Paramilitary Forces

The Indian Paramilitary Forces (PMF) are regarded as the world’s second largest paramilitary force, second only to China with 1.5 million personnel. Indian Paramilitary forces have several components with different roles. Overall it has a two-tier structure, the Central Police Organizations (CPO), which forms the first tier, and the second tier known as Central Paramilitary Forces (CPF).

Central Police Organizations (Tier 1): The Central Police Organizations (CPO) work independently or in coordination with the Indian Federal Agencies and State Police Forces. Railway Protection Force, Central Reserve Police Force, Special Protection Group, Home Guard and Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (COBRA) are CPOs which comes under Tier I paramilitary forces.

1. Railway Protection Force: It is an Indian Central Armed Police Force charged with protecting the Indian Railways. The strength of RPF is about 65,000. The duties of the Railway Protection Force include: to do all conducive means for the free movement of the railways, protection and safeguarding of railway property, protection and safeguarding of passengers, their belongings and passenger area.
2. Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF): Functioning under the aegis of Ministry of Home Affairs, the CRPF’s primary role lies in assisting the State/Union Territories in police operations to maintain law and order and contain insurgency. It came into existence as the Crown Representative’s Police on July 27, 1939. After Indian Independence, it became the Central Reserve Police Force on enactment of the CRPF Act on December 28, 1949.
3. Special Protection Group (SPG): With about 3000 personnel, SPG is used for the protection of VVIPs such as the Prime Minister and his/her immediate family members. The force was raised in 1985 after the assassination of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and turned more organised after the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi in 1991. Today, the SPG is one of the elite agencies of its kind in Asia. Recruits include police and the NSG commandos who are trained like the US Secret Service.
4. Indian Home Guards: It is an Indian paramilitary force which is tasked as an auxiliary to the Indian Police. The Home Guards Organization was reorganised in India in 1962 after the external aggression by the People’s Republic of China, though it existed in smaller units individually in some places.The Home Guard force was originally raised in 1946 under the Ministry of Home Affairs.
5. COBRA (Commando Battalion for Resolute Action): It is a specialized unit of the CRPF created to counter the Naxalite problem in India. This specialized CRPF unit is one of the only units of the Central Armed Police Forces in the country who are specifically trained in guerilla warfare.

Central Paramilitary Forces (Tier 2): The Central Paramilitary Forces (CPF) forms the second tier of Paramilitary Forces. The CPF works in cooperation with the Indian Armed Forces. CPF constitutes of Border Security Force, National Security Guard, Central Industrial Security Force, Sashastra Seema Bal, Defence Security Corps, Indo-Tibetan Border Police, Rashtriya Rifles, Assam Rifles and Special Frontier Force.

1. Border Security Force (BSF): Established on December 1, 1965, BSF is responsible for guarding India’s land borders during peacetime and preventing trans-border crimes. It is a Central paramilitary force operating under the Union Ministry of Home Affairs.
2. National Security Guards (NSG): It is a Special Response Unit in India that has primarily been utilized for counter-terrorism and was created by the Cabinet Secretariat under the National Security Guard Act of 1986. The NSG operates under the control of the Ministry of Home Affairs and is headed by the Director General of the Indian Police Service (IPS). The NSG members are also known as Black Cats because of the black nomex coveralls and balaclavas or assault helmets they wear. The Government of India has decided to deploy NSG contingents in major cities across India like Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chennai. The NSG Training Centre is a Centre of Excellence located in Manesar.
3. Central Industrial Security Force (CISF): Established in its present form on June 15, 1983, its current strength is 1,65,000 personnel working in 132 battalions around the country. It is directly under the Union Ministry of Home Affairs and its headquarters are in New Delhi. The CISF provides security cover to industrial units located all over India like Atomic Power Plants, Space Installations, Defence Production Units, Mints, Oil Fields and Refineries, Major Ports, etc. The CISF controls airports security at all commercial airport in India. Security on the Delhi Metro is also handled by this force.
4. Sashastra Seema Bal: SSB was set up in early 1963 in the wake of the Sino-Indian War to inculcate feelings of national belonging in the border population and develop their capabilities for resistance through a continuous process of motivation, training, development, welfare programmes and activities. The highest-level headquarter of the force is the Force Headquarters (FHQ), also called the Directorate General of SSB, located in New Delhi.
5. Indo-Tibetan Border Police: It is a paramilitary force conceived on October 24, 1962. Presently ITBP deployed on Border Guarding Duties from Karakoram Pass in Ladakh to Diphu La in Arunachal Pradesh covering 3488 km of India and China border. The ITBP is trained in Civil Medical Camp, disaster management, and nuclear, biological and chemical disasters.
6. Rashtriya Rifles: It is a counter-insurgency force in India. It was raised by General B C Joshi in 1990 to combat insurgency in the country and is the premier counter insurgency force of the Army. The main role of the formation is to allow the Indian Army to ensure its primary task of defending the borders and the state’s territory unhindered by action from Pakistan-backed terrorists and guerrillas.
7. Assam Rifles: Currently there are 46 battalions of Assam Rifles under the control of the Ministry of Home Affairs. The first form of what is now the Assam Rifles was Cachar Levy, a paramilitary police force of 750 men that was formed under British colonial rule in 1835. These forces played an important role in the two world wars for British India. In October 1962 the Assam Rifles were the frontline troops in the beginning of the Chinese-Indian War. The Assam Rifles also maintains their peacekeeping roles in North-East in the face of tribal unrest and insurgency.

Special Frontier Force: It was created on 14 November 1962. Its main goal was to conduct covert operations behind Chinese lines in the event of another Indo-China war. Based in Chakrata, Uttarakhand, SFF is also known as the Establishment 22’ or just ‘22’.