New Bureau of Ports Security to bring airport-style protection, cyber oversight to India’s Ports
New Delhi, January 6. India is set to significantly tighten security across its maritime gateways with the creation of the Bureau of Ports Security (BoPS), a new federal agency that will introduce airport-style access control, cyber monitoring and uniform security standards at ports nationwide.
The Ministry of Home Affairs announced the establishment of BoPS on December 19. The agency will be headed by a Director General from the Indian Police Service and will spearhead a comprehensive overhaul of port security – from drafting protocols and supervising operations to training personnel in line with global best practices.
Set up as a statutory body under Section 13 of the Merchant Shipping Act, 2025, BoPS will operate under the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways. It will be responsible for regulatory oversight and coordination related to the security of ships, cargo and port infrastructure. Citing officials, the Hindustan Times reported that the new body will mirror the role played by the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), which has overseen airport and aviation security since 1987.
According to officials familiar with the plan, BoPS will work closely with intelligence agencies to track threats to maritime trade and shipping lanes. The Director General will be supported by one or two Additional Directors General and several Deputy Directors General heading key verticals such as cyber and technical threats, training, security and operations. A nationwide audit of port infrastructure will be carried out, following which ports will be graded according to their security preparedness.
Multiple agencies – including Customs, the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), state police and shipping companies – will coordinate with BoPS. Standard operating procedures will be developed after consultations with all stakeholders, and the bureau will conduct surprise inspections and mock drills to test preparedness. Most officers will join on deputation from the shipping ministry and state police forces, with the headquarters likely to be in New Delhi.
The move comes alongside the Centre’s recent decision to designate the CISF as the Recognised Security Organisation for port facilities. While CISF currently guards 13 major ports, it will soon take over security at 67 more. India has around 200 ports – major and minor – though only about 65 handle cargo. At ports not covered by CISF, security is presently managed by state police and private agencies.
Together, BoPS and CISF will frame the regulatory architecture for port security, circulate intelligence inputs, mandate installation of security infrastructure and oversee private security agencies at smaller ports.
The tightening of oversight follows a series of major seizures and growing security concerns. Between 2020 and 2024, drugs worth about Rs. 11,000 crore were seized at Indian ports, according to a reply by the Home Ministry in Parliament last August. The biggest haul was in 2021 at Mundra port in Gujarat, where 2,988 kg of heroin valued at Rs. 5,876 crore was recovered. Another large seizure took place in 2020 at Tuticorin port in Tamil Nadu, where 303 kg of cocaine worth Rs. 1,515 crore was intercepted. Authorities have also confiscated weapons, e-cigarettes and Chinese drones at ports.
Intelligence agencies have meanwhile warned of potential terror strikes and vessel hijackings, prompting the government to step up coastal and maritime security. The National Security Guard has been roped in to conduct anti-hijacking drills on the lines of aviation protocols, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently held a dedicated discussion on port and coastal security with police chiefs at the annual DG-IG conference in Raipur.
