Indian special forces

National Security Guards :

National Security Guards (NSG) is India's premier counter-terrorism force, created by the Cabinet Secretariat under the National Security Guard Act of 1985. The NSG operates under the oversight of the Ministry of Home Affairs and is headed by an officer of the rank of Director General (DGP) of the Indian Police Service (IPS). The Inspector General of the force is an officer of the rank of a Major General and he serves with the NSG, on deputation from the army. The NSG members are also known as Black Cats because of the black nomex coveralls and balaclavas or assault helmets they wear.


Garud Commando Force :

The Garud Commando Force is the special forces unit of the Indian Air Force. It is a greehorn force formed in 2001 and has a strength of 1000-1500 personnel.The need for forming such a special force was felt after the Kargil operations and terrorist attacks on IAF airfields in insurgency-affected areas.The Garuds are trained to protect airfields from enemy and terrorist attacks, carry out hostage rescue operations, and enemy radar busting.



Para Commandos :

Para Commandos are the elite special forces of the Indian Army . During the 1965 Indo-Pak War, a small force raised and commanded by a Guards officer, conducted operations far beyond their strength. This force was named the Meghdoot Force after their leader, Maj Megh Singh. Their success prompted the powers that be to permanently raise a commando unit and as a result, the Brigade of the Guards raised a unit for the purpose. As special forces units training involved parachuting, the unit was transferred to the Parachute Regiment and named the 9th Battalion, Parachute Regiment (Commando) on 1 July 1966. The former members of the Meghdoot Force formed the nucleus and the unit brought up to strength from volunteers from all units of the Army. Exactly one year later, the unit was split to form the second unit, the 10th Battalion. In 1978, the 1st Battalion of the Parachute Regiment was converted as the third Para Commando battalion. The year 1994 saw the authorizing of the conversion of 21st Maratha Light Infantry as the fourth para commando unit. They were formed in June 1966.



Special Frontier Force :

After the Sino Indian war and towards the end of 1962, after hectic lobbying by Indian intelligence agencies, the Nehru Administration ordered the raising of an elite commando unit primarily composed of Tibetan fighters. Chushi Gangdruk leaders were contacted for recruitment of Khampas into this new unit.



Special Protection Group:

The Special Protection Group(SPG) is the agency responsible for the protection of India's Prime Minister and his/her immediate family members. The force was raised in 1985 in response to the assassination of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Today, the SPG is one of the elite agencies of its kind in Asia.



MARCOS :

The Marine Commando Force (MCF) is a special forces unit, created on the lines of the US Navy Seals by the Indian Navy in 1987. All MARCOS personnel are static line parachute qualified and a number are freefall qualified (HALO/HAHO).The MARCOS reputedly undergo the most strenuous training and dropout is more than 90%.