CRPF plans to reintroduce Lance Naik, Naik ranks three decades after abolishing them

Currently, the about 3.25 lakh personnel-strong CRPF is facing acute stagnation in promotions in these ranks, as a constable gets his first promotion in 22-25 years on average.

THE CENTRAL Reserve Police Force (CRPF), the country’s largest paramilitary force, is planning to reintroduce the ranks of Lance Naik and Naik, nearly three decades after the two posts were merged with those of Constable and Head Constable, respectively.

The Lance Naik and Naik ranks, abolished in the CRPF in 1997 through a Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) order, are still operational in the Army.

In a communication, the force has asked its lower formations to elicit the views of stakeholders by holding special sainik sammelans or meetings on the proposal, with an objective to widen the promotional avenue available to constables.

“After receiving suggestions from the ground level, all will be consolidated at the sector level and forwarded to the headquarters by October 18 for onward submission to the competent authority,” an official said.

According to the hierarchy, a jawan who joins the force as a constable gains the first promotion to Lance Naik in five years, followed by the promotion to Naik in 10 years and subsequently Head Constable in 20 years.

Currently, the about 3.25 lakh personnel-strong CRPF is facing acute stagnation in promotions in these ranks, as a constable gets his first promotion in 22-25 years on average.

This stagnation in one rank has led to grievances among the jawans. “The aim of reintroducing the Lance Naik and Naik ranks is to provide two more promotions to the constabulary before they reach the head constable rank, which will not only help address their grievances but also boost their morale,” an official said.

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The move is also understood to be aimed at making the CRPF service attractive for the Agniveers from the Army, whose first batch will retire this year and will be eligible to join the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs), including the CRPF, the officials said.

Agniveers are short-term military personnel recruited into the three forces for four years under the Centre’s Agnipath scheme. Currently, the CAPFs have an ad hoc arrangement of granting a non-sanctioned senior constable rank insignia on the uniform of constables, making them equivalent to the Lance Naik rank. There is no arrangement for the Naik rank at present.