About Border Roads Organisation (BRO):
- BRO is the government of India’s premier border infrastructure agency.
- Establishment: It was formed on 7 May 1960 to secure India’s borders and develop infrastructure in remote areas of the north and northeastern states of the country.
- Since 2015–16, BRO has been functioning fully under the Ministry of Defence. Earlier, it was partially under the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.
- Motto: Shramena Sarvam Sadhyam (everything is achievable through hard work).
- It develops and maintains road networks in India’s border areas and friendly neighboring countries.
- This includes infrastructure operations in 19 states and three union territories (including Andaman and Nicobar Islands) and neighboring countries such as Afghanistan, Bhutan, Myanmar, Tajikistan, and Sri Lanka.
- Over the years, the organisation has diversified into the construction of steel bridges, airfields, townships, tunneling works, and hydroelectric projects.
- Beyond building roads, the BRO is often India’s first line of defence against disasters. From the Himalayas to the North East and the Andaman & Nicobar Islands, its teams restore lifelines when calamity strikes.
- It has an operational role during national emergencies and the outbreak of hostilities, when it provides direct support to the Army in the maintenance of roads in the forward zones and executes other functions specified by the government.
- It also provides the workforce for the rehabilitation of certain forward airfields of the Indian Air Force during operations.
- BRO is also included in the Order of Battle of the Armed Forces, ensuring their support at any time.
- In order to ensure coordination and expeditious execution of projects, the Government of India set up the Border Roads Development Board (BRDB) with the Prime Minister as Chairman of the Board and the Defence Minister as Deputy Chairman.
- The executive head of the BRO is the Director General of Border Roads (DGBR), who holds the rank of Lieutenant General.
- The BRO is staffed by officers and troops drawn from the Indian Army’s Corps of Engineers, Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, Army Service Corps, Military Police, and army personnel on extra-regimental employment.
- Engineering Service and personnel from the General Reserve Engineer Force (GREF) form the parent cadre of the Border Roads Organisation.
- BRO also employs more than two lakh (200,000) local workers in the task of ensuring employment in far-flung areas.
