Over 71,000 Posts Added in CAPFs and Assam Rifles Over 5 Years

Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, Nityanand Rai, informed the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday that the government has created 71,231 new posts in the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) and Assam Rifles (AR) over the last five years, from 2020 to 2024. Despite these additions, the forces face a staggering 100,204 vacancies as of October 30, 2024.

In his written reply, Rai provided a detailed account of the vacancies across different forces. He noted that the Assam Rifles currently have 3,377 vacant posts, while the Border Security Force (BSF) has 12,808. The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) face higher shortfalls with 31,782 and 33,730 vacancies, respectively. Additionally, the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) has 9,861 vacancies, and the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) has 8,646.

Rai explained that the vacancies arose due to a variety of reasons, including retirements, resignations, promotions, deaths, the raising of new battalions, and the creation of additional posts. Addressing these vacancies, he assured the Upper House that filling them remains a continuous process. He emphasized that the government is committed to expediting recruitments through the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), the Staff Selection Commission (SSC), and recruitment drives conducted by the forces themselves.

The Minister highlighted several measures being implemented to streamline the recruitment process. These include holding timely Departmental Promotion Committee (DPC) meetings to address promotional vacancies, reducing delays in medical examinations during recruitment, and lowering the cut-off marks for constable/GD positions to ensure sufficient candidates, particularly in categories experiencing shortfalls.

Rai reiterated the government’s determination to strengthen the CAPFs and Assam Rifles by addressing the issue of vacancies swiftly. Directions have been issued to ensure recruitment for non-general duty cadres is conducted in a time-bound manner to bolster the operational capacity of these critical security forces.