India is to almost double the number of troops guarding its border with Nepal and Bhutan, a senior official has said.
Home Minister Shivraj Patil announced that the government would deploy an additional 20,000 soldiers along the frontier within two years.
Fears have been raised of a spill-over of the conflict in Nepal between the monarchy and Maoist rebels.
India stepped up its security after Nepal's king dismissed the government and assumed direct power last month.
Maoist threat
India shares a 2,412 km (1,508 mile) open border with Nepal and Bhutan.
"For long, the two unmanned have presented opportunity to forces inimical to the country's interest to further their nefarious designs through subversion, militant and fundamentalist activities," Mr Patil said.
The border is protected by the paramilitary Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) which currently has a strength of 25,000 personnel.
Mr Patil said that the Indian cabinet had decided to increase the SSB's annual budget by 47% to 5.32bn rupees ($115m).
Nepal has been fighting a Maoist insurgency for nine years and there are reports that the rebels frequently cross over into Indian territory.
Maoist rebels are active in several parts of India as well, particularly in the states of Bihar, which borders Nepal, and Andhra Pradesh.
India's sensitive north-eastern state of Assam, which faces an ethnic rebel insurgency, shares a border with Bhutan.
In 2003, the Bhutanese army launched a military operation to evict the Assamese rebels from its territory.
^ Back to top | BBC Sport Home | BBC Homepage | Contact us | Help | ©