The Union Home Ministry has approved the creation of more than 1,000 posts in the CISF to augment its strength to effectively guard vital installations, including airports, atomic installations, metro networks, officials said on Friday. The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) guards about 60 civil airports in the country and has an elite VVIP security wing under its command called the Special Security Group (SSG). The Home ministry has given sanction for creation of 899 posts in the CISF and subsequently another 119 posts, a senior official said. With the sanctioned posts, from the constables to the inspector level, the CISF can raise one more battalion (1,000 personnel) within the next two years, the official said. The current strength of the CISF is about 1.8 lakh personnel. The CISF guards civil airports, nuclear plants, power stations, vital government buildings, the Delhi Metro besides a host of other key installations. The government has recently handed over the security related duties of Srinagar and Jammu airports to the CISF. The CISF replaced the Jammu and Kashmir Police in these two airports. The government has already made it clear its intention of entrusting more and more civil airports to the CISF and increasing its task in the domain of VVIP security. The augmentation of the CISF strength is part of this exercise, another official said.
