| Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) | |
|---|---|
 Emblem of the Central Industrial Security Force | |
 Flag of the Central Industrial Security Force | |
| Abbreviation | CISF |
| Motto | "संरक्षण एवं सुरक्षा" Protection and Security |
| Agency overview | |
| Formed | 10 March 1969; 56 years ago (1969-03-10) |
| Employees | 190,000 Active Personnel[1] |
| Annual budget | ₹15,309.83 crore (US$1.8 billion)(2025–26)[2] |
| Jurisdictional structure | |
| Federal agency | India |
| Operations jurisdiction | India |
| Governing body | Ministry of Home Affairs |
| Constituting instrument | |
| General nature | |
| Operational structure | |
| Headquarters | New Delhi, India |
| Minister responsible | |
| Agency executive | |
| Notables | |
| Person |
|
| Website | |
| cisf | |
TheCentral Industrial Security Force (CISF) is acentral armed police force inIndia, under theMinistry of Home Affairs. CISF's primary mission is to providesecurity policing services to large institutions, whether state-owned or privately owned.
It was set up under an Act of theParliament of India on 15 March 1969 with a strength of 2,800. CISF was subsequently formally authorized by another Act of Parliament passed on 15 June 1983. Its current active strength is 148,371 personnel.[4] In April 2017, the government raised the sanctioned strength from 145,000 to 180,000 personnel. Recently the strength has been increased to 200,000.[5]
Among its duties are guarding sensitive governmental buildings, Parliament complex, the Delhi Metro, and providing airport security.[6]
CISF alsoprovides consultancy services to private industries as well as other organisations within the Indian government. The scope of CISF's consulting practice includes security consulting and fire protection consulting.
It also plays a major role in Disaster Management. The CISF has a 'Fire Wing' which helps during fire accidents in Industries where the CISF is on guard.
The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) was established by an Act of Parliament on 10 March 1969 with an initial sanctioned strength of approximately 188,000 personnel.
As its name indicates, it was created to provide better protection and security to industrial undertakings across the country.Initially, protection was limited to industries wholly owned by the Central Government. This restriction has since been relaxed, and the CISF now also safeguards joint-venture enterprises in which the Central Government has a stake.
Over the years, the role of the CISF has significantly expanded and diversified. Today, in addition to industrial units, it provides security toairports,seaports,metro rail networks, key government buildings, heritage monuments (including theTaj Mahal andRed Fort), opium and alkaloid extraction units, nuclear power plants, and space establishments.The CISF also specialises in VIP security and disaster management. Currently, it performs a wide range of duties related to internal security, election security, anti-Naxal operations, and any other tasks assigned to it by the Government of India.[7]
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The CISF is headed by anIndian Police Service officer with the rank of Director-General, assisted by an IPS officer in the rank of Addl. Director-General. The force is divided into Nine Sectors (Airport, North, North-East, East, West, South, Training, South-East, Central) and also has a Fire Service Wing.
The Airport Sector is commanded by an IPS officer in the rank of Addl. Director-General, assisted by an Inspector-General. The Airport Sector is divided into a number of Field Formation Units, one for each airport. Units at major international airports are commanded by a Deputy Inspector-General or Commandant; units at smaller airports by a Deputy or Assistant Commandant. The other six Sectors are each commanded by an Inspector-General, who is assisted by a Deputy Inspector-General.
The seven regional Sectors are divided into Zones, each commanded by a Deputy Inspector-General. Within each Zone are a number of Units, each under the command of a Commandant, or a DIG for certain major Units. A Deputy Commandant serves as the second-in-command of most units, or as the head of a smaller unit. Within the Training Sector, theNational Industrial Security Academy (NISA) is headed by an Inspector-General; the Fire Service Training Institute (FSTI) and six other recruit training centres are headed by Deputy Inspectors General.
The Financial Adviser of the CISF has been anIndian Revenue Service officer of the rank of Director and also has Dy Advisers from the Indian Audit and Accounts Service and Indian Civil Account Service.
Being a central Indian police agency and having high presence ofIndian Police Service officers, CISF follows ranks and insignia similar to other police organisations in India. Non-gazetted (enrolled) officers and members use the same ranks as other Indian police forces.
| Rank group | General / flag officers | Senior officers | Junior officers | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Central Industrial Security Force[8][9] |
|  |  |  |  |  |  | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Inspector general - | Deputy inspector-general - | Senior commandant - | Commandant - | Deputy commandant - | Assistant commandant - | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rank group | Subordinate Officers (SO) | Non commissioned officers (NCO) | Enlisted | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Central Industrial Security Force[8][9][10] |  |  |  |  | No insignia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Inspector निरीक्षक | Sub inspector उप निरीक्षक | Assistant sub-inspector सहायक उप निरीक्षक | Head constable हवलदार | Constable कनिष्ठबल | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Indian Parliament on 25 February 2009, authorised the provision of Central Industrial Security Force security to private and cooperative establishments across the country for a fee with the passage of the CISF (Amendment) Bill, 2008.
The Bill, which was passed byRajya Sabha on 19 February andLok Sabha on 25 February 2009, also provides for deployment of CISF to protect Indian missions abroad and its participation in the UN peacekeeping operations.
CISF started providing security to theInfosysBengaluru campus on 31 July 2009.[11] TheInfosys inMysuru, theReliance Jamnagar Refinery and the Delhi Metro Airport Express Line are in the list of private sector establishments placed under CISF cover. Manish Kumar Rai, Assistant Commandant, led the first contingent of CISF deployed at Infosys Bengaluru.
CISF has also started providing security to the InfosysPune campus from 21 April 2011.[12]
In 2016, the Patanjali Food and Herbal Park received 35 full-time, armed Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) commandos. The park was the eighth private institute in India to be guarded by paramilitary CISF forces.
The CISF is in charge ofairport security at all commercial airports in India. Airport security, in the past, was under the control ofairport police (under the relevant state government). However, following the hijacking ofIndian Airlines Flight 814 in 1999, the topic of handing over security of the airports to the CISF was first proposed. While this proposal lay low for the next two years, the central government decided to respond to the security threat faced by all major nations of the world after the2001 terrorist attacks happened in the United States (11 September 2001) and decided to adopt the suggestion.[clarification needed] TheJaipur Airport was the first airport that came under the CISF's control on 3 February 2000. Following this, the majority of the commercial airports in India were brought under its purview.[13] As of February 2023, the CISF is protecting a total of 66 international and domestic airports in the country.[14][15]
Security on theDelhi Metro is handled by theCISF Unit Delhi Metro Rail Corporation of CISF, who have been guarding the system ever since they took over from theDelhi Police in 2007.[16]Closed-circuit cameras are used to monitor trains and stations, and feed from these is monitored by both the CISF and Delhi Metro authorities at their respective control rooms.[17] Over 3500 CISF personnel have been deployed to deal with law and order issues in the system, in addition tometal detectors,x-ray baggage inspection systems anddog squads which are used to secure the system.[18]Intercoms are provided in each train car for emergency communication between the passengers and the driver.[19] Periodicsecurity drills are carried out at stations and on trains to ensure preparedness of security agencies in emergency situations.[20]
From 20 May 2024 onwards CISF has been accorded with the responsibility of securing the parliamentary complex (old and new parliament building) after the withdrawal of PDG (CRPF) andDelhi Police personnel from the Parliamentary Security due to a recent security breach.The CISF will also deploy commandos of its counter terrorism and VIP protection unit (SSG) in the parliament security.[21]
Besides providing protection, safety, and security to industrial undertakings, CISF also offers protection against fire hazards. It is the onlyCentral Armed Police Force having a full-fledged fire service wing, which holds the distinction of being the largest fire-fighting force in the country. CISF's first fire wing unit with a strength of 53 personnel was inducted atFertilisers andChemicals Travancore (FACT),Cochin on 16 April 1970 following the recommendations of a commission headed by Justice B. Mukherjee, which was formed to investigate a major fire at theHeavy Engineering Corporation plant atRanchi on 29 January 1970.[22] Eventually, theGovernment of India approved recruitment rules to various posts for the creation of a separate fire service cadre in CISF in January 1991, and accordingly, the Fire Service Cadre started functioning in CISF on 12 January 1991. As of 31 March 2020, the fire wing has been inducted in 104 units, and has a strength of 8482 personnel.[23][24]
In 2006, Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) also known as Ninja Commando, on the basis of recommendations of theIntelligence Bureau, raised a special unit called Special Security Group (SSG) to provide security cover to people nominated by the Home Ministry. It came into existence on 17 November 2006. This unit is responsible for providing physical protection, evacuation, mobile and static security cover to persons who have been nominated by the Home Ministry.[25]: para 2.129 For a person to be eligible for security cover by CISF special unit, the intelligence bureau and other secret police agencies are required to specify the danger after a detailed 'threat analysis', which are often fudged for political and other considerations.[26][27] In addition to CISF the Government also utilizes the National Security Guard (NSG), CRPF and ITBP for personal security cover.
A contingent of the CISF was deployed atUnited Nations Stabilizations Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) /United Nations Mission for Justice Support in Haiti (MINUJUSTH) since 17 August 2008. It was repatriated to India on 31 December 2018.[32]
On 17 July 2024, the CISF deployed officers alongside the CRPF, SSB, ITBP, NSG and the Assam Rifles to provide security assistance to thePolice Nationale andGendarmerie Nationale for the 2024 Olympics in Paris.[33]
In 2021, the DIG of CISF said that the dog squad was 'an important component of the force'. The dogs are trained to sniff and identifyIEDs andnarcotics. While working with the bomb disposal squad they screen bags left unattended. As of 2021, the CISF team in charge ofChennai International Airport security has nine dogs.[34]
