CRPF to get 20,000 additional personnel, specialised units with focus on Kashmir

Currently, the CRPF’s core responsibilities include crowd and riot control

As the Centre proceeds to approve 20 new battalions, the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) is set to receive 20,000 additional personnel, according to a report by News18.

The move is reportedly part of a larger proposal for raising 35 battalions, aimed at addressing existing shortages in the world’s largest Central Armed Police Force.

The News18 report stated that the proposal was initiated last year. During a meeting with mid-level officers, a Special Director General said on Monday that while the full 35-battalion proposal was under consideration, approval is expected soon for 20 battalions. The file is likely to get approval from the Cabinet as the finance ministry has already cleared it.

These new units will be more specialised, with a particular focus on Jammu and Kashmir, in view of the evolving responsibilities the CRPF is expected to take on.

According to News18, these new units will be more specialised and focus more on Jammu and Kashmir.

“The proposal includes raising new General Duty Battalions," a senior official familiar with the matter told News18.

Over the years, the force has grown into a vast and complex organisation, comprising administrative and operational sectors, support institutions, and specialised units.

The News18 report stated that the CRPF includes two administrative sectors, two operational sectors, 39 administrative ranges, 17 operational ranges, 43 group centres, four composite hospitals with 100-bed capacity, 18 composite hospitals with 50-bed capacity, six field hospitals, three central weapon stores, seven ammunition workshops, and a wide range of operational units.

These include 201 General Duty Battalions, six VIP Security Battalions, six Mahila Battalions, 16 Rapid Action Force Battalions, 10 CoBRA Battalions, seven Signal Battalions, one Parliament Duty Group, and one Special Duty Group.

Currently, the CRPF’s core responsibilities include crowd and riot control, counter-insurgency and counter-militancy operations, tackling Left-Wing Extremism, managing large-scale security during elections in sensitive areas, VIP protection, defending vital installations, participating in UN peacekeeping missions, and carrying out rescue and relief during natural disasters.

Contribution of women CRPF personnel

During Operation Sindoor, commanding a border outpost within eyeball-to-eyeball contact of a Pakistani post along the International Border, Assistant Commandant Neha Bhandari led her troops to silence three forward hostile posts across the zero line (area closest to enemy territory).

Apart from Neha, six women constables held a gun position on a forward border post. The women 'Seema Praharis' stopped only when the extensive damage caused by their flat trajectory/area weapons forced the enemy to step back and abandon their forward locations.