The selection process in the armed forces is open to all citizens without any discrimination on the basis of caste, Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai told the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.
The recruitment in Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) and Assam Rifles is not made on the basis of caste, Rai added while responding to the query of YSRCP MP V Vijay Sai Reddy.
However, Rai categorized, reservation is provided for Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST), Other Backward Class (OBC) and Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) category in accordance with the extant policy of the government.
“Vacancies reserved for SC category are filled up from the candidates belonging to SC category only,” said Rai.
As per the reservation policy of the government, the MoS said, unfilled vacancies of SC quota are carried forward to the subsequent recruitment cycles.
The reply came when Reddy asked “whether it is a fact that armed forces do not recruit on the basis of the caste of candidates”; “whether it is also a fact that recruitment in Central Para Military Force (CPMFs) is done on the basis of castes and reservation”; and “whether it is also a fact that if there is SC vacancy in any CPMF, it has to be filled only with the SC candidate otherwise it will upset the entire quota system”.
Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) refers to the uniform nomenclature of seven central armed police organizations under the authority of the Ministry of Home Affairs. Their role is to defend the national interest mainly against internal threats. They are the Border Security Force (BSF), Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), National Security Guard (NSG) and Special Protection Group (SPG).
A day ago, the Minister informed the Lok Sabha that there were a total of 84,659 vacancies in the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) and Assam Rifles till July 31, 2022, and the government had decided to fill up existing vacancies by December 2023.
Of the total, a maximum of 27, 510 vacancies are noted in the CRPF followed by 23,435 vacancies in BSF, 11,765 in CISF, 11,143 in SSB, 6,044 in Assam Rifles and 4,762 in ITBP.
As per the instructions of the Department of Personnel and Training issued vide notification dated October 4, 2012, Rai said “10 per cent vacancies in Central Armed Police Forces and Assam Rifles are reserved for ex-servicemen upto the level of Assistant Commandant to be filled by direct recruitment”.
Further, Rai had also said, in-principle approval has been given for reservation of 10 per cent of vacancies for ex-Agniveers in the recruitment to the post of Constable (General Duty) and Rifleman in the CAPF and Assam Rifles when the first batch of ex-Agniveers is available for recruitment after completing engagement period of four years in defence forces.
He further stated that the examination for filling up of 25,271 posts of Constable (General Duty) has already been conducted.
To fill up the vacancies expeditiously in CAPFs and Assam Rifles, the Minister said the government has taken several steps like 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).
For coordinating recruitment to General Duty posts, a Nodal Force each for recruitment in the rank of Constable (General Duty), Sub-Inspector (GD) and Assistant Commandant (General Duty) has been nominated on a long-term basis, Rai had said.
He then said that directions were issued to all CAPFs and Assam Rifles to undertake recruitment against vacant posts in Non-General Duty cadres in a time-bound manner.
It is also directed for conducting a timely meeting of the Departmental Promotion Committee (DPC) for filling up of promotional vacancies, the Minister added.
