Paramilitary forces to have 33% women quota, declares Home Minister Rajnath Singh

33% in central paramilitary forces will be reserved for women, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said on Sunday.

"We are planning to increase the strength of women in paramilitary forces to 33 %," Singh said at a function organised by Border Security Forces (BSF) in Attari in Amritsar.

At present, the total strength of women personnel in the paramilitary forces is less than 5%. There are seven paramilitary forces, also called central armed police forces, in the country. These are CRPF, BSF, CISF, ITBP, SSB, National Security Guard and Assam Rifles. CRPF, BSF, CISF, ITBP, SSB and NSG have women armed contingents while 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 had decided that the strength of women in police forces in Union Territories, including Delhi, will be increased to 33%. Police forces in UTs also report to the Home Ministry.