Central Armed Police Forces

Central Armed Police Forces
Abbreviation	CAPF
Agency overview
Annual budget	₹97,003.37 crore (US$12 billion) (2024–25)[1]
Jurisdictional structure
Federal agency	India
Operations jurisdiction	India
Governing body	Ministry of Home Affairs
General nature	Federal law enforcement
Operational structure
Minister responsible	Amit Shah, Union Home Minister
Parent agency	Ministry of Home Affairs
Child agencies	AR BSF CISF CRPF ITBP NSG SSB
Website
mha.gov.in/central-armed-police-forces

In India, the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) is the collective designation for the central police organizations under the Ministry of Home Affairs.^[2] Since 2011, the term "central armed police forces" has been adopted, replacing the term "paramilitary." The CAPF is responsible for internal security and border protection.^[3] Each force within the CAPF is led by a Director General (DG), typically an officer from the Indian Police Service (IPS), with the exception of the Assam Rifles, which is headed by a Lieutenant General-ranked officer from the Indian Army.^[4]

CAPF is further classified into three groups:^[5]

• Border Guarding Forces
  • Assam Rifles (AR)
  • Border Security Force (BSF)
  • Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP)
  • Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB)
• Special Task Force
  • National Security Guard (NSG)
• Forces for Internal Security
  • Central Industrial Security Force (CISF)
  • Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF)

CAPF were formerly known as Central Para-Military Forces (CPMF), also various referred by Central Police Organisations (CPOs), Para-Military Forces (PMF) and Central Police Forces (CPF) interchangeably. In 2011, the Government of India released a circular adopting a uniform nomenclature to change the name of the forces to Central Armed Police Forces under the Ministry of Home Affairs. Initially, only five forces—BSF, CRPF, CISF, ITBP and SSB were covered under the new nomenclature, since AR was under the operational control of the Indian Army and NSG personnel were completely deputed from the Indian Army and other CAPFs. The name change was made for political reasons, to improve the international impression of the force, since in some countries the paramilitary refers to militant groups.^[3][6]

Currently, all the seven forces are listed under the CAPF definition by the Ministry.^[7]

Central Armed Police Forces are organised with the primary role of border guarding for AR, BSF, ITBP, SSB; Security of sensitive establishments by CISF, Assisting Police to tackle Law & Order, Counter-Terrorist Operations, Counter Naxal Operations by CRPF, NSG. Apart from the primary role, all CAPFs are involved in assisting Police in Law & Order situations and also Army in Counter-Terrorist Operations. BSF, ITBP and CRPF have assisted the army during external aggression in the past. CAPFs work along with both Indian Army & Police in different roles assigned to them.

Central Armed Police Forces personnel also serve in various important organisations such as Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), Special Protection Group (SPG), National Investigation Agency (NIA), Intelligence Bureau (IB), Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), State Armed Police Force (Jharkhand Jaguars, Bihar Military Police, UP/MP STF, DRG, IRB, Chattishgarh Armed Police etc.) on deputation and have attachment/training in various levels/formations/courses along with the Indian Army. Their role and performance, therefore, assumes a great significance due to the special features of an emergency force which is pressed in aid to the civil power to perform multiple roles in extremely difficult situations.

The Assam Rifles is a central police and paramilitary organisation responsible for border security, counter-insurgency, and law and order in Northeast India. Its primary role is to guard the 1,643 kilometre long Indo-Myanmar border. The AR comes under the administration of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), while its operational control is maintained by the Indian Army.^[8] It is the oldest paramilitary force in India.

The primary role of the Border Security Force is to guard the Indo-Pakistan and Indo-Bangladesh borders, it is deployed both on the international border and the LOC. The BSF also has active roles during times of war. It has 292,000 personnel in 192 battalions.^[9] The 1, 2 and 7 battalion of NDRF are requisitioned from BSF. It is also known for being the largest dedicated border guarding force in the world.

One of the largest industrial security forces in the world, the Central Industrial Security Force provides security to various Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) and other critical infrastructure installations, major airports across the country and provides security during elections and other internal security duties and VVIP protection. It has a total strength of about 160,500 personnel in 132 battalions^[10] including 12 reserve battalions.

The Central Reserve Police Force is the largest of the Central Armed Police Forces units with 313,678 personnel in 247 battalions.^[10] The Central Reserve Police includes:

• The Rapid Action Force (RAF), a 15 battalion anti-riot force trained to respond to sectarian violence.
• The Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (COBRA), a 10 battalion strong anti-Naxalite/COIN force.^[11]

The Indo-Tibetan Border Police is deployed for guarding duties on the Indo-China border from Karakoram Pass in Ladakh to Diphu Pass in Arunachal Pradesh covering a total distance of 3,488 km.^[12] It has 89,432 personnel in 56 fighting battalions, 2 DM and 4 specialised battalions.^[13][10]

The National Security Guard (NSG), commonly known as Black Cats, is a counter-terrorism unit under the Ministry of Home Affairs. It was founded on 16 October 1984 under the National Security Guard Act, 1986. All personnel are deputed from other CAPFs and the Indian Army.

The objective of the Sashastra Seema Bal (English: Armed Border Force) is to guard the Indo-Nepal and Indo-Bhutan borders. It has 76,337 personnel and 73 battalions, as well as some reserved battalions.^[14][10][15]

On 5 February 2019, the Supreme Court of India ruled that five CAPFs would be granted Non-Functional Financial Upgradation (NFFU),^[16] and the status of Organised Group ‘A’ Services (OGAS), ending a nearly decade-long battle for the central armed police. In the judgment by Rohinton Fali Nariman and M. R. Shah, the court said that officers from BSF, CRPF, SSB, ITBP, and CISF should be granted the NFFU and will be considered as Organised Group A Central Services.^[17][18]

In July 2019, the Union Cabinet granted^[19][20] Organised Group 'A' Service (OGAS) status to Group 'A' executive cadre officers of five Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF). It also extended the benefit of Non-Functional Financial Up-gradation(NFFU) and Non-Functional Selection Grade (NFSG) to the executive cadre officers at an enhanced rate of 30%.

Officers

Rank group	General / flag officers										Senior officers						Junior officers
Assam Rifles[21][22] v t e					Director-general[note 1] - Special director-general[note 2] - Additional director-general[note 3] -
							Inspector general[note 4] -		Deputy inspector-general[note 5] -		Commandant[note 6] -		Second-in-command[note 7] -		Deputy commandant[note 8] -		Assistant commandant[note 9] -
Border Security Force v t e					Director-general - Special director-general - Additional director-general -
							Inspector general -		Deputy inspector-general -		Commandant -		Second-in-command -		Deputy commandant -		Assistant commandant -
Central Industrial Security Force[23][24] v t e					Director-general - Special director-general - Additional director-general -
							Inspector general -		Deputy inspector-general -		Senior commandant -		Commandant -		Deputy commandant -		Assistant commandant -
Central Reserve Police Force[25][26] v t e					Director-general - Special director-general - Additional director-general -
							Inspector general -		Deputy inspector-general -		Commandant -		Second-in-command -		Deputy commandant -		Assistant commandant -
Indo-Tibetan Border Police[27] v t e
					Director-general -	Additional director-general -	Inspector general -		Deputy inspector-general -	Additional deputy inspector-general -	Commandant -		Second-in-command -		Deputy commandant -		Assistant commandant -
National Security Guard[28] v t e
					Director general -	Additional director general -	Inspector general -		Deputy inspector general -		Group commander -		Second in command -		Deputy commander -		Team commander -
Sashastra Seema Bal[29] v t e
					Director-general -	Additional director-general -	Inspector general -		Deputy inspector-general -		Commandant -		Second-in-command -		Deputy commandant -		Assistant commandant -
Police equivalent					Director General of Police Director General Additional Director General		Inspector General		Deputy Inspector General		Senior Superintendent		Superintendent		Additional Superintendent		Deputy Superintendent		ACP/ASP
Rank group	General / flag officers										Senior officers						Junior officers

Enlisted ranks

Rank group	Junior commissioned officers										Non commissioned officers																		Enlisted
Assam Rifles[30] v t e																													No insignia
	Subedar major सूबेदार मेजर						Subedar सूबेदार		Naib subedar नायब सूबेदार		Warrant officer -						Havildar[note 10] हवलदार												Rifleman[note 11] -
Border Security Force v t e																													No insignia
	Subedar major सूबेदार मेजर						Inspector निरीक्षक	Sub-inspector उप निरीक्षक	Assistant sub-inspector सहायक उप निरीक्षक		Head constable हवलदार																		Constable -
Central Industrial Security Force[23][24][31] v t e																													No insignia
							Inspector निरीक्षक	Sub inspector उप निरीक्षक	Assistant sub-inspector सहायक उप निरीक्षक		Head constable हवलदार																		Constable -
Central Reserve Police Force[25][26] v t e																													No insignia
	Subedar major सूबेदार मेजर						Inspector निरीक्षक	Sub-inspector उप निरीक्षक	Assistant sub-inspector सहायक उप निरीक्षक		Head constable हवलदार																		Constable -
Indo-Tibetan Border Police[27] v t e																													No insignia
	Subedar major सूबेदार मेजर						Subedar/Inspector सूबेदार/निरीक्षक	Sub inspector उप निरीक्षक			Head constable हवलदार												Naik नायक				Lance naik लांस नायक		Constable -
National Security Guard[28] v t e																													No insignia
	Subedar major सूबेदार मेजर						Assistant commander-1 -	Assistant commander-2 -	Assistant commander-3 -		Ranger grade I -												Ranger grade II -						Combatised tradesmen -
Sashastra Seema Bal[29] v t e																													No insignia
	Subedar major सूबेदार मेजर						Inspector निरीक्षक	Sub inspector उप निरीक्षक	Assistant sub-inspector सहायक उप निरीक्षक		Head constable हवलदार												Naik नायक				Lance naik लांस नायक		Constable -
Rank group	Junior commissioned officers										Non commissioned officers																		Enlisted

Recruitment of candidates to the CAPFs may be conducted by the Union Public Service Commission CAPF- AC exam, the Staff Selection Commission CPO exam or the respective service HQs depending on the post to be filled, the medical officers of the CAPFs, NSG and AR are recruited via a common interview/personality test by the medical officers selection board (MOSB) constituted by the office of ADG(Medical), CAPFs, NSG and AR. The allotment of the force to the officer in any above exams is based on the merit rank and preference list.

The Ministry of Home Affairs and the Staff Selection Commission of the Union Government of India allowed the recruitment examination of the CAPF be conducted in Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Marathi, Malayalam, Meitei (Manipuri), Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Odia, Urdu, Punjabi, and Konkani, 13 of the 22 official languages of the Indian Republic, in addition to Hindi & English.^[32][33]

Officers

Officers in CAPFs are recruited through the Central Armed Police Forces (Assistant Commandants) Examination conducted by UPSC. They are appointed as Assistant Commandants and are Gazetted Officers generally referred to as DAGOs (Directly Appointed Gazetted Officers) in CRPF, AC (Direct Entry) in BSF. DEGOs (Departmental Entry Gazetted Officers) are those officers who have been promoted through departmental exams conducted internally for Subordinate Officers. They are known as encounter specialists among police forces of India.

Enlisted ranks

Sub Inspectors are recruited through competitive examination conducted by Staff Selection Commission and they are referred to as DASOs (Directly Appointed Subordinate Officers). DESOs (Departmental Entry Subordinate Officers) are those officers who have been promoted through departmental exams conducted internally for Constables, Head Constables, and Assistant Sub Inspectors.

Constables are recruited through a competitive examination conducted by Staff Selection Commission. Apart from the above modes, CAPFs conduct recruitment for specialized posts such as Engineers, Doctors, etc. among DAGOs and Wireless operators, Technicians, Nursing Staff, etc. among subordinate officers and constables directly under their own authority (MHA).

Women were not recruited for the Central Armed Police Forces until 1992. Earlier, the role of women was limited to supervisory roles.^[34] The Parliamentary Committees of India for women's empowerment recommended expanding women's roles in CAPF. The Ministry of Home Affairs declared reservation for women in constabulary, and later declared that they can also be inducted as officers in combat roles in five CAPFs.^[34] The Union Home Minister announced that women's representation in the CRPF and CISF would be made 15 percent while it would be 5 percent in the BSF, ITBP and SSB.^[35] In 2016, it was decided that 33 percent of posts at the constabulary level would be reserved for women in the CRPF and the CISF, and 14-15 percent of posts at the constable level in the BSF, SSB and ITBP in a phased manner.^[36]

• State Armed Police Forces
• Paramilitary forces of India
• Law enforcement in India
• Indian Armed Forces
• Central Armed Police Forces- Institute of medical sciences (CAPFIMS), Madangiri, Delhi.

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