A senior government official told News18 that the idea is to have young commanders on the ground to conduct operations and supervise a young crop of troops with a high level of fitness
Jammu and Kashmir will soon have young troops to deal with terrorism more effectively.
According to a senior official in the Ministry of Home Affairs, the government has initiated the process of recruiting and creating new posts in the two main forces — BSF and the CRPF. The plan is to include young troops in these forces up to the ground commander level, which will revamp the entire structure of deployment, making the forces younger.
The Border Security Force (BSF), which is primarily deployed along the India-Pakistan border, has created 7,210 posts this year, mainly comprising Group B and C level officials, with additional recruitment at the Assistant Commandant level.
Similarly, the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) will fill 11,000 posts, including Assistant Commandant positions. These vacancies will primarily address the need for younger officers to be deployed in elite wings and in the tense areas of Jammu and Kashmir.
“The idea is to have young commanders on the ground to conduct operations and supervise a young crop of troops with a high level of fitness. This will overhaul the complete structure of the forces to be supervised by mature leadership at the top. CRPF and BSF will also recruit over 100 officers each this year,” a senior government official aware of the development told News18.
The Central Armed Police Forces will be filling 506 posts of Assistant Commandants. Of these, BSF will fill 186 vacancies, while CRPF will recruit 120 Assistant Commandants who will undergo rigorous training. As Naxalism has decreased by almost 70 per cent, the CRPF will deploy these young recruits primarily in Jammu and Kashmir, with a few joining the VVIP security unit.
With the Jammu region witnessing an increase in terror activities, the young officers will have an edge in operations as it will be easier for them to navigate the terrain.
The CRPF is already facing an acute shortage of young officers and troops. Consequently, the force has increased the age limit for joining elite units such as CoBRA, the anti-Naxal unit. The issue of aged commanders has also been raised in joint meetings at the highest levels.
