MHA National Security Guidelines: Ban renewable projects within 1 km of borders

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) issues new national security guidelines for renewable energy projects in border areas. The guidelines ban solar, wind, and hybrid projects within 1 km of the international border, and mandate security clearance and Defence NOC requirements for specified distances from the LoC, LAC, and IB.

MHA National Security Guidelines:

Dimension	Key Details
Border areas defined	The border areas comprise the Line of Control (LoC), the Line of Actual Control (LAC), and the International Border (IB).
Security clearance requirement	The guidelines mandate security clearance for projects located up to 50 km from the international border.
Ministry of Defence NOC requirement	Projects proposed within 20 km of the LoC, LAC, and IB require a separate No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Ministry of Defence.
Application submission channel	Applications for all renewable energy projects are submitted only to the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE).
Restrictions on foreign staffing	The guidelines impose restrictions by providing that applicants should not engage engineers, staff, employees, or labour from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and China without the MHA’s permission.
Existing projects near LAC	Existing renewable energy projects near the LAC are mostly small-scale in nature.
Existing projects near IB	Renewable energy projects near the IB in Rajasthan and Gujarat are relatively large.
Existing projects in Jammu and Kashmir	In Jammu and Kashmir, along the LoC, most projects are solar rooftop installations.
Existing projects in Kargil and Ladakh	Kargil and Ladakh have solar photovoltaic projects.