28,926 vacancies in BSF, followed by 26,506 in CRPF

For representation only. Tribune file photo

New Delhi, March 16

There were 1,11,093 posts lying vacant across the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) and the Assam Rifles, with the majority of such vacancies at the constable-rank, the government informed the Lok Sabha on Tuesday.

The recruitment process was hit by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 but selection of nearly 56,000 constables was done for the CAPFs and the Assam Rifles recently, the government said.

Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai presented these figures, updated till September 1, 2020, in response to a query by BJP MP Rajyavardhan Rathore, a former Army officer who now represents Jaipur (Rural) in the Lok Sabha.

The CAPFs refer to seven central security forces of the country under administrative control of the Ministry of Home Affairs. They consist of the Border Security Force (BSF), the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), besides the Assam Rifles (AR) and the National Security Guard (NSG).

According to the data, there were 28,926 vacancies in the BSF followed by 26,506 in the CRPF, 23,906 in the CISF, 18,643 in the SSB, 7,328 in the AR and 5,784 in the ITBP as on September 1, 2020.

“Vacancies in the CAPFs and the AR arise due to retirements, resignations, deaths, new raisings, creation of new posts, cadre reviews, etc. and majority of vacancies are in the grade of constable,” Rai stated.

He said the vacancies arising in the CAPFs and the AR are filled up by various methods of recruitment such as direct recruitment, promotion, deputation as per the provisions of the respective Recruitment Rules.

Requisite measures are being taken to fill up the vacancies through various agencies like the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) and Staff Selection Commission (SSC) as well as by holding recruitment rallies, conducting departmental examinations and holding meetings of Departmental Promotion Committees (DPCs), he said.

The minister also stated that due to the COVID-19 pandemic recruitment processes got delayed.

“Recently the SSC has declared results for Constable (GD) Examination-2018 on January 28, 2021 and has selected 55,915 constables for the CAPFs and the AR,” Rai said.

“Filling up of vacancies is an ongoing continuous process which is done as per the administrative and operational requirements of the forces,” he added. PTI