MHA sanctions 2,000 posts in CISF

The Union Home Ministry has approved the creation of 2,000 posts in the CISF to augment its strength to effectively guard vital installations, including airports, atomic installations, metro networks, officials said.

The Central Industrial Security Force guards about 60 civil airports in the country and has an elite VVIP security wing under its command called the Special Security Group (SSG).

The Union Home Ministry has recently given approval for the creation of about 2,000 posts in the CISF, a senior official said on Tuesday.

With the sanctioned posts, from constables to the inspector level, the CISF can raise two more battalions (1,000 personnel each) within the next two years, the official said.

The current strength of the CISF is about 1.8 lakh personnel.

The CISF guards civil airports, nuclear plants, power stations, vital government buildings, Delhi Metro besides a host of other key installations.

The government is also all set to hand over the security-related duties at Srinagar and Jammu airports to the CISF by the end of this month. The CISF will replace the Jammu and Kashmir Police in these two airports.

The government has already made it clear its intention of entrusting more and more civil airports to the CISF and increasing its task in the domain of VVIP security.

The augmentation of the CISF strength is part of this exercise, another official said.

After it was tasked to secure vital infrastructure in the private domain post the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, the forces' role in this domain is also increasing with about a dozen private-sector facilities already under its command, the official said.