ITBP inducts its first women officers in combat
- The two women officers - Prakriti and Diksha - will be posted as company commanders in Indo-Tibetan Border Police force (ITBP) battalions.
- Till now, women officers in the ITBP were serving in the medical branch or were on deputation from the Indian Police Service at top echelons.
- ITBP started recruiting women combat officers in its cadre from 2016 through an all-India examination conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC).
Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP)
- It is India's primary border patrol organization for its border with China's Tibet Autonomous Region.
- It is one of the five Central Armed Police Forces of India, raised on 24 October 1962, under the CRPF Act.
- The force was raised in the aftermath of the 1962 Chinese aggression and its primary role is to guard the 3,488 km long India-China Line of Actual Control (LAC) apart from rendering a variety of roles in the internal security domain.
- In September 1996, Parliament enacted the ""Indo-Tibetan Border Police Force Act, 1992"" to ""provide for the constitution and regulation"" of the ITBP ""for ensuring the security of the borders of India and for matters connected therewith"".
Roles of ITBP
- ITBP is a multi-dimensional force which primarily has 5 functions:
- Vigil on the northern borders, detection and prevention of border violations, and promotion of the sense of security among the local populace.
- Check illegal immigration and trans-border smuggling.
- Provide security to sensitive installations and threatened VIPs
- Restore and preserve order in any area in the event of a disturbance.
- To maintain peace.