India’s Border Security Force (BSF) is boosting its canine teams with homegrown talent, training 150 Indian breed dogs inspired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s popular Mann Ki Baat radio show.
This fresh push has added these skilled pups to BSF dog squads across the country. The focus falls on breeds like Rampur Hounds and Mudhol Hounds, with 20 of them now at the BSF’s Tekanpur Training Centre in Madhya Pradesh for breeding programs.
Take Riya, a standout Mudhol Hound. She snagged a gold medal in tracking at the 2024 All India Police Duty Meet, outshining several foreign breeds and proving the power of Indian dog breeds in real action.
“We drew inspiration from Prime Minister Modi’s Mann Ki Baat episode,” said Shamsher Singh, Additional Director General and Director of the BSF Academy in Tekanpur. “We’ve trained 150 so far, and Riya’s success shows how this fits perfectly with Aatmanirbhar Bharat—making India self-reliant even in our security forces.”
Modi spotlighted Indian breeds like Rajapalayam, Kanni, Chippiparai, and Combai during his August 2020 Mann Ki Baat broadcast. He praised their smarts and strength, urging more support for these local heroes over imported ones.
The heart of this effort is the National Training Centre for Dogs (NTCD) at the BSF Academy in Tekanpur. Set up in 1970, it stands as India’s top spot for prepping service dogs for paramilitary and police units.
Here, dogs learn vital skills for tracking, guarding borders, sniffing out narcotics and explosives, and even search-and-rescue missions. The center breeds both Indian and foreign varieties—think German Shepherds, Belgian Malinois, and Labradors—but lately, BSF leaders prioritize indigenous stars like the Rampur Hound and Mudhol Hound.
Trainers at Tekanpur also run specialized programs for dogs and their handlers, getting them ready for tough spots like border areas, high altitudes, and counter-insurgency zones. These grads join not just BSF teams but other Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs), state police, and even partner countries abroad.
The center boasts a track record of champs, with dogs winning big at national police duty meets. Overall, it has trained 5,448 dogs and 9,473 handlers to date, strengthening India’s security with paws and purpose.
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