MHA decides to conduct CAPF constable exams in 13 regional languages as well

The Union ministry of home affairs (MHA) has decided that the examination for recruitment of Constables (General Duty) in the central armed police forces (CAPF) or central paramilitary forces will be conducted in 13 regional languages in additional to Hindi and English.

The ministry termed it a “landmark” decision taken at the initiative of Union home minister Amit Shah “to give impetus to participation of local youth in the CAPFs and encourage regional languages.”

The regional languages in which question papers will be set include - Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Marathi, Malayalam, Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Odia, Urdu, Punjabi, Manipuri and Konkani, apart from current Hindi and English.

“The decision will result in lakhs of aspirants taking part in the examination in their mother tongue/regional language and improve their selection prospects. The MHA and Staff Selection Commission (SSC) would sign an addendum to the existing MoU (memorandum of understanding) to facilitate the conduct of the examination in multiple Indian languages,” a statement issued by MHA said on Saturday.

“A pathbreaking decision, which will give wings to the aspirations of our youth! This is a part of our various efforts to ensure language is not seen as a barrier in fulfilling one’s dreams,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote on Twitter.

Constable GD is one of flagship examinations conducted by the SSC attracting lakhs of candidates from across the country.

The examination in 13 regional languages in addition to Hindi and English will be conducted from January 1, 2024 onwards.

“States/UT governments are expected to launch wide campaign encouraging local youths to use this opportunity of taking the examination in their mother tongue and participate in huge numbers to make a career serving the country,” the MHA added.

“The MHA under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and guidance of home minister Amit Shah is fully committed to encourage use and development of regional languages,” it added.

Over 84,000 posts are vacant in six CAPFs - Border Security Force (BSF), Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) and Assam Rifles, according to government data.

To be sure, all of these vacancies are not in Constable (GD) rank but other ranks as well.

Vacancies in CAPFs and Assam Rifles are filled through various methods of recruitment, promotion, deputation, etc, as per provisions of the respective Recruitment Rules. Agencies including Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) and Staff Selection Commission (SSC) are involved in the process, apart from holding recruitment rallies and conducting departmental examinations.

The CAPFs have a combined strength of approximately 10 lakh personnel.