A Promise to Keep

Subhashis Mittra

A whopping Rs 2,33,210.68 crore has been allocated to the ministry of home affairs (MHA), with the lion’s share of Rs 1,60,391.06 crore going to Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs)—CRPF, BSF and CISF.

While the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), the largest among CAPFs with 3.25 lakh personnel, got Rs 35,147.17 crore, up from a revised estimate of Rs 34,328.61 crore in 2024-25, the Border Security Force (BSF) got Rs 28,231.27 crore (Rs 27,895.73 crore in 2024-25), the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) Rs 16,084.83 crore (Rs 15,272.22 crore in 2024-25), the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) Rs 10,370 crore (Rs 9,861.14 crore in 2024-25), the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) Rs 10,237.28 crore (Rs 9,834.59 crore in 2024-25) and the Assam Rifles Rs 8,274.29 crore (Rs 7,855.23 crore in 2024-25).

The CRPF is mostly deployed for maintenance of internal security, operations against terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir, dealing with Left Wing Extremism (LWE) in central and eastern parts of the country, where more than a lakh of its troops are deployed, and insurgents in the northeast (see box).

The BSF guards India’s borders with Pakistan and Bangladesh and it is also deployed for internal security duties. With around 2.65 lakh personnel, it is tasked with guarding the international boundaries with Pakistan and Bangladesh. The CISF is responsible for protection of highly sensitive vital installations, like nuclear plants, airports and metro networks. With arou