- CISF has announced the roll-out of its maiden all-female commando unit
- Female commandos will be posted at airports and other sensitive units
- Recruitment and training are in progress at the CISF Regional Training Centre (RTC) in Barwaha, Madhya Pradesh
The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) released on Sunday that it has launched its first all-women commando unit, with the staff planned to be deployed across airports and other high-security units.
Training of the women commandos is already in progress at the Regional Training Centre (RTC) at Barwaha, Madhya Pradesh.
The 8-week advanced course for commandos is aimed at making the participants ready to be deployed at key establishments for Quick Reaction Team (QRT) and Special Task Force (STF) responsibilities.
The program includes rigorous physical fitness and weapons training, live-fire exercises under stress, endurance challenges like obstacle courses, rappelling, survival in forests, and a 48-hour confidence-building exercise to expose decision-making and teamwork under adverse conditions.
The first groups of 30 women, who are already deployed at different airports, have started their training on August 11 and will finish it by October 4. They will be followed by a second batch that will take training from October 6 to November 29.
In the first phase, about 100 women belonging to different Aviation Security Groups (ASGs) and sensitive CISF units will finish the programme.
The CISF has decided to make such all-women commando courses an annual feature of its training calendar, with personnel mainly deployed in airports and then other key installations.
The move is a part of the force's push to bring in more women, as per the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) goal of 10 percent. At present, the CISF has 12,491 women, constituting 8 percent of its strength.
An additional 2,400 women are to be inducted in 2026. Recruitment will be planned henceforth to keep women at a minimum 10 percent strength within the force.
Earlier this year, the MHA sanctioned the formation of the CISF's first women's battalion, which is being formed near Delhi.
Its men and women will be responsible for guarding strategic installations in the national capital, such as the Parliament Complex, IGI Airport, Delhi Metro, and government buildings.
