SSB to create pen-portraits of jawans

New Delhi: Border guarding force SSB, that guards India’s borders with Nepal and Bhutan, has launched a unique project to create “pen-pictures” of its about one lakh jawans detailing their physical, professional and behavioural traits.

The exercise is aimed at understanding strengths, weaknesses, interests, aspirations and personal and professional problems of troops. The paramilitary force has started a unique Know your Personnel (KYP) programme, on the lines of the much-known Know Your Customer due diligence exercise, across all its formations in the country where the commanding officer will personally talk to each jawan and take down observations in their “own hand writing”.

The force has also framed a maiden personnel charter to ensure timely problem resolution and ensure zero grievance amongst troops, on the lines of the Citizen Charter.  SSB director general (DG) R.K. Mishra, while recently issuing a four-page SOP circular, has asked the commanding/supervisory officers to make a sincere effort and write a “pen-picture of 100 words of their troops covering physical, behavioural, professional and individualistic characters besides any significant issues observed by the commander.”

The KYP, it said, is aimed to bring about “pys-chological and physical well being of the personnel to ensure their maximum output on the field.”  The SOP said that once the two programmes are “co-mplied with in letter and spirit, it will be helpful in nurturing robust bonding amongst the troops and will also help in eliminating the grievances to a zero level.” The SSB is over 90,000 personnel strong and is the lead protection and intelligence gathering agency along the open Nepal and Bhutan borders on the country’s eastern side apart from rendering multiple tasks in the internal security domain like anti-Naxal operations.