NEW DELHI: The Border Security Force (BSF) has focused on training and deploying Indian breed dogs along India’s borders, taking a cue from an episode of PM Modi’s ‘Mann Ki Baat’. ADG and director of the BSF Academy, Tekanpur, Shamsher Singh, told ANI, “In Mann Ki Baat, the Prime Minister urged people to consider Indian breeds when adopting dogs. After that, BSF started this programme to train and breed Indian dogs.““So far, we have trained 150 Indian breed dogs and deployed them at the border. In total, around 700 dogs are deployed at the border. Twenty more are at the breeding centre,” he added.Singh informed that the breeds being deployed were Rampur Hound and Mudhol Hound. “They are slim, quick, and handle tasks like jumping from heights better than other breeds,” he said.Riya, a dog bred and trained by BSF, won the Best Tracker Dog award in 2024, defeating foreign-bred dogs in a championship to win the Best Dog title, the ADG informed.In a 2020 episode of ‘Mann Ki Baat’, PM Modi highlighted the role of dogs in disaster management and rescue missions. He said Indian breed dogs are competent, low-cost to maintain, and suited to Indian conditions. He urged, “Next time you think of keeping a dog, bring home an Indian breed. In a self-reliant India, no area should be left behind.”
