‘Paramilitary forces to have 33 per cent women’

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Thirty-three per cent posts in Central paramilitary forces will be reserved for women, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh said on Sunday.

“We have decided to increase the strength of women in paramilitary forces to 33 per cent,” Mr. Singh said at a function organised by the Border Security Forces (BSF) here.

At present, the total strength of women personnel in the paramilitary forces is less than five per cent.

There are seven paramilitary forces, also called the Central armed police forces, in the country.

The CRPF, the BSF, the CISF, the ITBP, the SSB and the NSG have women armed contingents while the Assam Rifles does not have women in combat duties.

The total strength of all paramilitary forces is around 8 lakh.

All these forces report to the Home Ministry.

Last week, the government decided to increase the strength of women in police forces in Union Territories, including Delhi to 33 per cent.