The Border Roads Organisation (BRO), annually celebrated its Raising Day on May 7th to mark the establishment of the BRO on 7th May 1960. The day aims to recognise the contribution of the BRO personnel and invite all ranks of the Organisation to continue on the path of excellence towards the construction and maintenance of roads and bridges in the border areas.
- 7th May 2023 marks the observance of the 64th Raising Day of BRO.
BRO is the leading road construction organisation in India which has been managed by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) since 2015. It also supports the armed forces to meet their strategic needs by dedicated and cost effective development and maintenance of the infrastructure.
- BRO has constructed over 61,000 kms of roads, over 900 Bridges, four Tunnels and 19 airfields along India’s borders and in friendly foreign countries, including Bhutan, Myanmar, Afghanistan and Tajikistan.
Background:
i. The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) was formed on 7 May 1960 to secure India’s borders and develop infrastructure in remote areas of the north and north-east states in India.
ii. The Government of India set up the Border Roads Development Board (BRDB), as an inter-ministerial body, in March 1960 under the chairmanship of the Prime Minister.
iii. The BRDB was reconstituted in 1985 with the Defence Minister as the chairman. Currently, the Minister of State (MoS) for Defence is the chairman of the Board.
iv. The Director-General Border Roads (DGBR) is the executive head of the BRO and the Organisation is primarily composed of officers from the Border Roads Engineering Service (BRES) and personnel from the General Reserve Engineer Force (GREF).
Event 2023:
i. As a part of the celebration of BRO’s 64th Raising Day, the ‘Chief Engineers and Equipment Management Conference’ was organised at BRO School and Centre, Pune in Maharashtra. The event was attended by Ajay Bhatt, the MoS for Defence(RakshaRajya Mantri).
ii. He alsoinaugurated the BRO Technical Training Complex and an Automated Driving Track to enhance the training standards of the BRO personnel and help them to be better prepared for various challenges.
Launch of BRO-centric Softwares:
i. BRO-centric softwares- Recruitment Management System, Electronic Measurement Book & Work Management System, developed as part of ‘Digital India’ initiative, were also launched at the event.
ii. These software have been developed to automate various aspects of functioning of the BRO for smoother & faster output and increased transparency.
GRSE & BRO signed MoU for construction of indigenous Class 70R Double Lane Modular Bridges
On the occasion of the 64th Raising Day of BRO, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the BRO and Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (GRSE) Limited for construction of indigenous Class 70R Double Lane Modular Bridges, which will help in bolstering the operational preparedness of the Armed Forces.
Other Highlights:
i. MoS Ajay Bhatt also flagged in the ‘EktaAvamShradhanjali Abhiyaan‘, a multi modal expedition which commenced on 10th April 2023 from Daulat Beg Oldie (DBO) in Ladakh and Kibithu in Arunachal Pradesh and ended on 07 May 2023 at Pune, Maharashtra.
Note: Ekta Avam Shradhanjali Abhiyaan is organised by BRO in order to commemorate the sacrifices and contribution of its Karmyogis in nation building.
- All ranks of the Organisation were invited in this expedition consisting of motor-cycle and four-wheel drives.
- The expedition teams from various border States/Union Territories collected the samples of soil, water and local saplings, at BRO School & Centre, Maharashtra.
ii. Gen. Rajeev Chaudhry, Director General Border Roads (DGBR) flagged off the Motorcycle and car rally teams from Seema SadakBhawan, New Delhi, Delhi on 01 May 2023 and encouraged all ranks of the Organisation.
During the event, Union MoS for Defence, Ajay Bhatt unveiled Several BRO conceptualised documents and special BRO edition of Sainik Samachar, a fortnightly journal brought out by Directorate of Public Relations, Ministry of Defence. The documents released during the event includes,
- A monograph on ‘BRO Vision@2047’;
- Compendium on Road Slogans;
- Improvement & Standardisation of Medical Establishments;
- Quality Control Labs & Design of Bridges and Problem Statements for Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX), including use of satellites for monitoring BRO assets.
Note: The edition of the Journal comprises the achievements, ongoing projects and the history of the BRO.
About Border Roads Organisation (BRO):
Established in- 1960
Director General- Lt. Gen. Rajeev Chaudhary
Headquarters- New Delhi, Delhi
Motto– We Will Either Find a Way or Make One
