ITBP inducts its first women officers

Context:

The India-China LAC guarding the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) force commissioned its first two women officers in combat after they completed their training.

Relevance:

GS-III: Internal Security Challenges (Various Security Forces/Agencies and their mandate)

Dimensions of the Article:

1. About the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP)
2. Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF)

About the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP)

• Indo-Tibetan Border Police Force (ITBPF) is a Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) functioning under the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India.
• The ITBP was established in 1962 under the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) act, during the India-China War and is a border guarding police force specializing in high altitude operations.
• However, in 1992, parliament enacted the Indo-Tibetan Border Police Force (ITBPF) Act and the rules were framed in 1994.
• The ITBP, which started with 4 battalions, has, since restructuring in 1978, undergone expansion to a force of 60 Battalions with 15 Sectors and 05 Frontiers as of 2018 with a sanctioned strength of almost 90 thousand personnel.
• The ITBP is trained in the Civil Medical Camp, disaster management, and nuclear, biological and chemical disasters.
• ITBP personnel have been deployed abroad in UN peacekeeping missions in various countries as well.
• Presently, ITBP is deployed on border guarding duties from Karakoram Pass in Ladakh to Jachep La in Arunachal Pradesh covering ~3,500 km of Indo-China Border.
• ITBP Border Out Posts are of the height upto 18,750 feet where the temperature dips down minus 40 degree Celsius.

For the first time: 2 women Assistant Commandants

• The ITBP started recruiting women combat officers in its cadre from 2016 through an all-India examination conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC).
• Before this, it only had combat women in the constabulary ranks.
• Out of the total 53 officers, 42 officers are in the general duty combat cadre, while 11 are in the engineering cadre of the about 90,000 personnel strong mountain warfare trained force.

Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF)

• The Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) comprises five Armed forces of the Union of India under the authority of the Ministry of Home Affairs.
• The 5 forces of CAPF are:

1. Border Security Force (BSF),
2. Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF),
3. Central Industrial Security Force (CISF),
4. Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and the
5. Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB).

• Apart from the primary role, all CAPFs are involved in assisting Police in Law & Order situations and also Army in Counter-Terrorist Operations. BSF & CRPF have assisted the army during external aggression in the past.
• Central Armed Police Forces personnel also serve in various important organisations such as Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), Special Protection Group (SPG), National Investigation Agency (NIA), Intelligence Bureau (IB), Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) etc.

-Source: The Hindu