All info on CENTRAL ARMED POLICE FORCE (CAPF)

·         CAPF, formerly referred as Paramilitary forces were given a uniform nomenclature for five forces namely- CRPF, CISF, BSF, ITBP, SSB to avoid confusion.

·         CAPF are directly controlled by Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) headed by Home Minister of India.

·         They have their own cadre of Officers with top ranks filled by IPS officers on deputation .There is no equivalence of ranks between defence forces and CAPF since, there is no government established relativity in terms of rank.

·         Central Armed Police Forces perform duties ranging from Counter insurgency operations, VIP security, anti naxalite action, counter terrorism, anti riot operations, search and rescue, border security, disaster management, etc.

·         CAPF  are equipped with modern state of the art weapons to carry out their resolute actions.

A brief introduction of them are listed below-

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CENTRAL RESERVE POLICE FORCE(CRPF)

·         It is the largest paramilitary organisation of the country and actively looking after the internal security of every part of India.

·         It is performing a variety of duties from counter-naxal operations to guarding of vital installations and are operating abroad as part of UN Peacekeeping Forces.

·         It includes Rapid Action Force (RAF) trained to respond to sectarian violence.

·         It has two special units:-

COBRA- This unit is responsible to counter the naxalite movement in India, trained in guerrilla warfare. This elite fighting unit has been trained to track , hunt and eliminate small naxalite groups.

Commando 469- This unit is specialized in counter terrorism , reconnaissance sabotage and have the honour of being the most elite among the forces .They undergo extremely rigorous training for years and are classified as among the toughest and most competent among the forces.

BORDER SECURITY FORCE(BSF)

·         BSF also known as “The First Wall of Defence of Indian Territories” are charged with guarding India’s land border during peace time and preventing transnational crime.

·         It has been given the task of counter insurgency and counter terrorism operations in J&K, Punjab, North east.

·         It is the only CAPF to have its own Air Wing, Marine wing and Artillery regiments.

·         BSF maintains a Tear Smoke Unit(TSU) which is responsible for producing tear gas munitions required for the anti riot forces.

·         Three battalions of BSF are designated for National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF) for disaster management and rescue operations.

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INDO TIBETAN BORDER POLICE(ITBP)

·         ITBP is deployed for guarding duties on the border with China from Karakoram pass in Ladakh to Diphu La pass in Arunachal Pradesh covering a total distance of 2488 km.

·         It is a mountain trained force and most of the officers & men are professionally trained mountaineers and skiers.

·         The force is synonymous with adventure and dare-devilry and has taken numerous mountaineering expeditions.

·         ITBP personnel have been trained in civil medical camps, disaster management and nuclear, biological and chemical disasters. Hence, they are deployed abroad in UN peacekeeping missions in Bosnia, Kosovo.

CENTRAL INDUSTRIAL SECURITY FORCE(CISF)

·         It is the largest industrial security force in the world protecting establishments such as atomic power plants, mints, metro, oil fields and refineries, major ports ,heavy engg industries ,airports ,PSUs.

·         CISF is responsible for the security of Delhi Metro, who has been guarding the system ever since they took over from the Delhi Police in 2007.

·         It has a unique Fire Wing which helps during fire accidents in industries where CISF is on guard.

·         CISF also protects Infosys Bangalore and Pune campus, Reliance refinery Jamnagar.

SASHASTRA SEEMA BAL(SSB)

·         SSB has been assigned the task of guarding the 1751 km long Indo-Nepal border and Indo-Bhutan border.

·         It prevents cross border crimes, smuggling and other anti national activities.

·         It is the first border guarding force which has decided to recruit women battalions as combat officers under the approval of government of India.

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Being defence enthusiasts, we skip a beat while learning about the valour and duties of the forces. Now the real question persists, how to get into these forces??

The ways to enter Central Armed Police Forces are:-

1)      CAPF Assistant Commandant (AC) Exam-

Assistant commandant is group ‘A’ gazetted officers heading a company in these forces. The exam is conducted yearly and consists of three stages namely-

a)      Written exam

Paper 1: General ability and intelligence

Paper 2: Essay and comprehension

b)      Physical endurance test(PET) & Medical Standard-

	Male	Female
800m race	3min 45s	4min 45s
100m race	16s	18s
Long Jump	3.5m	3m
Shot put(7.26kg)	4.5m	-

c)       Interview

      Age limit: 20-25 yrs

2)      CPO /SI Exam:

Post: SI/ASI & Intelligence Officer in CISF, SSB, ITBP ,Delhi Police ,CRPF.

The exam is conducted annually by Staff Selection Commission .The different stages are-

a)      Written Exam-

Paper 1: General Ability and Intelligence.

Paper 2: English Language and Comprehension.

b)      Physical endurance test(PET) & Medical Standard-

	Male	Female
1600m race	6.5min	-
800m race	-	4min
100m race	16s	18s
Long Jump	3.65m	2.7m
Shot put(16lbs)	4.5m	-
High jump	1.2m	0.9m

c)       Interview

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About the Author: Aviral Singh is a Mechanical Engineer from AKGEC and a die heart defense aspirant. He loves dramatics, performing in street plays and doing miming. He has won many prizes through his performances at various levels. This article is a way to help defense aspirants to present his critical views on the topic, on the forum so that collective exchange of thoughts can take place.