These units specialise in various roles including counter-insurgency, counter-terrorism, direct action, hostage rescue, special reconnaissance and unconventional warfare.

[10] 1995 saw the formation of the fourth commando battalion when 21 Maratha Light Infantry was selected to convert to special forces and slated for the Eastern Command.

[11][12] The unit first saw action in the 1971 Indo-Pakistani war, the first six-man assault team was inserted 240 kilometres (150 miles) deep into Indus and Chachro, where they carried out raids.

[14] Operation Mandhol was a raid carried out by soldiers from the 9 Para (SF) to seek and destroy Pakistani artillery located in hostile territory near a village called Mandole.

[17] A series of raids were conducted by soldiers from the 10 Para (also known as The Desert Scorpions) at Chachro, Virawah, Nagarparkar and Islamkot during the 1971 Indo-Pakistani war.

However, the lack of proper planning by the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPF), and insufficient intelligence on the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam's (LTTE) whereabouts, caused the initial heli-borne assault on Jaffna University on 11 October 1987 to be a tragic failure.

Due to their superior training, the Para (SF) took refuge under a house, after they were misled by a youth who offered his services to help the commandos track Velupillai Prabhakaran but instead took them on a wild goose chase.

This battalion was scheduled to return home in June 1988, but the tour of duty was extended due to a planned air assault into the coastal swamps around Mullaittivu.

While the Parachute Brigade cleared the Mushkoh Valley intrusions, 5 Para was actively involved in the forgotten sector of Batalik and was awarded the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Unit Citation and Theatre Honour Kargil for its resounding success against the Pakistani Army Operation Khukri was a rescue mission conducted by the 2 PARA (SF) in Sierra Leone in June 2000.

About 90 operators commanded by Major (now Lt. Col.) Harinder Sood was airlifted from New Delhi to spearhead the mission to rescue 223 men of the 5/8 Gurkha Rifles who were surrounded and held captive by Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebels for over 75 days.

On 11 April 2009, the 57 Mountain Division of the Indian Army based in Manipur, 21 Para (SF) along with the Para-military Assam Rifles and State Police, launched a counter-insurgency operation, code-named "Operation Summer Storm" in the Loktak Lake region and adjoining Loktak Lake in Bishnupur District, located south of State capital of Imphal.

As the troops began pulling out, an Army spokesperson described the operation as a success, disclosing that 129 militants, all belonging to the People's Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak (PREPAK) were killed.

[22][23][24] Paratroopers and Para (SF) have conducted thousands of counter-insurgency (COIN) operations in Jammu and Kashmir, Assam, and the eastern states of India.

They are now actively involved in counter-terrorist (CT) and COIN operations in Kashmir as an essential part of the Home Ministry's decision to conduct pro-active raids against militants in the countryside and mountains.

The terrorists sneaked across the border early on Thursday, barely three days ahead of a meeting between the prime ministers of India and Pakistan.

The three heavily armed terrorists believed to be from the group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), were holed up in the cavalry armored unit's camp at Samba for several hours after they barged into the Officer's mess until they were killed during a fierce gunfight with 1 Para (SF) of the army.

After landing, the commandos started engaging the terrorists in a direct gunfight, but to give them the impression that their exact hiding location had still not been identified, an abandoned building inside the camp was blasted.

[30] Based on precise intelligence inputs, the Indian Air Force and 21 Para (SF) carried out a cross-border operation along the Indo-Myanmar border and destroyed two militant camps one each of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (K) (NSCN) and the Kanglei Yawol Kanna Lup (KYKL).

Indian Air Force Mil Mi-17 helicopters were put on standby, ready to be pressed into service to evacuate the commandos in case anything went wrong.

Intelligence gathering had started a few weeks prior, through drones, satellites, and various other Indian assets, on 26 September 2016, small recon teams were tasked to infiltrate across the LoC to carry out 24-hour surveillance and observation of multiple objectives and to put together an accurate terrain analysis, patterns of life on site along with the best possible avenues of approach and exfil routes through the heavily secured border.

An Indian security source said the operation began with fire missions of Indian forces firing artillery across the frontier to suppress Pakistani positions while three to four teams of 70–80 para SF commandos from 4 and 9 Para (Special Forces) crossed the LoC at several points shortly after midnight IST on 29 September (18:30 hours UTC, 28 Sept.).

At first light, the teams swiftly returned to the Indian side of the LoC, suffering one injured, a soldier wounded after tripping on a land mine in haste.

They participated alongside the Special Frontier Force in occupying dominating positions of 'Blacktop', 'Gurung hill', 'Helmet', and various other peaks and ridges on the southern bank of Pangong Tso, west of the Kailash Range in August 2020.

Due to personnel the absence of centralized command and lack of a standardized process for selection procedures vary among the Para (SF) battalions.

PARA (SF) usually works in small teams of only six men, focusing on reconnaissance, surveillance, target designation (RSTAD), hostage rescue, and direct action tasks.

Night and weapons training and field craft involving 20 km (12 mi) treks with 60 kg (130 lb) loads and live ammunition are conducted.

In addition to this in-house training, the commandos also attend several schools run by the Army that specialize in warfare over varying types of terrain and specialisations.

[60] They are also experienced in conducting SHBO (special heliborne operations) and typically employ Cheetahs, MI-8/MI-17, or HAL (Dhruv) helicopters for this purpose.

The Para (SF) conducts a series of joint exercises, named Vajra Prahar, with the United States Army every year, in which about 100 personnel from the US and Indian special forces participate.

[69] The following equipment is reportedly used by the Para (SF): Small ArmsPistol Sub-machine Gun Assault Rifle Sniper Rifle Machine Gun Rocket Launcher Like other parachute troopers in the Indian military, the Para special forces personnel will wear a maroon beret after they clear the Paratrooper Air diving course during the initial stages of probation.