VIP Security in India

Subject – Defence and Security

Context – Women commandos to guard houses of Amit Shah, Gandhis

Concept –

This protection is informally called “VIP security”, and it is generally given only to someone who holds a position of consequence either in the government or in civil society.
Certain individuals, by reason of positions they hold in government, are automatically entitled to security cover. They include:
- The Prime Minister and his immediate family.
- The Home Minister.
- Officials such as the National Security Advisor.
In cases where the central government decides to extend security to an individual, the level of security needed by any individual is decided by the MHA, based on inputs received from intelligence agencies which include the Intelligence Bureau (IB) and Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW).

Levels of Protection:

There are broadly six categories of security cover: X, Y, Y-plus, Z, Z-plus, and SPG (Special Protection Group).
The SPG is meant only for the Prime Minister and his immediate family, other protection categories can be provided to anyone about whom the Centre or state governments have inputs of a threat.

Z-plus cover

The CRPF accords Z-plus cover with Advance Security Liasion (ASL), the highest security cover, to only five individuals —Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra; Union Home Minister Amit Shah; and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
The Gandhi family was accorded Z-plus cover by the CRPF in November 2019 after the Centre removed their Special Protection Group (SPG) security cover.
Z-plus cover entails round-the clock protection by around 35 commandos.