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{{short description|Indian national specialized police forces}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2016}}
{{Use Indian English|date=June 2016}}
{{Infobox law enforcement agency
| agencyname = Central Armed Police Forces
| abbreviation = CAPF
| patch =
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| logo = Emblem of India.svg
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| budget = {{INRConvert|92000|c}} <small>(2020–2021)</small><ref>{{Cite web|title=MHA gets 1.67 lakh crore;emphasis on police,census |url=https://www.outlookindia.com/newsscroll/mha-gets-rs-167-lakh-crore-emphasis-on-police-census/1723700}}</ref>
| nongovernment =
| country = India
| countryabbr = IN
| federal = Yes
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| governingbody = [[Ministry of Home Affairs (India)|Ministry of Home Affairs]]
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| electeetype = Minister
| minister1name = [[Amit Shah]]
| minister1pfo = [[Minister of Home Affairs (India)|Union Home Minister]]
| chief1name = CAPF Cadre Officers
| chief1position =
| parentagency = [[Ministry of Home Affairs (India)|Ministry of Home Affairs]]
| child1agency = [[Border Security Force|BSF]]
| child2agency = [[Central Reserve Police Force|CRPF]]
| child3agency = [[Central Industrial Security Force|CISF]]
| child4agency = [[Indo-Tibetan Border Police|ITBP]]
| child5agency = [[National Security Guard|NSG]]
| child6agency = [[Sashastra Seema Bal|SSB]]
| child7agency = [[Assam Rifles|AR]]
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| website = {{URL|http://capf.gov.in| Official Website}}
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}}

[[File:Indian BSF Soldier.jpg|thumb|A member of India's [[Border Security Force]] in ceremonial attire|271x271px]]

"'''Central Armed Police Forces'''" ('''CAPF''') refers to uniform nomenclature of five Armed forces<ref>{{Cite web|last=ITBP|title=Armed Force of the Union|url=https://itbpolice.nic.in/somepdfs/itbp_act_rules.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=BSF Act And Rule|url=https://bsf.gov.in/ActAndRule?LangId=dHJ1ZQ==|access-date=2021-06-29|website=bsf.gov.in}}</ref> of the Union of [[India]] under the authority of the [[Ministry of Home Affairs (India)|Ministry of Home Affairs]]. Their role is to defend the national interest mainly against the internal threats. They are the [[Border Security Force]] (BSF), [[Central Reserve Police Force]] (CRPF), [[Central Industrial Security Force]] (CISF), [[Indo-Tibetan Border Police]] (ITBP) and the [[Sashastra Seema Bal]] (SSB).<ref>{{cite web |last1=Government of India |first1=Ministry of Home Affairs |title=Office Memorandum |url=https://www.mha.gov.in/sites/default/files/OM2-020513.pdf |website=mha.gov.in |publisher=Director (Personnel), MHA |access-date=19 September 2020 |pages=1 |date=18 March 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Government of India |first1=Ministry of Home Affairs |title=Office Memorandum |url=https://www.mha.gov.in/sites/default/files/OM1-020513.pdf |website=mha.gov.in |publisher=Director (Personnel), MHA |access-date=19 September 2020 |date=23 November 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Online |first1=The Telegraph |title=For the paramilitary, all's in a new name |url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/india/for-the-paramilitary-all-s-in-a-new-name/cid/415027 |website=telegraphindia.com |publisher=The Telegraph |access-date=19 September 2020 |date=26 March 2011}}</ref>

== Organisation and leadership ==
Central Armed Police Forces are organised with the primary role of border guarding for BSF, ITBP, SSB; Security of sensitive establishments by CISF, Assisting Police to tackle Law & Order, Counter-Terrorist Operations, Counter Naxal Operations by CRPF, [[National Security Guard|NSG]]. Apart from the primary role, all CAPFs are involved in assisting Police in Law & Order situations and also Army in Counter-Terrorist Operations. BSF & CRPF have assisted the army during external aggression in the past. CAPFs work along with both [[Indian Army|Army]] & Police in different roles assigned to them.

Central Armed Police Forces personnel also serve in various important organisations such as [[Research and Analysis Wing]] (RAW), [[Special Protection Group]] (SPG), [[National Investigation Agency]] (NIA), [[Intelligence Bureau (India)|Intelligence Bureau]] (IB), [[Central Bureau of Investigation]] (CBI), [[National Disaster Response Force]] (NDRF), [[Narcotics Control Bureau]] (NCB) State Armed Police Force (Jharkhand Jaguars, [[Bihar Military Police]], UP/MP STF, DRG, IRB, Chattishgarh Armed Police etc.) on deputation and have attachment/training in various levels/formations/courses along with the [[Indian Army]]. Their role and performance, therefore, assumes a great significance due to the special features of an emergency force which is pressed in aid to the civil power to perform multiple roles in extremely difficult situations.

== Organized Group ‘A’ Service (OGAS) to Group ‘A’ Executive Cadre Officers ==
===Supreme Court Ruling===
On 5 February 2019, the [[Supreme Court of India|Supreme Court]] of India ruled<ref>https://indianexpress.com/article/india/sc-upholds-hc-order-on-nffu-for-capf-officers-5571027/</ref><ref>https://main.sci.gov.in/supremecourt/2013/7829/7829_2013_Judgement_05-Feb-2019.pdf</ref> that all CAPFs would be granted better pay benefits or Non-Functional Financial Upgradation (NFFU),<ref>https://dopt.gov.in/sites/default/files/14017_47_2011-Estt.RR-01082012.pdf</ref> and the status of Organised Group ‘A’ Services (OGAS), ending a nearly decade-long battle for the central armed police. In a landmark judgment by [[Rohinton Fali Nariman|Justices Rohinton Fali Nariman]] and M R Shah, the court said the [https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Central_Armed_Police_Forces&action=edit&section=6 CAPF] officers–from BSF, CRPF, SSB, ITBP, and CISF– will now be granted the NFFU and will be considered as organized Group A Central Services. [[Assam Rifles]] Cadre officers are not covered under this as they do not come under categorisation of CAPFs.

===Approval By Cabinet===
In July 2019, [[Union Council of Ministers|Union Cabinet]] granted<ref>https://pib.gov.in/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=1576843</ref><ref>https://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ani/centre-gives-nods-to-grant-ogas-status-to-group-a-executive-cadre-officers-119070301021_1.html</ref> Organised Group 'A' Service (OGAS) status to Group 'A' executive cadre officers of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF). It also extended the benefit of Non-Functional Financial Up-gradation(NFFU) and Non-Functional Selection Grade (NFSG) to the executive cadre officers at an enhanced rate of 30%.

== Recruitment, ranks and structure ==
Recruitment of candidates to the CAPFs may be conducted by the [[Union Public Service Commission]], the [[Staff Selection Commission]], or the respective service HQs depending on the post to be filled. There are three possible pathways for recruitment to the CAPFs:

===Gazetted officers===
Officers in CAPFs are recruited through the Central Armed Police Forces (Assistant Commandants) Examination conducted by UPSC. They are appointed as Assistant Commandants and are Gazetted Officers generally referred to as DAGOs (Directly Appointed Gazetted Officers) in CRPF, AC (Direct Entry) in BSF. DEGOs (Departmental Entry Gazetted Officers) are those officers who have been promoted through departmental exams conducted internally for Subordinate Officers. They are known as encounter specialists among police forces of India.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!''' CAPFs ranks '''!! Police ranks !! Army ranks !! Navy ranks !! Air Force ranks !! Coast Guard ranks
|-
| [[Director General]] (Apex Scale)|| [[Director General]] of State Police Force. ||[[Lieutenant General]]||[[Vice Admiral]]||[[Air Marshal]]||[[Director General]]
|-
| [[Additional Director General]] (ADG) || [[Additional director general of police|Additional Director General]] (ADG) ||[[Lieutenant General]] || [[Vice Admiral]] || [[Air Marshal]] || [[Additional Director General]]
|-
| [[Inspector General]] (IG) || [[Inspector-general of police|Inspector General]](IG) ||[[Major General]] || [[Rear Admiral]] || [[Air Vice Marshal]] || [[Inspector General]]
|-
| [[Deputy Inspector General]] (DIG) || [[Deputy Inspector General]] (DIG) ||[[Brigadier]] || [[Commodore (rank)|Commodore]] || [[Air commodore]] || [[Deputy Inspector General]]
|-
| [[Commandant]]|| [[Superintendent (police)|Senior Superintendent of Police]](SSP) ||[[Colonel]] || [[Captain]] || [[Group Captain]] || [[commandant]]
|-
| [[Second-in-Command]] || [[Deputy Commissioner of Police|DCP]]/[[Superintendent of Police]] (SP) ||[[Lieutenant colonel|Lieutenant Colonel]]||[[Commander]]||[[Wing commander|Wing Commander]]||[[commandant]] (Jr grade).

|-
| [[Deputy Commandant]]||[[Deputy commissioner of police (India)|DCP/Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police]]/Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP)||[[Major]] || [[Lieutenant Commander]] || [[Squadron Leader]] || [[Deputy Commandant]]
|-
| [[Assistant Commandant|Assistant Commandant/Assistant Commandant]]([[Officer Trainee]])

|| [[Assistant Commissioner of Police|Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP)]] / [[Deputy superintendent of police|Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP)]]||[[Captain]]/[[Lieutenant]]||[[Lieutenant]]/[[Sub Lieutenant]] || [[Flying Lieutenant]]/[[Flying Officer]] || [[Assistant Commandant]]
|-
|}

===Subordinate officers===
Sub Inspectors are recruited through competitive examination conducted by Staff Selection Commission and they are referred to as DASOs (Directly Appointed Subordinate Officers). DESOs (Departmental Entry Subordinate Officers) are those officers who have been promoted through departmental exams conducted internally for Constables, Head Constables, and Assistant Sub Inspectors.

===Constables===
Constables are recruited through a competitive examination conducted by [[Staff Selection Commission]].

Apart from the above modes, CAPFs conduct recruitment for specialized posts such as Engineers, Doctors, etc. among DAGOs and Wireless operators, Technicians, Nursing Staff, etc. among subordinate officers and constables directly under their own authority([[Ministry of Home Affairs (India)|MoHF]]).

[[File:Ranks of Gazetted Officers in CAPF.jpg|thumb|Ranks and Insignia|alt=|center|720x720px]]

==Women in the Central Armed Police Forces==
Initially, women were not recruited for the Central Armed Police Forces. In 1992, [[Asha Sinha]] created history by being the first Woman Commandant of any of the Central Armed Forces in India when she was selected as Commandant, [[Central Industrial Security Force]], for [[Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited]]. Earlier the role of Women was allowed but limited to supervisory roles in the Central Armed Police Forces.<ref name="ET">{{cite news |title=Government allows women to be combat officers in all Central Armed Police Forces |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/defence/government-allows-women-to-be-combat-officers-in-all-central-armed-police-forces/articleshow/51380021.cms |access-date=9 January 2020 |work=The Economic Times |date=11 July 2018}}</ref> The [[Parliamentary Committees of India]] for women's empowerment recommended greater roles for women in the CAPF. On these recommendations, the [[Ministry of Home Affairs (India)|Ministry of Home Affairs]] declared reservation for women in constabulary in paramilitary forces, and later declared that they can also be inducted as officers in combat roles in all five Central Armed Police Forces.<ref name="ET"/> The Union Home Minister announced that women's representation in the CRPF and CISF would be made 15 percent while it would be 5 percent in the BSF, ITBP and SSB.<ref>{{cite news |title=Women quota in CRPF, CISF to be made 15 percent |url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/india/women-quota-in-crpf-cisf-to-be-made-15-per-cent/cid/1681181 |access-date=9 January 2020 |work=telegraphindia.com |language=en}}</ref> On 5 January 2016, it was decided that 33 percent of posts at the constabulary level would be reserved for women in the CRPF and the CISF to begin with, and 14-15 percent of posts at the constable level in the BSF, SSB and ITBP in a phased manner, [[Kiren Rijiju]] said. In 2016, an IPS Officer Archana Ramasundaram of 1980 Batch rewrote history when she became the first woman to become the [[Director General of Police]] of a Paramilitary Force as DG, [[Sashastra Seema Bal]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Selvaraj |first1=A. |title=Archana Ramasundram becomes first woman to head paramilitary forces {{!}} India News - Times of India |url=https://m.timesofindia.com/india/Archana-Ramasundram-becomes-first-woman-to-head-paramilitary-forces/articleshow/50811752.cms |access-date=9 January 2020 |work=The Times of India |agency=TNN |language=en}}</ref>

== Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) ==
The [[Central Reserve Police Force]] is the largest of the Central Armed Police Forces units with 313,678 personnel in 245 battalions.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=http://mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/EnglAnnualReport2016-17_17042017.pdf|title=MHA Annual Report 2016-2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170808200948/http://mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/EnglAnnualReport2016-17_17042017.pdf|archive-date=8 August 2017|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref> The Central Reserve Police includes:
*The [[Rapid Action Force]] (RAF), a 15 battalion anti-riot force trained to respond to sectarian violence.
*The [[Commando Battalion for Resolute Action]] (COBRA), a 10 battalion strong anti-[[Naxalite]]/[[Counter-insurgency|COIN]] force.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.financialexpress.com/news/COBRA-to-sting-Naxal-virus-new-force-gets-Centre-nod/354579/ |title=COBRA to sting Naxal virus: new force gets Centre nod |publisher=Financial Express |date=2008-08-29 |access-date=2014-02-26}}</ref>

== Border Security Force (BSF) ==
[[File:Women personnel of India's Border Security Force.jpg|thumb|Women personnel of Indian [[Border Security Force]]]]
The primary role of the [[Border Security Force]] is to guard the [[India–Pakistan border|Indo-Pakistan]] and [[Bangladesh–India border|Indo-Bangladesh]] borders, it is deployed both on the international border and the [[Line of Control|LOC]]. The BSF also has active roles during times of war. It has 2,57,363 personnel in 186 battalions.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://bsf.nic.in/en/air-wing.html|title=Border Security Force|website=bsf.nic.in|access-date=2020-02-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140820142102/http://www.bsf.nic.in/en/air-wing.html|archive-date=20 August 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref> The 1, 2 and 7 battalion of [[National Disaster Response Force|NDRF]] are requisitioned from [[Border Security Force|BSF.]] It also known for being the largest dedicated border guarding force in the world.

== Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) ==
One of the largest industrial security forces in the world, the [[Central Industrial Security Force]] provides security to various [[List of public sector undertakings in India|Public Sector Undertakings]] (PSUs) and other critical infrastructure installations, [[List of airports in India|major airports]] across the country and provides security during [[Elections in India|elections]] and other [[internal security]] duties and [[Very important person|VVIP]] protection. It has a total strength of about 1,44,418 personnel in 132 battalions<ref name=":0" /> including 9 reserve battalions.

== Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) ==
The [[Indo-Tibetan Border Police]] is deployed for guarding duties on the [[China–India border|Indo-China border]] from [[Karakoram Pass]] in [[Ladakh]] to [[Diphu Pass]] in [[Arunachal Pradesh]] covering a total distance of 3488 km.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.archive.india.gov.in/govt/armedforces.php?id=16 |title=Indo-Tibetan Border Police |publisher=Archive.india.gov.in|access-date=2014-02-09}}</ref> It has 89,432 personnel in 56 fighting, 2 DM and 4 specialised battalions.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://itbpolice.nic.in/itbpwebsite/index.html|title=Home {{!}} Indo Tibetan Border Police, Ministry of Home Affairs|website=itbpolice.nic.in|language=en|access-date=2017-08-10}}</ref><ref name=":0" />

== Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) ==
The objective of the [[Sashastra Seema Bal]] (English: ''Armed Border Force'') is to guard the [[India–Nepal border|Indo-Nepal]] and [[Bhutan–India border|Indo-Bhutan]] borders. It has 76,337 personnel and 67 battalions, as well as some reserved battalions.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://egov.eletsonline.com/2013/03/guarding-the-nations-frontiers/ |title=Guarding the Nation's Frontiers | eGov Magazine |publisher=Egov.eletsonline.com |date=2013-03-06 |access-date=2014-01-05}}</ref><ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ssb.nic.in/index1.aspx?lsid=37&lev=2&lid=9&langid=1&Cid=0|title=Force Profile- SSB Ministry Of Home Affairs, Govt. Of India|website=ssb.nic.in|access-date=2017-08-12}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[State Armed Police Forces]]
*[[Paramilitary forces of India]]
*[[Law enforcement in India]]
*[[Indian Armed Forces]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}

{{Home Ministry (India)}}
{{Law enforcement in India}}

[[Category:Law enforcement agencies of India]]
[[Category:Central Armed Police Forces of India]]
[[Category:Federal law enforcement agencies of India]]

Central Armed Police Forces - Revision history

Gasperalmeida: basic updated intro also and cleaned formatting for consistency

Soldier: Updated article with latest information.

>FrescoBot: Bot: link syntax