Facts:
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Special Frontier Force(SFF):
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It was raised in the immediate aftermath of the 1962 Sino-India war.
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It was a covert outfit which recruited Tibetans (now it has a mixture of Tibetans and Gorkhas) and initially went by the name of Establishment 22.
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Nodal Ministry:
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STF falls under the purview of the Cabinet Secretariat where it is headed by an Inspector General who is an Army officer of the rank of Major General.
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The units that comprise the SFF are known as Vikas battalions.
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Are SFF units part of the Army?
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Strictly speaking, the SFF units are not part of the Army but they function under operational control of the Army.
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The units have their own rank structures which have equivalent status with Army ranks.
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Major Operations by SFF:
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There are several operations in which SFF units have taken part over the years.
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They took part in operations in the 1971 war, Operation Blue Star in Golden Temple Amritsar, Kargil conflict and in counter-insurgency operations in the country.
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