NEW DELHI: The government on Wednesday informed Rajya Sabha that there existed a total vacancy of 93,139 personnel in the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs), which is nearly 8.5 percent of their overall sanctioned strength.
In a written reply to a question asked by MP Ashok Mittal, Minister of State (MoS) Home Affairs Nityanand Rai said that the vacancies in CAPFs are reported as on January 1, 2026.
According to data presented by the MoS (Home) in the Upper House, the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) is facing the highest rate of 17.7 per cent vacancy with 28,342 posts remaining vacant.
Even as the rate of 9 per cent vacancy is lower than its other counterparts among the CAPFs, the Central Armed Police Force (CRPF), the largest among the paramilitary, which has its primary responsibility of ensuring internal security and assisting state police forces in maintaining law & order, has the second highest number of vacancies, which stands at 27,400 posts.
The Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), which is responsible for guarding India’s sensitive borders with China, has the second highest rate of vacancies at 13.2 percent (12,333 posts). The Border Security Force (BSF), which guards India’s frontiers in eastern (Bangladesh) and Western (Pakistan) flanks, has 14,531 vacant posts with a rate of vacancy at 5.6 percent.
Similarly, the Sashastra Seema Bal, which guards India’s porous border with Nepal and Bhutan, has 6,784 vacant posts with a vacancy rate at 7.2 percent and Assam Rifles, which guards India’s borders with Myanmar and also play the role of anti-insurgency force, has a vacancy rate at six percent with a total 3,749 posts vacant.
Meanwhile, officials in the government insisted that filling up of vacancies is a continuous process. Between April 2023 and February 2024, the MHA successfully inducted 67,345 personnel, and to further bridge the gap, the ministry has already notified an additional 64,091 vacancies which are currently at various stages of the recruitment cycle, they said.
The officials said, the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has recently issued a notification to fill 349 Assistant Commandant (AC) positions.
Meanwhile, the MoS (Home) also informed the House that directions have been issued to all the CAPFs and Assam Rifles to undertake recruitment against the vacant posts in a time-bound manner.
Yearly recruitment for the post of Constable (General Duty) for which a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed with the Staff Selection Commission (SSC) and for coordinating recruitment to General Duty posts, a nodal officer for recruitment in the rank of Constable, Sub-Inspector and Assistant Commandant in each of the forces has been nominated on a long-term basis.