Important Facts For Prelims
36th NSG Raising Day
- 17 Oct 2020
- 2 min read
Why in News
National Security Guard (NSG) Raising Day is celebrated on 16th October.
Key Points
- Formation: The decision to form an anti-terror federal contingency force was taken in 1984 when militancy in Punjab was at its peak. The NSG came into existence through the National Security Guard Act, 1986.
- Anti Terrorist Force: The NSG is an anti-terrorist force. They are been given the specific role to handle all the facets of terrorism in any part of the country as a federal contingency force.
- They are also informally referred to as the ‘Black Cats’ because of their menacing, all-black uniforms.
- Elements: It has two complementary elements:
- Special Action Group (SAG) comprising Army personnel.
- Special Rangers Group (SRG) comprising personnels drawn from State Police and Central Armed Police Force.
- Model: It is modelled on the elite anti-terror forces GSG-9 of Germany and SAS of the United Kingdom.
- Deployment: Since its raising the NSG has been used in Punjab in 1986 and Jammu & Kashmir. It played a significant role in thwarting Mumbai terror attacks (26/11 attacks).
- Not For VIP: In January 2020, the Centre decided to remove the NSG from providing security to VIPs, a task which it was not supposed to perform when it was originally formed.
