Over 61,700 vacancies in CAPFs, Assam Rifles against sanctioned strength of 10.73 lakh: MHA tells Rajya Sabha

The actual strength of these forces currently stands at 10,04,482 personnel.

Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai shared the figures in a written reply to a question raised by MPs Harsh Vardhan Shringla, Manan Kumar Mishra, Sandeep Kumar Pathak, Ryaga Krishnaiah, Medha Vishram Kulkarni, Ujjwal Deorao Nikam, Subhash Barala and Tarun Chug.

As per the data shared by Rai, the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) has the highest number of vacancies at 18,134, followed by the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) with 17,930 vacancies, Indo-Tibetan Border Police Force (ITBP) with 10,688, Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) with 6,638, Border Security Force (BSF) with 5,874, and Assam Rifles with 2,474 vacancies.

The CRPF has 3,12,707 personnel against a sanctioned strength of 3,30,841, while the BSF has 2,66,123 personnel against 2,71,997 sanctioned posts. The ITBP has 94,460 personnel against a sanctioned strength of 1,05,148, the SSB has 94,444 personnel against 1,00,539, the CISF has 1,74,567 personnel against 2,00,548, and the Assam Rifles has 62,181 personnel against a sanctioned strength of 64,655.

Rai said filling vacancies is a continuous process and that the MHA is taking steps to ensure recruitment is completed expeditiously through the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), the Staff Selection Commission (SSC) and the respective forces.

He said the ministry has directed all CAPFs and the Assam Rifles to undertake recruitment to vacant posts in non-General Duty cadres in a time-bound manner. He added that annual recruitment for the post of Constable (General Duty) is being conducted through the SSC under a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).

The MoS further said a nodal force has been designated on a long-term basis to coordinate recruitment to the posts of Constable (General Duty), Sub-Inspector (General Duty) and Assistant Commandant (General Duty).

To streamline recruitment, Rai said Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology is being used during the Physical Standard Test (PST) and Physical Efficiency Test (PET) for Constable (General Duty) and other direct recruitment examinations in the CAPFs and the Assam Rifles.

He also said regular meetings of Departmental Promotion Committees (DPCs) are being held to fill promotional vacancies, while the time taken for Detailed Medical Examination (DME) and Review Medical Examination (RME) has been reduced to speed up the recruitment process. (ANI)