Special Frontier Force
- There have been reports that a Special Frontier Force (SFF) unit, referred to as Vikas Battalion, has been instrumental in occupying some key heights on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China in Ladakh to thwart any occupation by the Chinese troops.
- SFF was raised in the immediate aftermath of the 1962 Sino-India war.
- It was a covert outfit which recruited Tibetans (now it has a mixture of Tibetans and Gorkhas) and initially went by the name of Establishment 22.
- It falls under the purview of the Cabinet Secretariat where it is headed by an Inspector General who is an Army officer of the rank of Major General.
- The units that comprise the SFF are known as Vikas battalions.
- Strictly speaking, the SFF units are not part of the Army but they function under operational control of the Army.
- Women soldiers too form a part of SFF units and perform specialised tasks.
