Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai reported that as of July 1, 2024, there are 10,145 vacant posts in the Border Security Force (BSF), while 7,372 new posts have been created in the BSF over the past five years. Additionally, 54,760 personnel have been recruited into the BSF during the same period.
Speaking at the Rajya Sabha, MoS Home Nityanand Rai stated, “Creation of posts and cadre restructuring is an ongoing process based on the operational requirement of the force. The sanctioned strength of BSF as of July 1, 2024, is 2,65,808, and the posted strength is 2,55,663.”
He also mentioned that the upper age limit will be relaxable by up to three years for Ex-Agniveers candidates. Moreover, an age relaxation of five years beyond the prescribed upper age limit will be provided to candidates of the first batch of the Agnipath Scheme, and Ex-Agniveers will be exempted from the Physical Efficiency Test (PET).
In response to a query regarding the number of cases registered under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), along with the state-wise details and the number of detention centres established under the Act, Rai stated that the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) compiles and publishes crime data annually in its ‘Crime in India’ report. The latest available report is for 2022. According to these reports, state and union territory-wise details of cases registered under UAPA for the years 2020, 2021, and 2022 are provided in an annexure.
“2615 cases have been registered in the country under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) between 2020 and 2022. Under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 (UAPA), there is no provision for the establishment of detention centres,” said MoS Home Nityanand Rai.
Addressing a question about the steps taken by the government to consolidate state efforts in providing modern equipment to the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), Rai said that, according to the National Policy on Disaster Management, the responsibility of raising and equipping the SDRF rests with the respective state and union territory governments.
“The Central Government regularly follows up with the State/UT Governments regarding raising and equipping the SDRF with adequate disaster response capabilities. National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) also conducts annual capacity building workshops for SDRF, in which this issue is discussed and its need is highlighted. To facilitate the State/UT Governments, the Central Government has also shared the list of disaster response equipment, with the request to equip its SDRF in line with the NDRF,” he added.
Rai further noted that state governments have been advised to use the ‘Preparedness and Capacity Building’ window of their State Disaster Response Fund to equip their SDRFs. Additionally, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) advises states and union territories on raising and equipping their SDRFs.
