Border Roads Engineering Services

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Border Roads Engineering Service
Seema Sadak Abhiyantriki Seva
Service Overview
Border Roads Engineering Services Insignia New.jpg
AbbreviationBRES
Date of Establishment1977
CountryFlag of India.svg  India
Staff College College of Military Engineering, Pune,Maharashtra
Cadre Controlling Authority Ministry of Defence, Government of India
Minister Responsible Subhash Bhamre, Minister of State for Defence
Legal Personality Governmental: Government service
DutiesSovereign Function
Engineering
Development
Disaster Management
Cadre Strength 484 members (2019)
Selection Indian Engineering Services
Service Chief
Additional Director GeneralSubodh Kumar Tripathi, BRES
Head of the civil services
Current Cabinet Secretary Pradeep Kumar Sinha, IAS

The Border Roads Engineering Service (IAST: Seema Sadak Abhiyantriki Seva), often abbreviated to B.R.E.S., or simply BRES is a prestigious Group 'A' central service [1] recruited through the Engineering services examination [2] by the Union Public Service Commission. BRES is a Uniformed Engineering Service. The officers of this service are responsible for administering the Civil Engineering and Mechanical Engineering organisation of the Border Roads Organization , NHIDCL and NHAI. Currently BRO is working in 14 states including the union territory of Andaman & Nicobar [3] . BRO is entrusted for construction of roads, bridges, tunnels, causeways, helipads and airfields along with their maintenance.

The International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration (IAST) is a transliteration scheme that allows the lossless romanization of Indic scripts as employed by Sanskrit and related Indic languages. It is based on a scheme that emerged during the nineteenth century from suggestions by Charles Trevelyan, William Jones, Monier Monier-Williams and other scholars, and formalised by the Transliteration Committee of the Geneva Oriental Congress, in September 1894. IAST makes it possible for the reader to read the Indic text unambiguously, exactly as if it were in the original Indic script. It is this faithfulness to the original scripts that accounts for its continuing popularity amongst scholars.

Engineering Services Examination is conducted annually for selection of officers for the engineering services that meet the technical and managerial functions in various fields of Engineering of the Government of India. Like in most countries, the Government of India recruits its civil servants and officials on the basis of merit, and middle management positions in the bureaucracy are filled through competitive exams. Many candidates take these exams, competing for limited posts. IES officers are selected by the union government on the recommendations made by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). A combined three-stage competitive examination, called the Engineering Services Examination (ESE), is conducted by the UPSC for recruitment to the Indian Engineering Services.

Union Public Service Commission organization

The Union Public Service Commission is India's premier central recruiting agency. It is responsible for appointments to and examinations for All India services and group A & group B of Central services. While Department of Personnel and Training is the central personnel agency in India.

Contents

History

In 1960, an urgent need for a single executive body for road development in the remote North and North Eastern Regions of the country was strongly felt. Thus, on 29 March 1960 [4] , the Border Roads Development Board (BRDB) as an inter-ministerial body with the status of a department was set up, under the Chairmanship of the then Prime Minister, Late Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, to co-ordinate an economically viable plan for expeditious execution of roads and other development Projects, aimed primarily at enhancing the defence potential of the country and at the same time accelerating the socio-economic development of the North and North Eastern Border States. Thus, Border Roads Development Board (BRDB) came into existence in March 1960 and the Force named General Reserve Engineer Force (GREF) was raised on 16 Jun 1960 [5] . The Director General Border Roads (DGBR) is the field arm of the Border Roads Development Board (BRDB). Consequently Border Roads Engineering Service created on 1977 to provide Technical Experts in the field of Road/Bridge/Tunnel/Airfield Engineering.

BRES is the only Engineering service in India which is entrusted for delivering both Sovereign function along with development. BRO is one of the 26 organizations which are listed under Section 24 of RTI Act, 2005 [6] . Section 24 exempt BRO from RTI, on grounds of national security and integrity.

BRES is designed to deliver quick infrastructure creation during time of disaster and normal times.

Recruitment and training

College of Military Engineering, Pune CME Pune.png
College of Military Engineering, Pune

The recruitment to the BRES is done through the Indian Engineering Services examination. The selected candidates of Civil and Mechanical Engineering put on initial 2 year probation and undergo one year Young officers training conducted with various Engineering establishments. Recently many changes in training modules have been introduced to increase knowledge of officers and introduce them to challenges in the field of Engineering.

One year training program of BRES officers held at College of Military Engineering, Kirkee Pune, Indian Academy of Highway Engineers (IAHE) Noida and Indian Institute of Technology (Indian School of Mines), Dhanbad. [7]

College of Military Engineering, Pune

College of Military Engineering (CME) is a premier technical and tactical training institution of the Indian Army Corps of Engineers of the Indian Army, this includes Combat Engineers, Military Engineering Service, Border Roads Engineering Services (BRES) and Survey.

Indian Institute of Technology (Indian School of Mines), Dhanbad Public Engineering and Research Institute

The Indian Institute of Technology (ISM), Dhanbad is a public engineering and research institution located in Dhanbad, India. It was formerly known as Indian School of Mines and was a Central University before it was converted into an Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) and an Institute of National Importance.

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Role and function

The Civil engineering cadre is considered as a main arm of the Border Roads Organization. They are providing their expertise to the Indian Armed Forces and to State Governments for various developmental works in border states. During Natural calamity and disasters; these officers along with Mechanical engineering officers reinstall road connectivity and communication within a few hours of incidents.When other agencies took years' time for Construction and Launching of Bridges; these officers do the same amount of work in a few days.

From Himalayan Range to Desert of Rajasthan, from Rain forest of North east to Andaman Nicobar, India changes extraordinarily, while connectivity remains a nightmare for others; Border Roads Engineering Service comes with handy solutions and practical ground expertise. These officers are also responsible for maintenance of various fixed assets of Border States, i.e. Bridges, Roads, Tunnels, Airport etc.

Their role and responsibility varies with time-

During Peace

  1. To Develop & Maintain the Operational Road Infrastructure of General Staff (GS) in the Border Areas.
  2. To Contribute to the Socio-Economic Development of the Border States.

During War

  1. To Develop & Maintain Roads to Keep Line of Communication through in Original Sectors and Re-deployed Sectors.
  2. To Execute Additional Engineering Tasks (Civilian) as laid down by the Govt Contributing to the War Effort. [8]

Generally an BRES officer is on duty 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Career progression

Pay structure

Pay Structure of Border Roads Engineering Service [9] [10]
InsigniaGrade/level on pay matrixPosition in the GovernmentBasic salary (monthly)Service required for PromotionEquivalentNATO code
Additional DGBR Insignia.jpg
HAG scale (pay level 15)Additional Director General Border Roads/ Additional secretary [11] ₹182200-224100Total 25 years of ServiceOF-9
Chief Engineer Border Roads.jpg
Senior administrative grade (pay level 14)Chief Engineer Border Roads/ Joint secretary [12] ₹144200-218200Total 17 years of ServiceOF-8
Superintending Engineer BRES Insignia.jpg
Selection grade (pay level 13)Superintending Engineer Border Roads/ Director₹123100-215900Total 13 years of ServiceOF-7
EE(NFSG) Border Roads.jpg
Junior administrative grade (pay level 12)Executive Engineer (NFSG)/ Joint Director₹78,800-209200Total 9 years of ServiceOF-6
Executive Engineer Border Roads.jpg
Senior time scale (pay level 11)Executive Engineer/ Deputy Director₹67,700-208700Total 4 years of ServiceOF-5
Assistant Executive Engineer Border Roads Organization.jpg
Junior Time Scale (pay level 10)Assistant Executive Engineer/ Assistant Director₹56,100-175500Direct Recruitment by UPSCOF-4

Ranks and insignia

Border Roads Organization Officers Insignia.jpg

Border Roads Engineering Service is Uniformed Service. The Rank structure of BRES is based on Indian Air force, Indian Navy and Indian Coast Guard; though the standard uniform colour is Khaki      similar to Indian Police Service (IPS) Officers. BRES is perfectly blend of civil and military powers in domain of development which none other service can provide.

Indian Air Force Air warfare branch of Indias military

The Indian Air Force (IAF) is the air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its complement of personnel and aircraft assets ranks fourth amongst the air forces of the world. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial warfare during armed conflict. It was officially established on 8 October 1932 as an auxiliary air force of the British Empire which honoured India's aviation service during World War II with the prefix Royal. After India gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1947, the name Royal Indian Air Force was kept and served in the name of Dominion of India. With the government's transition to a Republic in 1950, the prefix Royal was removed after only three years.

Indian Navy maritime warfare branch of Indias military

The Indian Navy is the naval branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of Naval Staff, a four-star admiral, commands the navy.

Indian Coast Guard Maritime security agency of Indias military

The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) is an armed force that protects India's maritime interests and enforces maritime law, with jurisdiction over the territorial waters of India, including its contiguous zone and exclusive economic zone. The Indian Coast Guard was formally established on 18 August 1978 by the Coast Guard Act, 1978 of the Parliament of India as an independent Armed force of India. It operates under the Ministry of Defence.

The Border Roads Engineering Service (BRES) officers are govern by Central Civil Services (CCS/ CCA) Rules, 1965. They are also subjected to few provisions of The Army Act, 1950 and Army Rules, 1954 for disciplinary purpose only.

Facilities and perks

Car flags BRES.jpg
Stars Car BRO.jpg
Flags( Left Photo) & Stars (Right photo) on official cars of senior BRES officers, as per their rank.

The Border Roads Organization comes under Ministry of Defence. General Reserve Engineering Force is considered as integral part of armed forces of India and authorized for all benefits which are applicable to Armed Forces of India.

The senior official of BRES carry official flags and stars as applicable to senior IPS officers on their official vehicle.

BRES officers are entitled for Special Compensatory Remote Location Allowances (SCRLA), Special Duty Allowance (SDA), High Altitude Allowances(HAA), School Bus for Children, Outfit Allowance [13] along with all other allowances such as HRA, TA, DA, CCA. The BRES officers also entitled for fully furnished free Accommodation, Canteen( CSD) facilities and Regular Ration as applicable to Armed Forces of India. They are eligible for priority in booking and concession in Flights Tickets as offered to Armed Forces. They also exempted from Toll taxes while travelling on highway in private vehicle as they are part of Armed forces and remain 24 hours in duty even during vacation.

BRES is the only service which gets maximum 97 official leaves other than Saturday, Sunday and public holidays in India( 60 Earned leaves, 15 Casual leaves, 20 Half pay leaves and 2 Restricted holidays). That much holidays neither available to any civil service nor any military service.

As some provisions of Army act and Army rule applicable to members of BRES than they can not be held arrested by local police and need to be handed over to local army authorities within 24 Hours. This provision provides a great level of independence and freedom to member of BRES while rendering services.

After 5 year of regular service, BRES officers are eligible for Study leave and Deputation [14] . Lot of opportunities are available to BRES officers after their retirement as their experience is most valued by many Private and Government Organizations.

Future

Border Roads Engineering Service provide a unique opportunity to work for betterment of people of far-flung area of India. As recently China have developed sophisticated Infrastructure along the border area of India. Indian Govt. now focusing more on infrastructure development in border area [15] .

Currently 70% officers of National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation (NHIDCL) and 40% officers of National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) are from BRES. Lot of reforms also infused in Border Roads organization like more Delegation powers [16] to members of BRES, increased budget [17] along with implementation of various demands of members of BRES.

See also

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References

  1. "e-Gazette Engineering Services" (PDF).
  2. "Engineering Services Examination 2019" (PDF).
  3. "States in which BRO working".
  4. "Management Concerns in BRO".
  5. "Documentary on Border Roads Organization".
  6. "List of Organization for Section 24 of RTI Act" (PDF).
  7. "Young Officers Training Module" (PDF).
  8. "Role and Responsibility BRO".
  9. "Recruitment Rules Border Roads Engineering Services" (PDF).
  10. "Equivalent Ranks of BRES as per Coast Guard Classification".
  11. "Seventh pay Commission Report" (PDF).
  12. "Biswas, Shreya, ed. (29 June 2016). "7th Pay Commission cleared: What is the Pay Commission? How does it affect salaries?"".
  13. "Outfit Allowance as Applicable to IPS and Defence Forces" (PDF).
  14. "Deputation in line with DOPT Guidelines" (PDF).
  15. "China frontier work: Border Roads Organisation gets more powers".
  16. "More Powers to BRO".
  17. "Border Roads Organization Budget 2019-20" (PDF).