Paramilitary Forces of India

Paramilitary Forces Of India

According to the official definition adopted in 2011, "Paramilitary Forces" refers to three organisations which assist the Indian Armed Forces particularly closely and are led by officers of the Indian Army or Indian Navy. They are:

• The Assam Rifles (AR) 50,000 personnel
  (led by Indian Army officers reporting to the Ministry of Home Affairs)
• The Special Frontier Force (SFF) 10,000 personnel
  (led by Indian Army officers reporting to Indian Intelligence)
• The Indian Coast Guard 10,000 personnel (29 stations)
  (usually led by Indian Navy officers and reporting to the Ministry of Defence).

The term "paramilitary forces" was previously used to refer to a variety of armed services that aid the operations of the law enforcement agencies of India and the Indian Armed Forces. No single official definition existed, so the term normally included central armed police and often included state armed police.

In March 2011, at the request of the Indian Army, the Indian government authorized the Indian Army to provide definitive terminology. An extremely narrow definition of "paramilitary" was adopted which excluded services now known as the "Central Armed Police Forces" (CAPF) (e.g. the Central Reserve Police Force) and services now known as the "State Armed Police Forces". The Indian government's new terminology does not necessarily coincide with the existing terminology of the states of India; for example, the state of Bihar calls its state armed police force "Military Police". It is not yet clear how (or whether) such discrepancies will be resolved.

The Rashtriya Rifles are not a paramilitary force but part of the Indian Army.