The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) will send a proposal to the Union home ministry for raising additional battalions to meet the force’s operational requirements.

“During a recent meeting, the top brass decided to raise additional battalions to enable the force to have young manpower to meet its ever-increasing operational requirements. A proposal regarding this will soon be sent to the Union home ministry for its approval,” said an official with the nation’s biggest paramilitary force.

The CRPF, with a strength of over 3 lakh personnel, is the nodal paramilitary force for counter-insurgency and anti-Maoist operations across the country. It has over 70,000 personnel posted in Jammu and Kashmir to assist the local police in maintaining law and order and conducting counter-terrorism operations.

CRPF sources said the force was emphasising on training to tackle Naxalism, terrorism and other issues affecting law and order.

Sources said the Union home ministry recently sent a Rs 275-crore proposal to the finance ministry to set up a permanent battalion of Rapid Action Force (RAF) in Assam. “The ministry has sent a proposal to the cabinet committee on security to convert a general duty battalion of the CRPF into the RAF,” a ministry official said.

“The move behind setting up a permanent RAF battalion in Assam is necessitated because the state shares its border with four neighbouring states that witness border clashes with each other. With the permanent battalion, such a situation could be averted,” the official said.

Bengal, Tripura, Nagaland, Manipur and Meghalaya share their borders with Assam. “The RPF battalion can always rush to any place in case of a crisis-like situation,” the official said.

The RAF is a specialised unit of the CRPF raised in October 1992 to deal with riots and other public disturbances. It is a zero-response force that can be deployed in crisis in minimal time, building confidence among people.