Central Police Forces: Overview and Issues
Distilled Policy Brief
- Under the Constitution, police and public order are state subjects, but the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) maintains seven Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) to assist state governments in internal security, border guarding, and counterterrorism.
- As of January 2017, 15% of sanctioned posts in the seven CAPFs were vacant, while personnel in border guarding forces faced arduous working conditions of 16-18 hours per day.
- Parliamentary committees noted heavy over-reliance by states on central forces for routine law and order, alongside cumbersome procurement under Modernization Plan-II (2012-17).
🎯 Prelims High-Yield Examination Points
Constitutional classification of Police and Public Order under State subjects versus central support via Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).
⚖️ Mains Analytical & Syllabus Linkages
Structural and operational bottlenecks in CAPFs, including state over-dependence, procurement delays, and working condition disparities.
🎯 UPSC Prelims Practice Drill
With reference to the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) in India, consider the following statements: 1. Under the Constitution of India, both 'Police' and 'Public Order' are State subjects. 2. The Assam Rifles and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) are categorized as border guarding forces under the CAPFs. 3. The Parliamentary Estimates Committee noted that heavy reliance by states on central forces for routine law and order curtails training time and impacts border-guarding operations. Which of the statements given above are correct?
- [A] 1 and 2 only
- [B] 2 and 3 only
- [C] 1 and 3 only
- [D] 1, 2 and 3
▶ Reveal Official Answer & Analytical Explanation
All three statements are correct. Under the Constitution, police and public order are state subjects, though the Ministry of Home Affairs maintains seven CAPFs to assist states. Assam Rifles and ITBP are two of the four designated border guarding forces (along with BSF and SSB). The Estimates Committee highlighted that excessive deployment for routine law and order affects anti-insurgency, border guarding operations, and curtails training and recuperation time.
🏛️ Historical Twin PYQ Anchor (2021)
Consider the following statements regarding the "National Clean Air Programme (NCAP)": 1. It is implemented by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. 2. Central Pollution Control Board acts as the sole regulatory executive body.