During 26/11 Mumbai Attack , NSG came under heavy criticism where it was revealed that NSG was beset with the usual problems that India’s uniformed personnel remain mired in for decades—archaic equipment and weaponry.
Almost a decade after the 26/11 attacks , NSG has developed greater operational capacity with modern weaponss acquirement with a lot of money spent by government for arms and ammunition, machinery and equipment, motor vehicles for operations, clothing and tentage and items for information technology for the force along with money spent on training of NSG men and providing them world-class facilities.
NSG earlier lacked proper firearms and were dependent on German H&K MP5 SMGs and PSG-1 Sniper Rifle along with Swiss SIG SG550 series of rifles in small numbers. NSG has now acquired more modern equipment with PSG1A1 Sniper Rifle , Barrett M98B .338 Lapua Magnum Sniper Rifle , CornerShot Weapon accessory , advanced variants of SG550 series and more. NSG lacked drone capability but has now acquired Unmanned Ground Vehicles like DOGO and micro UAVs like PD-100 Black Hornet.
See-through-Wall Radars , better explosives , Recon Scout CT micro UGV and BounceImaging Explorer tactical throwable camera and demolition devices , better plate carriers and combat gear along with acquirement of new Advanced Combat Helmets from MKU fitted with Rails and Visor Clamps where Night Vision Devices can be attached has added to overall capabilities of the forces.
NSG has also acquired the Renault Sherpa Armoured Vehicle and FORD-550 with MARS ( Mobile Adjustable Ramp System ) to allow NSG HIT teams to storm hijacked airplanes and buildings.
Earlier NSG has also been criticised for the time taken by them to come upto the scenario like in 26/11 which was solved by setting up multiple hubs across the nation. The NSG is the home ministry's premier strike force with a special mandate for handling terror or hijack situations and to deal with multifarious operational situations. The NSG announced its arrival to the world in a surgically precise operation, just four years after they had been raised in 1984 following the disastrous storming of the Golden Temple by the Indian Army. Operation Black Thunder, in May 1988, ended with 41 militants being shot dead inside the Golden Temple by snipers, with zero casualties. The technological edge was gradually whittled away over the years, from Akshardham in 2002 and finally Mumbai in 2008 where the NSG's chronic shortages came to the fore as they battled eight highly motivated Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists in three parallel sieges of two five-star hotels and a Jewish centre in Mumbai. The commandos' civilian Motorola handsets ran out of battery charge, they lacked critical protection gear like helmets and ballistic shields and ineffective night vision devices. What was worse, commanders even lost contact with their men.
Thankfully the teething issues with NSG in regards to equipment level has been resolved which allows NSG to take high-risk operations with much more confidence and effectiveness.
