NEW DELHI: In order to enhance representation of women personnel in central police forces, government has sanctioned an ambitious plan to recruit about 10,000 women in the combat ranks of five such forces.
“The new plan envisages recruitment of women in field duties and this will be done in a phased manner. All the forces have been sanctioned funds for this task,” a senior official told PTI.
Under the new plan approved by the Union Home Ministry, country’s largest Central Armed Police Force – CRPF – has been authorized to raise three new all-women battalions over a period of next three years which numerically comes to recruiting close to 3,000 women personnel in this force.
The exclusive counter-riot unit of CRPF – Rapid Action Force (RAF) –
has also been sanctioned 806 women posts in addition to the existing ranks.
The largest border guarding force of the country BSF has been authorized to recruit a total of 3,000 women personnel over a period of two years for combat and field duties while the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), which guards Indian borders with Nepal and Bhutan, has been asked to recruit 2,772 women personnel for its regular duties in a phased manner till 2018.
The Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) which secures the China border has been authorized by the government to raise 35 exclusive women platoons. Considering that one platoon has 30 personnel, about 1,050 women personnel will be recruited and inducted in the mountain-trained force over a period of next two years.
Similarly, the Assam Rifles, a paramilitary force guarding Indo-Myanmar border, has been sanctioned to induct close to 1,000 women personnel in its ranks taking their representation to five per cent of the total force strength.
The Home Ministry, as per a plan envisaged last year, has been wanting to raise the level of women personnel in all these forces to a 5 per cent level of the total force strength.
The CRPFs are tasked and deployed for rendering a variety of security duty roles in the internal security domain.
Breaking the proverbial glass ceiling, the Home department had also allowed induction of women in officer ranks in border guarding forces of Border Security Force and SSB last year after it made a notification to the UPSC asking it to recruit women for these posts.
The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) already has three operational women battalions for many years now which are used to render law and order and other security related duties across the country.
The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), tasked to guard 59 civil airports in the country and public transport systems like the Delhi Metro, has the largest percentage of women personnel amongst these forces with about 5,000 women in ‘Khaki’.
The force, however, has not been sanctioned any new recruitment of women under the new plan as it is already raising women units as per its earlier sanctioned proposal.–PTI
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