Gender balance milestone: Four women officers serving as Inspector Generals in CISF

NEW DELHI: In a gender balance milestone, the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) has reached an unprecedented high, with four women serving officers currently ranked as Inspector General (IG) for the first time ever, becoming 50 percent of the cadre of IG-rank among direct recruit officers in the force.

The four top women leaders are Shanti Jaidev, IG Eastern Sector; Neelima Rani, IG Central Sector; Pratibha Aggarwal, IG Tech and Provisioning at Headquarters; and Jyoti Sinha, IG DAE & DOS.

This is part of a larger overhaul in CISF to “empower women at all levels”.

With over 12,510 women personnel — approximately 8 percent of its overall strength — CISF has the highest number of women among all Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs).

In another historic move, the Ministry of Home Affairs gave the green light to raising the CISF’s first all-women battalion in Haryana’s Nuh in January 2025. The unit is being structured as an elite force that will be equipped to carry out sensitive tasks, such as VIP security, Delhi Metro duties and airport responsibilities. It is likely to inspire more young women to join the ranks of uniformed services.

To enhance work-life balance and retention, the CISF implemented a new posting policy in December 2024 that provides preferential postings to women personnel and ensures that married couples can be posted within the same geographical location.

A special women’s desk at CISF Headquarters is also being set up to handle grievances and establish an orientation mechanism that addresses the specific issues of women personnel.

CISF’s June 2025 recruitment push further cemented its gender-positive agenda. The force will induct 229 female sportspersons and 204 male sportspersons across 29 sports disciplines — the biggest recruitments in sports in its history. When this is completed, the CISF will have 60 sports teams, almost evenly divided between men and women.

Assisted by these advances, CISF officer L/SI (Exe) Geeta Samota became a part of history when she climbed Mount Everest on May 19, 2025, being the first CISF personnel to achieve the feat. Her inspiring journey, supported by the force, is an inspiration and a symbol of empowerment for women in the country.