MHA seeks report from CAPFs

New Delhi: The Union Home Ministry has asked all central paramilitary forces to apprise it about the progress on creating an in-house software to implement Home Minister Amit Shah's proposal to ensure troops spend at least 100 days a year with their families, officials said Tuesday.

The plan was mooted by Shah in October, 2019 with an aim to provide rest, recuperation and quality family time to the forces' personnel deployed in some of the harshest locations and difficult climatic conditions across the country for internal security duties.

It was also envisaged that once this plan is rolled out, it will reduce stress and enhance the happiness quotient of these forces beset by regular cases of suicides and fratricidal killings.

A senior official told PTI the plan is yet to be made "fully operational" and, hence, the MHA recently sent a communication to these forces to update it about the development of a software for transfers and postings of the personnel.

"The software is a precursor to the 'at least 100 days with the family per year' proposal. A considerable time has elapsed since the home minister gave the direction and the proposal is yet to see the light of the day," the officer said.

"It is envisaged that the digitisation of posting and transfer processes for soft, hard and very hard locations would eliminate personal bias and allow a free and fair system leading to easy rotation of the troops," the officer explained.

The over 10-lakh personnel strong paramilitary or Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) include the CRPF, BSF, ITBP, CISF and SSB apart from the Assam Rifles

which draws its officer strength from the Army.