Mukesh Ambani gets "Z" category security cover.

[Sachin=GOD]

Mukesh Ambani gets "Z" category security cover.

NEW DELHI: Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani will now get 'Z' category protection, with the Union home ministry approving an armed squad of CRPF commandos for his proximate security less than two months after a threat letter, purportedly from the Indian Mujahideen, was hand-delivered at his office in Mumbai. The letter is said to have threatened a terror attack at his Antilia residence at Altamount Road in south Mumbai. Under 'Z' category security, Ambani will have pilot and escort vehicles with commandos armed with sophisticated weapons. Around two dozen personnel may be required to guard Ambani on a rotational basis. The home ministry's decision to bring Ambani into the club of state-protected VIPs followed an inquiry by the Mumbai Police into the alleged letter. Sources said a threat analysis was also carried out by the Intelligence Bureau, which recommended round-the-clock security cover for the industrialist. Home minister Sushilkumar Shinde, whose tenure has seen the approval of many new requests for VIP protection, approved Ambani's security a fortnight ago. According to CRPF sources, the home ministry wrote to the paramilitary force soon after, asking it to take the responsibility of Ambani's protection with immediate effect. The CRPF, which is preoccupied with its primary task of manning the counter-Naxal grid, is in the midst of identifying and relocating its elite commandos to guard Ambani in Mumbai and during his travel to other parts of the country. Incidentally, CRPF is not too enthusiastic about its diversion to VIP protection. "CISF is the designated central paramilitary agency for VIP protection. We are too busy with our duties in Naxal-hit zones," said an official, wondering why its commandos, trained in jungle warfare, should be diverted to VIP security. The handwritten English letter delivered to Ambani in February had demanded the release of an IM operative named 'Danish'. However, it did not carry IM's logo, nor did it mention Danish's full name, though the alias is used by three men arrested in various cases.

ToI Ambani to pay for Z category security cover

Chairman of Reliance Industries Ltd Mukesh Ambani would be paying for the Z category security cover, which has been provided by the Government, said Jayant Patil, Guardian Minister of Mumbai, on Monday. He was addressing the media at the State Guest House. He said protection to such important businessmen was crucial for healthy industrial environment. He added that the Government’s decision to guard Ambani with trained personnel was a prudent one. The security cover has been based on the threat assessment done by the Government, he pointed out. Patil, however, refused to say how much Ambani would be paying for his security. According to sources, the Government is set to incur an expense of over Rs 10 lakh per month to protect the tycoon. It may be recalled that Ambani had received a letter about two months ago, threatening to attack his luxury residence Antilla. The letter was supposedly sent by Indian Mujahideen. An unidentified person, on February 24, had delivered a letter written in English at the company’s corporate office. The Mumbai police crime branch is probing the matter. Another industry source, who spoke to Business Line on the condition of anonymity, said that currently, Ambani is protected by nine private bodyguards, who are former members of the military and para-military forces.

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/ambani-to-pay-for-z-category-security-cover/article4644280.ece

[DomainK]

Good. People like him should pay for such security.

[Sachin=GOD]

The Insecurity of India Inc A rash of corporates is keen to get security cover from the government for their factories, facilities and for their head honchos. Most, however, haven’t got it

It isn’t an uncommon sight these days — when the Indian Premier League is raging — to see Mukesh Ambani, owner of the Mumbai Indians team, cheering from one of the corporate boxes at the Wankhede Stadium. The next time you see the chairman of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) applauding his boys, don’t be surprised to see him surrounded by not just hangers-on but a circle of security cover. Earlier this week, India’s richest man became the first individual from the private sector to get paid government security. Uniform-clad commandos from the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) sporting AK-47s will accompany Ambani whenever he steps out. With India boasting some 55 billionaires (as per the latest annual Forbes list of the world’s richest people), you would expect other industrialists to follow suit. Perhaps, but that may not come in a hurry. India’s moneybag promoters are currently grappling with the problem of finding security for the corporations they control — including headquarters, factories and offices — from the organisation responsible for it, the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF). Files at the Union home ministry in Delhi indicate that although there’s a mad rush among private sector companies for security from the government for their premises and factories, only a few have got it. At last count as many as 158 private sector units had made requests to the home ministry for CISF security cover but the Centre has chosen only six, according to a recent disclosure by the ministry in Parliament. In the Cross Hairs Government security cover — either for CEOs or their operations — does not come cheap: Ambani will be paying close to 15 lakh every month for CRPF’s services while CISF earns nearly 2.1 crore every month from the six private units it guards, including Ambani’s Jamnagar refinery. CISF has earned close to 65 crore from its private sector clients since it started giving them security in 2009 after the Mumbai 26/11 attacks. “The experience of guarding the private sector units has been excellent. They’ve never delayed paying our security bills,†director general of CISF Rajiv told ET Magazine. The reason for opting for a government security cover is simple. Private security agencies cannot procure sophisticated weapons like AK-47s and Insas rifles that are the standard gear of CISF or CRPF. All 33 CRPF commandos in the security set-up for Ambani will be armed with these weapons and since they will work in shifts, at least 13 armed men will accompany Ambani at any given point of time. CISF, for its part, is also adequately armed. For instance, when it moved into securing the campuses of Infosys in Bangalore, Pune and Mysore, its men moved in with mortar, in addition to Insas rifles and AK-47s. Each of the private sector units guarded by CISF — be it the Electronic City in Bangalore or the Delhi Airport Metro Express — has a dedicated CISF quick reaction team and patrols to intervene in case of a terror strike. CISF also sets up a command and surveillance centre at each of these private sector units to monitor all activity through CCTVs. With almost 45 years experience of guarding nearly 300 government and public sector units, including all domestic and international airports in the country, CISF’s access control standards are considered among the best one can get in India. In fact, many corporates have also opted for consultancy from CISF on how to secure their premises. Corporate Watch The corporate rush to get government security began after the 26/11 attacks and Parliament passing the CISF (Amendment) Act in 2009 to approve a policy to provide CISF security to critical and vulnerable establishments in the private sector on a cost reimbursement basis. Infosys in Bangalore was the first to get CISF security from 101 security men on July 31, 2009 for which it pays nearly 27 lakh a month. Subsequently, the Infosys campuses in Mysore got security from 48 CISF men in 2010 at a monthly cost of 14 lakh and the one in Pune got a 134-man strong cover in 2011 at a cost of 33 lakh each month. Bangalore’s Electronic City, home to many private companies, including Wipro and Mahindra, got a 68-person CISF security cover in 2010. The same year saw one of the biggest deployments of CISF in the private sector at RIL’s Jamnagar Refinery when 217 security men moved in to protect the establishment. RIL pays CISF almost 34 lakh a month for the job. The latest private sector unit to get CISF cover — which also happens to be the largest for any private sector unit — is the Delhi Metro Express Line, which is guarded by 419 CISF men at a monthly cost of 84 lakh. This project has been developed in a public-private partnership by Reliance Infra. Queue Gets Longer But there are over 150 companies whose requests for CISF security are pending with the government (see Many Didn’t Get Cover...). A senior home ministry official said the reason for not obliging is straightforward: there is not enough manpower with CISF. “CISF has about 1.22 lakh men who provide security cover to 300 units, including 58 airports. The force is completely stretched. To accommodate the requests from all the 150 corporates, the strength of the force will have to be at least doubled,†the official said. He added that the ministry had decided that the IT, power and oil sectors would be given priority. “The first preference is petroleum and IT installations whose products or services are vital to the country’s economic security and growth and whose loss or serious damage would affect India’s international image,†the official said. He added that IBM India in Bangalore and a Reliance gas project off the Kakinada coast in Andhra Pradesh were next in line for getting CISF security. “The amendment to the CISF Act also stated that CISF can be provided only for private sector units of strategic importance,†says a former head of CISF who did not want to be quoted. Also, CISF takes on various other roles for the public sector like manning entry and exit gates and maintaining records of vehicle movement, protecting power installations — whereas for the private sector it only provides the firepower. Therefore demand for further deployment from PSUs always exceeds private sector demand. Private Guns One solution to India Inc’s insecurity would be to allow private security agencies to provide cover. Under the current laws, private agencies are not allowed to provide armed guards. If an agency does provide the service, it is via a complicated procedure: anyone can get an arms licence and buy a gun if there is a perception of threat; armed guards provided by agencies today all hold personal licences and seek a job with the agencies after getting that licence. The flipside is that these men are allowed to fire only in self-defence. Rituraj Sinha, co-chairman of the Ficci sector committee for private security agencies, has been lobbying with the government for such agencies to deploy armed guards; for this changes in the Private Security Agencies Regulation Act 2005 are needed. The changes being considered involve allowing armed personnel to be provided in three specific areas: security of high-profile industrial establishments, cash transfers by banks and high-profile business people. According to Sinha, there are around 50 lakh private security personnel in India today — that’s at least four times the country’s total police force. The economics of private security are compelling: for one CISF jawan a company has to provide 85,000 a month whereas a private armed guard can be had for roughly 25,000 and an unarmed guard comes for 10,000 a month. A few of the companies that have CISF protection are complementing it with private security. According to a person in the know, Infosys uses some 180 private security guards at its Bangalore campus. And RIL has a 680-member strong private security force at its Jamnagar refinery. Clearly, safety is India Inc’s priority, and if the government alone can’t provide it all, industrialists have little choice but to look for other complementary sources.

http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=ETNEW&BaseHref=ETD/2013/04/28&PageLabel=6&EntityId=Ar00600&ViewMode=HTML

[Sachin=GOD]

Keeping CEOs Safe Not every head honcho will get the Z-level protection from government. Private security agencies tell us how business leaders can stay one step ahead of would-be kidnappers and terrorists

Mumbai is not just a city of film stars — it is also one of business leaders. So like the Bollywood brigade, business barons too are also occasionally seen in public. It is not uncommon to see Kumar Mangalam Birla or Rahul Bajaj walk into INOX multiplex at Nariman Point; or see one of the Tatas — Ratan or Noel — driving themselves down Peddar Road. Anil Ambani is a regular at the Mumbai marathon and practices on Marine Drive for days before the event and Anand Mahindra queues up to cast his vote. Rest assured there is always a posse of men protecting these captains of Indian industry. But they are not visible, and they are not gun-totting commandoes either. Here is the story of how India’s top industralists are protected by an industry that is worth, according to some estimates, 22,000 crore in India. According to an estimate by Bain, a consulting firm, the organised manned guarding industry alone is worth £1.3 billion ( 11,000 crore). Prevention is the Key However, there’s much more to CEO security than just manned guarding. The first step is always to make the CEO aware of his risks. As Neil Prasad, the South Asia managing director for G4S Plc, a private security services company, says: “In India everything on security is very reactive. We wish it was more proactive.†Dinesh Pillai, CEO of Mahindra SSG, another company working in the field of safety, security and related services, recounts how he asked a CEO who insisted on driving himself what he would do if he bumped someone on the road and a crowd gathered. “He said, he would call his security officer. I asked what if the security officer’s phone was switched off… the CEO had no answer.†This is precisely how security agencies and security heads at companies go about protecting their chief executives — building up security scenarios and preparing for them; taking evasive action beforehand and having an evacuation plan ready for every situation; and building redundancies for getting out of a tough situation. For example, the helipad built on top of Mukesh Ambani’s mansion Antilla in Altamount Road in South Mumbai got a lot of media attention as it did not get the requisite permission to operate. However, a senior security executive who wants to be anonymous says: “It was never meant to operate daily. That is just a redundancy built into the building to be used in case of an emergency.†There are more stories about Antilla that this gentleman talks about — the glass being bulletproof to protect against sniper attacks from neighbouring buildings and there being a bomb shelter in the basement. Reliance Industries officials refused to comment on security-related questions. Keeping A Low Profile Gautam Adani, the head of Adani Enterprises, is one man who is extremely careful about his security. He had been kidnapped once in the 1990s and then when the 26/11 attacks happened Adani was at the Taj Mahal hotel in Mumbai but managed to escape unhurt. When asked, an Adani spokesperson claimed that Adani has only one policeman nominated for his security by the Gujarat government — and that too only for Ahmedabad. However, this probable understating of Adani’s security is part of the game plan — which is to keep his security apparatus top secret and definitely not brag about it. A person familiar with the group says that Adani and his family as well as his brothers’ families are one of the most heavily guarded among business families in India. Almost all members are shadowed and guarded — physically and electronically — not just in India but even during their travels abroad. Rituraj Sinha, group chief operating officer of Security and Intelligence Services (India) Ltd, says security is a factor of perception and it changes all the time. Threats can originate from as diverse events as wage negotiations with workers or acquisition of a business in a troubled geographical area, and the security apparatus needs to adjust accordingly. G4S, which started in India in 1989, but is now listed and headquartered in Lon- don and operates in 130 countries, has provided security to visiting CEOs like Michael Dell, Bill Gates and Indra Nooyi as well as Bill and Hillary Clinton during some of their visits in their personal capacity. Prasad of G4S explains that someone like Gates would have a lead car and as well as a following car. His entire travel would be mapped and dummy runs would be conducted days before his trip to time his travel. The only time the security would let go him would be when Gates would enter an official building to meet senior government executives. Men in Black If Mukesh Ambani accepted Z-level security, there are many who are known to have refused government security. Azim Premji is reportedly one of them, with Wipro officials having to remind the government year after year that the Wipro chief will not accept any security. Even Ratan Tata is said to have refused government-provided security. A visit to Elphinstone Building in south Mumbai, where Tata will have his new office as chairman of the various Tata trusts, also showed a relaxed attitude about security. There are different security agencies that are manning different Tata outlets and offices like Croma, Starbucks and Tata Realty in the same building; and the staff in the corridors is generally unaware of Ratan Tata’s new office coming up in the building. But don’t be fooled by the apparent lack of personnel — at least to the untrained eye. Says Sinha of SIS: “Security is not about visible bouncers in safaris who wear dark glasses at night.†Although they are usually ex-military personnel and are highly trained. However, it is likely that they would be dressed like the CEO they are guarding — in suits and ties — and are trained to behave like the CEO himself. “If you visit the Belvedere Club in Mumbai take a careful look — you will see men sitting there nursing a soft drink for an hour or more. You can be sure they are security men guarding a CEO at the next table,†says a security industry senior executive. The head of security at one of the country’s largest steelmakers, who worked with an IT major and the Jharkhand police before that, says that protection of commercially important people in India is today entirely in the hand of ‘responders’ employed by private security agencies; as the name suggests, these are people who ‘respond’ to a situation. He says: “Most of the private security agencies have ex-army men, former SPG men. Some of the best training to private security men is being provided by some Israeli trainers operating in India.†He himself has also gone through an Israeli training course and claims it is extremely tough. He urges the government to relax the arms act and allow private security agencies to invest in arms and arm their personnel, which is not allowed today. He says that police in Pune and Hyderabad even seized weapons from private security men who had licences to bear arms granted in other states. The security head adds: “Many commandoes are retiring at the age of 35-38 and they can take up work for private agencies if they are allowed to retain their right to bear arms like in the US or Australia.†They can be given automatic weapons, as they can be trusted to use them responsibly, he adds. “In that case the need to engage government security will not be felt at all.†India has seen a decade of high-profile kidnappings: from the owner of Khadim Partha Pratim Roy Barman and chairman of Exide Industries SB Ganguly to the kidnapping of the Adobe India CEO’s son and the Alstom CEO earlier this year; yet the amendments in laws have not come through. Mapped & Monitored Till such time, private security men will have to rely on their gut and wits in a hostile situation. Sinha illustrates with a scenario in which a CEO driving a car faces a hostile situation. He outlines four steps for a security man who is travelling with the CEO, not all of which you’d find in security manuals. For instance, the first step he suggests is to get out of the car and knock down one or two of the more aggressive men in the hostile crowd — possibly with a blow to the solar plexus to demobilise them for half a minute or so. Then get the CEO shifted to the back seat, slip into the driver’s seat and drive away from the scene. The CEO or his car can be tracked through GPRS/GPS devices from a centralised control room. Anil Ambani and his marathon runs are similarly mapped and monitored. After all the chairman of the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group had been at the receiving end of an assassination threat in 2005; and what seemed like an attempt at sabotaging his helicopter in 2009. A person aware of his security cover indicates that while threats are there, Ambani ventures out to run because his advisers feel that the only real risk in such an environment is of being accosted by someone seeking to grab attention — which is why Ambani has guards running along with him. To be sure, the most carefully laid out security game plan can come a cropper courtesy of totally unanticipated behaviour, as one of the guards of liquor baron Vijay Mallya told this correspondent. At a press conference in Mumbai, Mallya was being mobbed by a few young lady reporters. “We felt really vulnerable and could not figure out how to get him out.†That scenario is unlikely to played out again. Reason: it would have got added to the security manual of Mallya for future reference.

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[urbestfriend]

why can't Ambani have his own security instead of using government provided security when we already have shortage of cprf and police forces, and most of them are used for vip protection.

[Sachin=GOD]

why can't Ambani have his own security instead of using government provided security when we already have shortage of cprf and police forces' date=' and most of them are used for vip protection.[/quote'] from the article I posted above : "Private security agencies cannot procure sophisticated weapons like AK-47s and Insas rifles that are the standard gear of CISF or CRPF." Besides, there has been a credible threat of IM against him so the Govt has provided him security but he's been asked to pay for it.

[DomainK]

why can't Ambani have his own security instead of using government provided security when we already have shortage of cprf and police forces' date= and most of them are used for vip protection.

[urbestfriend]

30+ personnel are used for providing security to Ambani, why just stop at him? Many other industrialist may start asking for z+ security cover too on the pretext of some kind of threat. Where do you draw the line? They may pay for the security cover, but keep in mind that these personnel are supposed to serve in many other situations.

[DomainK]

30+ personnel are used for providing security to Ambani' date=' why just stop at him? Many other industrialist may start asking for z+ security cover too on the pretext of some kind of threat. Where do you draw the line? They may pay for the security cover, but keep in mind that these personnel are supposed to serve in many other situations.[/quote'] Whats this agenda against Ambani's security? The government found the threat credible and granted him security, for which Ambani is paying. Why should it go to every other businessman? Ambani has been a rich businessman for a very long time and does not ask for security everyday. Calm a bit down and stop criticizing everything just because he is rich and hence must be doing everything wrong.

[Sachin=GOD]

30+ personnel are used for providing security to Ambani' date=' why just stop at him? Many other industrialist may start asking for z+ security cover too on the pretext of some kind of threat. Where do you draw the line? They may pay for the security cover, but keep in mind that these personnel are supposed to serve in many other situations.[/quote'] about 150 companies have asked for such security for their premises but only 6 requests have been accepted so far. Similarly hundreds of businessmen have asked for security cover from the Govt but till date only Mukesh Ambani has got CISF cover, other requests have been denied or the businessmen have been given 1-2 policemen as security cover. This isn't exactly a case of a filthy rich guy buying security from the Govt. You may not think that this is right but thousands (or rather millions) of investors would lose a lot of money if he is kidnapped or killed so its not unjustified to provide security to him.

[Sachin=GOD]

Press Trust of India ‏@PTI_News SC questions Centre over providing security to Mukesh Ambani. Press Trust of India ‏@PTI_News Individuals are given security but what about security of the common man: SC asks Centre.

[beetle]

This man can buy the best security available.

[Tiger80]

This man can buy the best security available.

GOI don't allow private security to become best by not allowing them to have sophesticated arms

[beetle]

Mukesh Ambani gets Z class security because his investors will suffer. Sanjay dutt gets more time because a lot of money is invested in his movies. Sabse bada rupaiya.

[mhr123]

Mukesh Ambani gets Z class security because his investors will suffer. Sanjay dutt gets more time because a lot of money is invested in his movies. Sabse bada rupaiya.

But the former is paying a good 15 lakhs to cover the cost... shouldn't be an issue.

[urbestfriend]

But the former is paying a good 15 lakhs to cover the cost... shouldn't be an issue.

What a flimsy reason, a letter comes to him 2 months back, allegedly from hijbul mujahadeen and government finds it credible and decides to give z security. Is it for real? This is election time and industrialist can buy anything from government. There is huge shortage of Cprf, nsg and bsf commandos due to too many of the most are used for vip security, this is a very bad precedent that they are giving z, z plus security to private people. Supreme Court chided government for giving x, y, z level security to ministers etc sometime back and now this is ridiculous. Z security involves vehicle escort, so this means common people will have to suffer due to traffic blockage etc when Ambani is traveling. Unbelievable.

[urbestfriend]

Chidu was strict in these matters and he rejected demand for x, y, z security for some of the ministers. Shinde has opened a security shop:-)

[Sachin=GOD]

What a flimsy reason, a letter comes to him 2 months back, allegedly from hijbul mujahadeen and government finds it credible and decides to give z security. Is it for real? This is election time and industrialist can buy anything from government. There is huge shortage of Cprf, nsg and bsf commandos due to too many of the most are used for vip security, this is a very bad precedent that they are giving z, z plus security to private people. Supreme Court chided government for giving x, y, z level security to ministers etc sometime back and now this is ridiculous. Z security involves vehicle escort, so this means common people will have to suffer due to traffic blockage etc when Ambani is traveling. Unbelievable.

Nopes. Traffic is stopped only for CMs, PM, Prez and of course Sonia Gandhi and very, very few other selected leaders.

[Clarke]

Yaar 3% of GDP control karta hai, Z category security should be no big deal and I'd guess he would pay what's due along with helping out his bodyguards financially in trying times. Either that or allow our local blackwater equivalent to run the show.

[ganeshran]

as long as he is paying for it, I dont see any problem