Pakistani side was not cooperating to defuse the situation on the International Border.
The Border Security Force on Thursday said it was not privy to any "specific" intelligence input about the terrorist strike in Udhampur on a bus ferrying 44 unarmed personnel that had got "isolated" from a convoy with the lone armed soldier on board staving off the attackers who tried to enter the vehicle.
Sharmila had claimed that the family has been unable to contact her husband for last three days.
The home ministry conveyed to the PMO that there was no shortage of rations at any post in paramilitary forces and quality check is being conducted regularly.
Just wait for some more time. Pakistan will forced to stop firing.
Home Minister Rajnath Singh was present at the funeral of the BSF personnel who died in the air crash on Tuesday.
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