India’s Security Short Of Hands: 61,000 Posts Lie Vacant in Paramilitary Forces, Reveals Home Ministry

Home Ministry statistics have revealed that 61,000 posts are vacant in six paramilitary forces of the country, Times Of India has reported.

Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) tops the chart with 18,492 vacancies while Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), India’s largest paramilitary force has 18,460 posts lying vacant.

Border Security Force (BSF) has 10,738 vacant posts. The figure is 3,840 for Assam Rifles, 3812 for Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) and 5786 for Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP).

The reasons behind large number of vacancies are varied. Retirement of officers, deaths, creation of new posts and raising of new battalions to illustrate a few.

An official who spoke to TOI told that the filling of vacancies was a time-bound process done through promotion, deputation of personnel and recruitment of new personnel as per the rules.

The country’s ten lakh strong paramilitary forces play a key role in maintaining internal as well as external security of India.

CRPF is deployed for assistance of state police in maintaining internal security, anti-Naxal operations and fighting militancy in Jammu and Kashmir. BSF is responsible for guarding Indo-Pak and Indo-Bangladesh borders while SSB is tasked with guarding Indo-Nepal and Indo-Bhutan borders.

ITBP is responsible for keeping a vigil on Indo-China border. Assam Rifles has the dual role of guarding Indo-Myanmar border and dealing with insurgents in North-East. CISF is responsible for guarding critical infrastructure, for example, airports, Metro stations, industrial establishments and power installations.