CRPF Plans to Restore Lance Naik, Naik Ranks After 29 Years to Ease Promotion Stagnation

The Central Reserve Police Force is examining a proposal to restore the ranks of Lance Naik and Naik nearly 29 years after they were abolished and folded into the lower constabulary structure. The move is being considered as a way to ease promotion stagnation within the force and create more career progression opportunities for personnel at the constable level.

The CRPF, India’s largest Central Armed Police Force with a strength of about 3.25 lakh personnel, has directed its field formations across the country to consult staff and gather their views on the proposal. These consultations, including through Sainik Sammelans, are meant to produce consolidated feedback, which is expected to be submitted by October 18 for further scrutiny by the competent authority.

The ranks in question were removed from the CRPF hierarchy after a Ministry of Home Affairs order dated October 10, 1997. That decision was part of a wider exercise to rationalise the rank structure and pay scales of non-gazetted personnel in Central Police Organisations. Under the restructuring, Lance Naik was merged with Constable and Naik was merged with Head Constable.

While the CRPF no longer has these designations, they continue to exist in the Indian Army’s rank structure. Before the merger, a constable in the CRPF could typically expect to move to Lance Naik after around five years of service and to Naik after about 10 years, before eventually reaching Head Constable.

At present, constables in the force are reportedly spending more than two decades in the same rank before receiving their first regular promotion. That prolonged stagnation has become a matter of concern among personnel, prompting renewed discussion on whether intermediate ranks should be brought back to create additional promotional steps.

If restored, Lance Naik and Naik would sit between Constable and Head Constable, giving personnel two extra stages of progression. In practical terms, the proposal could allow a constable to advance to Lance Naik after roughly five years, then to Naik after about 10 years, before moving on to Head Constable. However, the exact service conditions and promotion criteria would depend on the structure ultimately approved by the government.

The proposal also comes at a time when the Central Armed Police Forces are preparing to recruit former Agniveers who complete their four-year tenure under the Agnipath scheme. Ex-Agniveers are eligible for recruitment into CAPFs, including the CRPF, and the government has already provided reservation and age-relaxation benefits for eligible candidates.

In that context, restoring intermediate ranks could also offer a clearer career ladder for personnel entering the CRPF after military service. The issue is therefore being viewed not only as an internal personnel reform, but also as part of the force’s preparation for future recruitment patterns.

For now, however, no final decision has been taken. The CRPF is still collecting feedback from its formations, and the proposal will be examined before it is placed before the competent authority.

Any restoration of Lance Naik and Naik would require changes to recruitment rules, pay structures, seniority provisions and the organisational hierarchy. If approved, it would represent one of the most important revisions to the CRPF’s constabulary rank system since the 1997 restructuring and could affect thousands of personnel by opening up additional opportunities for promotion during their service careers.