New Delhi, Oct 26 (IANS): The welfare of soldiers was among the top priorities of the government, union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde said here Friday.

"I want to assure you that sorting out the problems faced by our jawans is one of our government's top priorities," Shinde told reporters on the sidelines of the 51st Raising Day and the Golden Jubilee celebrations of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP).

"I've visited the Indo-China and Indo-Bangladesh borders and our jawans are very capable," he said, adding that modern equipment and better living conditions were being provided to soldiers.

"I have talked to your seniors and have told them if you are facing any hassles, they should be resolved at once. You should consider each other as your family," he further said.

Shinde praised the ITBP's contribution in anti-Maoist operations in Chhattisgarh, guarding Indian embassies and consulates in Afghanistan as well as the force's prominent role in UN peacekeeping missions.

Raised in 1962 in the wake of the Sino-Indian war, the ITBP is deployed from the Karakoram Pass in Ladakh to Diphu La in Arunachal Pradesh, manning border outposts across 3,488 km at altitudes ranging from 9,000-18,500 feet in the western, central and eastern sectors of the India-China border.