Focus: GS II- Government Policies and Interventions
Why in News?
Under Operation Upalabdh, the Railway Protection Force (RPF) began a pan-India drive against accused black marketeers.
What is the purpose of Operation Upalabdh?
The month-long Operation Upalabdh campaign was successful in significantly reducing the activity of touts and making railway tickets more accessible to the general public.
What is the Railway Protection Force?
- The RPF is a part of the Union of India’s Armed Forces. It is a security unit that is owned by the Ministry of Railways in India.
- The RPF has a history that goes back to 1882, when individual railway corporations established their own guards to defend railway property.
- An statute of Parliament designated the force as a statutory force in 1957, and it was later designated as an Armed Force of the Union of India in 1985. The RPF Regulations were released in 1966 after the RPF Rules were approved in 1959. The Railway Property (Unlawful Possession) Act, 1966, gave the Force certain limited authority to apprehend and prosecute offenders involved with railway property in the same year.
- RPF has been entrusted with the primary responsibility of ensuring the safety of railway property. While the provisions of the RPF Act were quickly shown to be ineffective in maintaining a disciplined and effective force, the RPF Rules and Regulations were also found to be judicially unsound.
- In 1985, Parliament amended the RPF Act, 1957 to provide for the formation and maintenance of the Force as an armed force of the Union.
- This Force gathers personnel from all around the country, and as a result, it takes pride in displaying a really national character and image.
- Since its birth, the Force has won acclaim and honour.
