News Analysis India

Tag: CAPF

  • Over 83,000 posts vacant in Central Armed Police Forces: Centre

    Express News Service

    NEW DELHI: With over 83,000 vacancies, India’s Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) are facing a shortage of manpower, according to the government. 

    The forces in which the posts are lying vacant are Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Border Security Force (BSF), Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) and Assam Rifles.

    MoS Home Affairs Nityanand Rai on Wednesday informed the parliament that as many as 83,217 posts in the CAPF were vacant as of Jan. 1, 2023, against a total sanctioned strength of 10,15,237. The shortage of manpower since 2019 stands at 8 per cent of the total sanctioned strength. With 29,283 vacancies, the CRPF suffered from the highest shortage of personnel.

    Rai said the government has been taking measures to fill the vacancies, adding, “The recruitment is being undertaken in mission mode to fill these vacancies and it is planned to be completed in 2023.”

    “It may also be mentioned that 32,181 personnel have been recruited between July 2022 to January 2023. Further, 64,444 vacancies have been notified and are at different stages of recruitment,” he added.

    Sources within the CAPFs said that the peculiarity of the service conditions requires maintaining a minimum force level every time and that the scarcity of personnel affects the Units the most.

    “Keeping the service conditions and deployments we cannot let the number of personnel present in a Unit come down from a minimum number. And, the duties of those not in the Unit have to be perforce carried out by those in the Unit and this leads to additional work to every person,” a source informed TNIE.

    Meanwhile, the number of women personnel in the CAPFs and the ARs has been consistently increasing during the same period. In 2019, as many as 27,047 (2.9 per cent) of 9.12 lakh personnel in service were women. The number has now risen to 3.82 per cent, with at least 35,074 women in service from a total of 9.16 lakh personnel. 

    The CAPFs function under the administrative control of the Ministry of Home Affairs. Of the CAPFs, AR, BSF, ITBP and SSB help guard the country’s border, while, the CRPF is deployed for internal security duties, maintenance of law and order and anti-militancy operations in Jammu and Kashmir and the northeast.

    NEW DELHI: With over 83,000 vacancies, India’s Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) are facing a shortage of manpower, according to the government. 

    The forces in which the posts are lying vacant are Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Border Security Force (BSF), Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) and Assam Rifles.

    MoS Home Affairs Nityanand Rai on Wednesday informed the parliament that as many as 83,217 posts in the CAPF were vacant as of Jan. 1, 2023, against a total sanctioned strength of 10,15,237. The shortage of manpower since 2019 stands at 8 per cent of the total sanctioned strength. With 29,283 vacancies, the CRPF suffered from the highest shortage of personnel.

    Rai said the government has been taking measures to fill the vacancies, adding, “The recruitment is being undertaken in mission mode to fill these vacancies and it is planned to be completed in 2023.”

    “It may also be mentioned that 32,181 personnel have been recruited between July 2022 to January 2023. Further, 64,444 vacancies have been notified and are at different stages of recruitment,” he added.

    Sources within the CAPFs said that the peculiarity of the service conditions requires maintaining a minimum force level every time and that the scarcity of personnel affects the Units the most.

    “Keeping the service conditions and deployments we cannot let the number of personnel present in a Unit come down from a minimum number. And, the duties of those not in the Unit have to be perforce carried out by those in the Unit and this leads to additional work to every person,” a source informed TNIE.

    Meanwhile, the number of women personnel in the CAPFs and the ARs has been consistently increasing during the same period. In 2019, as many as 27,047 (2.9 per cent) of 9.12 lakh personnel in service were women. The number has now risen to 3.82 per cent, with at least 35,074 women in service from a total of 9.16 lakh personnel. 

    The CAPFs function under the administrative control of the Ministry of Home Affairs. Of the CAPFs, AR, BSF, ITBP and SSB help guard the country’s border, while, the CRPF is deployed for internal security duties, maintenance of law and order and anti-militancy operations in Jammu and Kashmir and the northeast.

  • CAPFs armed forces of the Union to be included in Old Pension Scheme: Delhi High Court

    Express News Service

    NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court of Delhi on Tuesday passed an order on the implementation of the old pension scheme in the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF), terming the forces as the “armed forces of the Union of India”.

    In Srinivas Sharma v. Union of India, the court recognised the central paramilitary forces as ‘armed forces of the Union of India’. The central government, in many cases, was not recognising the CAPFs as armed forces.

    The case for petitioners was represented by Advocate Ankur Chhibber. Speaking to The New Indian Express he said, “The Court held that the CAPFs are an Armed Force of the Union as prescribed within Article 246 Schedule 7 of Constitution of India and hence are not covered under the New Pension Scheme as provided in the notification dated 22 December 2003 and thus all employees of CAPFs to be governed by the Old Pension Scheme.”

    Under their Acts, all the CAPFs are termed as the “armed force of the Union”.

    The New Pension Scheme (NPS) replaced the old System of Defined benefit Pension System came into operation w.e.f. 1.1.2004 and became applicable to all new entrants to Central Govt. service except to the three Armed Forces viz Army, Navy and Air Force. Under the NPS all Government servants have been making a contribution of 10% of their Basic Pay and Dearness Allowance (DA) which is deducted from their salary bill every month and in addition 14% is contributed by the government. Once the OPS gets into application the personnel will not be required to make this contribution.

    Ranbir Singh, General Secretary, Confederation of Ex-paramilitary Martyr’s Welfare Association (CoEpMWA) expressed happiness and termed it as a step, “which will motivate the CAPF personnel who serve in tough terrain and conditions and are deployed across locations.”

    The Total Sanctioned Strength of CAPFs stands at 11,09,511 personnel which come under  Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) includes, such as the Assam Rifles (AR), Border Security Force (BSF), Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), National Security Guard (NSG) and Seema Suraksha Bal (SSB). They function under the administrative control of the Ministry of Home Affairs, New Delhi. Only in the case of the AR that it functions under the administrative control of the MHA, its operational control rests with the Ministry of Defence. Of the CAPFs, the AR, BSF, ITBP and SSB are Border Guarding Forces. The NSG is a commando-trained force for anti-terrorist operations.

    The CISF provides security and protection to industrial undertakings and vital installations. The CRPF is the lead internal security force and is also deployed in aid of civil power in matters relating to the maintenance of law and order and counterinsurgency.

    NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court of Delhi on Tuesday passed an order on the implementation of the old pension scheme in the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF), terming the forces as the “armed forces of the Union of India”.

    In Srinivas Sharma v. Union of India, the court recognised the central paramilitary forces as ‘armed forces of the Union of India’. The central government, in many cases, was not recognising the CAPFs as armed forces.

    The case for petitioners was represented by Advocate Ankur Chhibber. Speaking to The New Indian Express he said, “The Court held that the CAPFs are an Armed Force of the Union as prescribed within Article 246 Schedule 7 of Constitution of India and hence are not covered under the New Pension Scheme as provided in the notification dated 22 December 2003 and thus all employees of CAPFs to be governed by the Old Pension Scheme.”

    Under their Acts, all the CAPFs are termed as the “armed force of the Union”.

    The New Pension Scheme (NPS) replaced the old System of Defined benefit Pension System came into operation w.e.f. 1.1.2004 and became applicable to all new entrants to Central Govt. service except to the three Armed Forces viz Army, Navy and Air Force. Under the NPS all Government servants have been making a contribution of 10% of their Basic Pay and Dearness Allowance (DA) which is deducted from their salary bill every month and in addition 14% is contributed by the government. Once the OPS gets into application the personnel will not be required to make this contribution.

    Ranbir Singh, General Secretary, Confederation of Ex-paramilitary Martyr’s Welfare Association (CoEpMWA) expressed happiness and termed it as a step, “which will motivate the CAPF personnel who serve in tough terrain and conditions and are deployed across locations.”

    The Total Sanctioned Strength of CAPFs stands at 11,09,511 personnel which come under  Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) includes, such as the Assam Rifles (AR), Border Security Force (BSF), Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), National Security Guard (NSG) and Seema Suraksha Bal (SSB). They function under the administrative control of the Ministry of Home Affairs, New Delhi. Only in the case of the AR that it functions under the administrative control of the MHA, its operational control rests with the Ministry of Defence. Of the CAPFs, the AR, BSF, ITBP and SSB are Border Guarding Forces. The NSG is a commando-trained force for anti-terrorist operations.

    The CISF provides security and protection to industrial undertakings and vital installations. The CRPF is the lead internal security force and is also deployed in aid of civil power in matters relating to the maintenance of law and order and counterinsurgency.

  • Rooftop solar energy panels to be set up in all Central Armed Police Forces establishments 

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: As part of a mega green initiative, the Union home ministry has decided to set up rooftop solar energy panels in all installations of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) across the country.

    The move will help generate solar power up to 71.68 megawatts and facilitate use of green power in a large number of security establishments throughout India.

    As a step toward the Government of India’s efforts to promote renewable energy and thereby move towards a carbon-neutral economy, the home ministry has initiated a proposal to install solar energy panels on the campuses of the CAPFs and the National Security Guard (NSG), a statement from the Ministry of Home Affairs said.

    Accordingly, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed on May 6 between the home ministry and the Solar Energy Corporation of India Limited (SECI) here in the presence of Union home secretary and secretary, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, the statement said.

    This umbrella MoU envisages collaboration between the two parties for jointly undertaking installation of solar rooftop photovoltaic power panels.

    The CAPFs – the CRPF, BSF, CISF, ITBP and SSB – have a combined strength of about 10 lakh personnel and they are deployed in different parts of the country in various security duties.

    On the basis of available data, the SECI has estimated a total solar power potential of 71.68 MW in the campuses of the CAPFs and the NSG.

    The SECI, having expertise in the field of solar power projects, will either directly or through an agency or agencies selected through a competitive bidding process, supports the home ministry in implementing rooftop solar PV power panels.

  • Union Home Ministry mulls to re-designate ‘second-in-command’ rank in Central Armed Police Forces

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The Ministry of Home Affairs has sought comments from central security forces on a proposal received from the CRPF to re-name the officer rank of ‘second-in-command’ as ‘additional commandant’ and end the “embarrassment” these personnel suffer in explaining their designation, officials said.

    A second-in-command rank officer of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) and the Assam Rifles is an analogous post to the superintendent rank in the regular police establishment.

    Officers are inducted in CAPFs like CRPF, BSF, ITBP, SSB and CISF in the entry rank of Assistant Commandant and with the first promotion, they are designated as second-in-command (2IC in short) and subsequently as commandant which is equal to senior SP rank of the police.

    The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), country’s largest paramilitary with about 3.25 lakh personnel on its rolls, has recently written to the home ministry, stating officers of this rank find it “difficult to explain their rank and profile in civil society”.

    “Even in various government organisations, the rank of second-in-command is difficult to be explained. It goes without saying that a CAPF officer should take pride in his rank, but the rank of 2IC fails to add to the pride of the officers and rather becomes a matter of embarrassment,” the CRPF proposal accessed by PTI said.

    The paramilitary force has sought re-designating the 2IC rank as additional commandant, following which the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has written to the other four CAPFs and the Assam Rifles to furnish their comments.

    A home ministry officer said the issue was not that “tricky” and the ministry may issue a notification once the comments are received from all the forces and a decision is made. A second-in-command rank officer, as the name goes, is the deputy of the commanding officer of a CAPF unit or battalion.

    So, it will be appropriate if this designation is given a proper name, a senior CAPF officer said. For example, in the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), a 2IC rank officer is called Commandant and the officer immediately senior to him as Senior Commandant, he said. “A uniformity should be made in all the CAPFs vis-a-vis the 2IC rank,” another officer said.

    He said such a proposal of re-designating the 2IC rank was discussed many years ago between the CAPFs and the MHA, but nothing came out of it, the second officer quoted above said. The over 10 lakh strength CAPFs and the Assam Rifles are deployed for rendering a variety of internal security duties apart from border guarding and protecting VIPs.

  • 60,000 cops, 845 CAPF companies deployed for last phase of Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections

    By PTI

    LUCKNOW: Over 60,000 police personnel and 845 companies of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) will be deployed during the seventh and final phase of the Uttar Pradesh assembly polls on Monday, according to officials.

    In the seventh phase, voting is proposed in 54 constituencies across nine districts — Chandauli, Ghazipur, Jaunpur, Azamgarh, Mau, Mirzapur, Sonbhadra, Bhadohi and Varanasi, the Uttar Pradesh Police said in a statement.

    Voting will be held at 12,205 polling stations and 23,535 polling booths in 177 police station areas, it said.

    “Of them, 28 assembly constituencies of Pindra, Rohaniya, Sewapuri, Shahganj, Malhani, Madiyahun, Kerakat, Machhlishahr, Badlapur, Mungarabadshahpur, Jaunpur Sadar, Jafrabad, Mohammadabad, Jamnian, Saidpur, Zahoorabad, Saidraja, Chakia, Azamgarh, Phulpur Powai, Didarganj, Mau Sadar, Gyanpur, Ajra, Shivpur, Varanasi North, Varanasi South, Varanasi Cantonment have been kept in the vulnerable category,” the police said.

    “A total of 701 localities have been marked as vulnerable in the seventh phase, while 3,359 polling places have been considered as critical,” the police said in a statement.

    In the seventh phase, 78 Pink Booths (women booths) have been arranged to motivate women to vote, and 12 women inspectors or sub-inspectors and 216 women constables or head constables have been deployed, it said.

    As per the instructions of the Election Commission, all 12,205 polling stations will be covered by the CAPF.

    For the seventh phase, Uttar Pradesh has received 845 companies of CAPF, it said.

    According to officials, a CAPF company usually has an operational strength of around 70-80 personnel.

    “Out of these, 778 companies have been engaged for booth duty and six companies have been engaged for EVM security duty. The others have been assigned law and order duties, and postings on international and inter-state barriers,” according to the statement.

    Similarly, it said, duties of 6,662 inspectors or sub-inspectors and 53,424 head constables or constables of the Uttar Pradesh Police have been fixed, along with 19 companies of the Provincial Armed Constabulary.

    The Uttar Pradesh Police said 65,987 licensed weapons had been deposited with it in the run-up to the assembly polls.

    Another 34 licensed weapons have been seized and license of 169 arms have been cancelled since the day the code of conduct came into force in the nine poll-bound districts of the seventh phase, it added.

    In view of the possibility of breach of peace during elections, 41,227 preventive actions have been taken against 4,20,389 people, it said.

    Police said they also seized 1,010 illegal arms and 881 cartridges while busting three illegal arms factories.

    “Till now, a total of Rs 2.25 crore cash, illicit liquor worth Rs 4 crore, narcotics worth Rs 3.17 crore have been seized ahead of elections in the region,” the police statement said.

    “So far, 71 cognizable offence and 68 non-cognizable offence cases have been registered for violating the code of conduct in these districts, while 17 cases have been registered regarding violation of the election-related guidelines,” it read.

  • Centre mulls psychological evaluation of CAPF assistant commandant candidates

    By Express News Service

    NEW DELHI: The central government is mulling psychological evaluation of candidates for the post of assistant commandant in the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs), according to sources in the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). The proposal comes amid an increase in incidents of suicides and fratricides in the CAPFs. 

    A senior MHA official said the current syllabus and pattern of examination is being studied and the Defence Institute of Psychological Research (DIPR) has been roped in to help design a blueprint to assess the psychological abilities of the candidates. The official added that the syllabus and pattern of the examination has remained untouched for around two decades.

    Besides introducing ways to assess the psychological well-being of the candidate, the ministry is also considering to analyze the technical and cyber knowledge of the candidates. In the current examination, there is not much emphasis on cyber and digital knowledge but insurgent-affected areas like Kashmir and Northeast and Naxal-affected areas require one to have a fair cyber knowledge, an official said. 

    The CAPFs comprise the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Border Security Force (BSF), Central Industrial  Security Force (CISF), National Security Guard (NSG),  Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB). 

  • West Bengal polls 2021: CM Mamata Banerjee warns CAPF of legal consequences after election

    By Express News Service
    KOLKATA: Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee on Sunday warned central force personnel deployed in West Bengal on poll duty that they would face legal consequences for their acts and high-handedness at the behest of the BJP after the elections.

    Claiming the TMC would come to power for the third consecutive term in Bengal, Mamata said the BJP leaders would not be there after the elections and the central force personnel, who are accused of working for the saffron camp, would have to come here to comply with the legal formalities against them.

    While addressing a rally at Gaighata in Bongaon, North 24 Parganas, Mamata, who has been coming down heavily on the central forces since the election started and which has only become intense after the Cooch Behar firing, said, “Do not act and show your atrocities and highhandedness at the behest of the BJP. After the election BJP leaders will not be beside you. After coming to power, we will pursue all incidents of your high-handedness. You will have to come here repeatedly to face legal consequences.”

    Referring to the firing at Sitalkuchi in Cooch Behar, in which four persons were gunned down, the West Bengal chief minister said, “An FIR has been registered in this incident. We have identified the company of the central force that opened fire. Legal formalities will be initiated after the election. Do not show your high-handedness in the coming phases of the election.”

    In a recent rally, Mamata showed a piece of paper and claimed she collected the names of the CISF personnel who had pulled the trigger in Cooch Behar.

    Earlier, Election Commission banned the firebrand politician from poll campaigns for 24 hours for her statement in a public rally asking women electorates to gherao central force personnel.

    When Mamata never missed an opportunity to mention Cooch Behar firing in her speeches since the incident took place, the BJP’s high-command, too, is citing the same episode to hit out at Mamata on the issue of instigating the electorates of a particular community. BJP’s attack has become more intense after the party released an audio tape in which Mamata is purportedly heard asking TMC’s Sitalkuchi candidate to keep the bodies of the victim as she would lead a rally with it.

    Echoing what Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Mamata’s “plan” to take out a rally with the bodies of Cooch Behar firing deceased, Union Home minister Amit Shah on Sunday accused her of playing politics over the death of four persons.

    “The incident was a fall out her instigation. Now she is doing politics over the dead bodies of four,” said Shah in a rally at purbasthali, East Burdwan, claiming the BJP already secured victory in 122 Assembly constituencies out 180 where polls were conducted till fifth phase.

  • 684 companies of CAPF to be deployed in first phase of West Bengal polls 2021

    By PTI
    KOLKATA: The Election Commission will deploy at least 684 companies of CAPF in 10,288 booths spread in about 7,034 premises in five districts in the first phase of polling in West Bengal on March 27, a senior official said on Saturday.

    In the first phase, election is scheduled in 30 assembly constituencies of Purulia, Bankura, Jhargram, Purba Medinipur (Part 1) and Paschim Medinipur (Part 1), he said.

    Keeping in mind the Maoist activity in Jhargram district, the EC has decided to deploy 11 paramilitary personnel per booth, the highest in any election in the state so far, the official said.

    The other districts where election will be held on that day will have an average of six paramilitary personnel per booth.

    The official said altogether 144 companies of central forces will be deployed in Jhargram for the election.

    “All the 1,307 booths spread over 1,010 premises in Jhargram have been declared as left wing extremist-affected areas and we have decided to deploy 127 companies of the central forces only for booth management. The EC has allotted approximately 11 personnel to manage each booth in this district,” he said.

    Fourteen companies of CAPF will be used as quick response teams, one for the maintenance of the strong room and another two companies of the central force will be kept in reserve as the strike force in the district and sub-divisional levels in the district, he said.

    So far as the other districts are concerned, Purulia has the highest concentration of forces with 185 companies to be deployed in 3127 booths spread over 2025 premises.

    In Purba Medinipur 148 companies of CAPF will be deployed in 2,437 booths located in 1,686 premises and 124 companies have been allotted for 2,089 booths at 1,363 premises in Paschim Medinipur district, he said.

    Bankura which has 1,328 booths spread over 950 premises will have the least deployment – only 83 companies, the official said.

    About deployment of the state police, he said 22,092 of its personnel will be engaged in the first phase.

    The state force includes 173 inspectors, 2,661 sub-inspectors or assistant sub-inspectors, 4,012 armed constables, 13,970 unarmed constables and 1,276 lady constables, he said.

    The central forces will be mainly deployed in and around the booths and the state force will be used for the maintenance of law and order.

    The constables will be used for the queue management, the official added.

  • BJP urges Election Commission to deploy only central forces for Bengal polls

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: The BJP on Friday urged the Election Commission to deploy only Central Armed Police Forces for the West Bengal assembly polls to ensure “fairness, dignity and sanctity of the process”.

    A party delegation met the Election Commission (EC) and demanded that central observers oversee the state’s police and administrative machineries, including their role in the deployment of central forces, and have the final say in the electoral process.

    It made these demands alleging that the conduct of the state’s police and administrative machineries do not exhibit much confidence about their “non-political or bi-partisan conduct”, according to a memorandum submitted by the delegation.

    The delegation included BJP national general secretary Bhupender Yadav, its West Bengal chief Dilip Ghosh, MPs Swapan Dasgupta, Locket Chatterjee and Arjun Singh, besides leaders Om Pathak and Sanjay Mayukh.

    Dasgupta said they also conveyed their apprehensions about the possible misuse of the provision that allows people with disability and voters above 80 years of age to cast their votes by postal ballots.

    They could be instead given special facilities at polling booths, he suggested.

    The EC had come out with this provision last year following the outbreak of COVID-19.

    The “biased” state administration could misuse it, Dasgupta said, attacking the Trinamool Congress government in West Bengal.

    A provision for separate and additional polling booths and stations for these voters can be made, he said after the delegation submitted a memorandum to the EC.

    The memorandum noted that active COVID-19 cases are declining in the country at an accelerated rate with their numbers merely 1.52 per cent of the total caseload.

    India has also launched the world’s largest inoculation drive against the infection, it said.

    This has led to the home ministry permitting all activities, including social, religious, sports, entertainment, educational and cultural activities, the memorandum stated.

    “Thus, it is safe to conclude that there has been a radical circumstantial change in the COVID-19 infection scenario in the country, wherein polling can be conduct normally at designated polling stations/booths with prescribed social distancing norms.

    Moreover, the speed and scale with which the vaccination drive is being conducted in India, postal ballots may not be required in the first place,” it said.

    The assembly polls in the state are expected to be held in April-May.

    Pitching for deploying only personnel of the Central Armed Police Forces during the polling exercise, the memorandum said the deployment of “committed state government employees on election duty will be detrimental to our averred objectives of free and fair elections”.

    It added that “there is a necessity to deploy members of only Central Armed Police Forces, duly trained to ensure the fairness, dignity and sanctity of the process. ..The police officers who have been accused of political partisanship in the past, should be strictly kept out of all poll related duties”.

  • Union Home Minister Amit Shah to launch Ayushman CAPF healthcare scheme on January ​23

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Union Home Minister Amit Shah is expected to launch the Ayushman healthcare scheme for central paramilitary force personnel in Assam later this week, official sources said.

    They said Shah will hand over the first Ayushman health cards to the chiefs, a sub-officer and a jawan of each of the central armed police forces (CAPFs) like the CRPF, BSF, CISF, ITBP and SSB apart from the NSG and the Assam Rifles that function under the command of his ministry on January 23.

    The CAPFs, with an estimated manpower of about 10 lakh personnel, are deployed for rendering a variety of internal security duties across the country, border guarding and VIP protection.

    “The Ayushman CAPF health scheme is expected to be launched by the home minister on January 23 in Guwahati. A presentation on the scheme will be made and the minister may address the beneficiaries too during the event,” a senior official involved in the process told PTI.

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi had launched the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY), termed as the biggest government-sponsored healthcare scheme across the globe, in September, 2018.

    The scheme provides a cover of up to Rs 5 lakh per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalisation to over 10.74 crore poor and vulnerable families (about 53 crore beneficiaries).

    AB PM-JAY also provides cashless and paperless access to services for the beneficiaries at the point of service.