Central Armed Police Forces have over 41,000 women personnel: Government

New Delhi: The Central Armed Police Forces such as the CRPF, BSF and the CISF have 41,606 women on their rolls, the government informed the Lok Sabha on Tuesday.

Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai said that steps were being taken to encourage recruitment of women personnel in the Central Armed Police Forces.

"The existing strength of women personnel in Central Armed Police Forces and Assam Rifles (AR) is 41,606," he said in written response to a question.

The total strength of all Central Armed Police Forces -- 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 Assam Rifles (AR) -- is around 10 lakh.

The minister said recruitment drives are being conducted by making wide publicity through the print and electronic media. Women are exempted from the payment of application fee.

Besides, he said, there are relaxations in Physical Standard Test (PST) and Physical Efficiency Test (PET) for women candidates for recruitment in the forces.

Facilities already available under the central government, like maternity leave and child care leave, are also applicable to women personnel of these forces, he said.