Bite the Bullet

R.C. Sharma

Other than the Border Security Force (BSF), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and the Sashatra Seema Bal (SSB), all border-guarding forces, the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) comprise the National Security Guard (NSG), the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF).

The CISF provides security to airports, government offices and industrial establishments. With a strength of more than a million, the CAPFs are an integral part of the internal security component. In addition to their primary role, they perform multifarious tasks assigned by the government. The border guarding forces have wartime role too, which they perform under the operational control of the army.

CAPF personnel work round the clock, 365 days of the year. Problems and issues affecting the CAPFs and CAPF personnel affect organisational efficiency. They need attention and addressing on a priority. The CAPFs have huge vacancies which need filling on a priority. In response to a starred question by Anil Agrawal in the Rajya Sabha concerning the strength of the seven CAPFs, minister of state for home Nityanand Rai stated that while the sanctioned strength of CAPFs was 10,05,779, there were 84,405 vacancies. The officer cadre in the CAPFs is just one to two per cent of the total strength, meaning that about 99 per cent strength comprises jawans and subordinate officers. Therefore, there is an urgent need for a robust organisational set-up for efficient administration. Personnel-friendly human resource policies, housing satisfaction and welfare with effective grievance redressal mechanisms are needed to foster camaraderie and raise morale and motivation. An affirmative set-up will help bring down attrition owing to voluntary retirements/ resignations, suicides and fratricides. Personnel need care and compassion to make the CAPF security apparatus stronger and robust to meet dynamic security challenges facing the country.

The 242nd report of the department-related parliamentary standing committee on home affairs, demand for grants (2023-24), was presented to the Rajya Sabha on March 17, 2023. The parliamentary standing committee noted that in 2018-2022, 654 CAPF personnel had committed suicide in the last five years. The highest suicide rate was in the CRPF followed by the BSF. As for attrition, the standing committee said 50,155 CAPF personnel had resigned in the last five years with the highest attrition rate in the BSF followed by the CRPF.

The budget for modernisation plan IV of the CAPFs was Rs 248.30 crore at the budget estimate stage for 2022-23 but this was reduced to Rs 154.40 crore at revised estimate stage. The seven CAPFs could spend only Rs 22.16 crore for modernisation in 2022-23 and the percentage expenditure was just 14.35 per cent with respect to the revised estimate. Since the CAPFs were unable to utilise the modernisation budget, it was reduced to Rs 202.47 crore in 2023-24. The purpose of modernisation is procurement of modern weapons, vehicles, communication system, bulletproof vehicles,