Central Armed Police Forces Act, 2026 Comes Into Force, Fixing IPS Deputation Quotas in Senior Ranks
The Central Armed Police Forces Act, 2026 came into force on 8 October 2026, six months after receiving Presidential assent on 9 April 2026, giving statutory footing to the share of senior CAPF posts reserved for IPS officers on deputation. The Act prescribes IPS deputation for 50% of Inspector General posts and at least 67% of Additional Director General posts, and covers all Special Director General and Director General posts. It applies to the BSF, CRPF, CISF, ITBP and SSB. The move settles a long-running cadre dispute between IPS officers and directly recruited CAPF cadre officers over promotion prospects in India's largest central police organisations.
India's seven Central Armed Police Forces are the BSF, CRPF, CISF, ITBP, SSB, NSG and Assam Rifles, all under the Ministry of Home Affairs | The CRPF, raised in 1939 as the Crown Representative's Police, is India's largest paramilitary force; the BSF was raised in 1965 after the Indo-Pak war | Police and public order are State List subjects under the Seventh Schedule, so CAPFs are deployed to states on request