{
  "id": 15312747,
  "title": "CRPF plans to reintroduce Lance Naik, Naik ranks three decades after abolishing them",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/17/crpf-plans-to-reintroduce-lance-naik-naik-ranks-three-decades-after-15312747",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-17T23:50:08.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Indian Express",
    "slug": "the-indian-express",
    "url": "https://indianexpress.com/article/india/crpf-plans-to-reintroduce-lance-naik-10926280/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), India's largest paramilitary force, is set to reinstate the Lance Naik and Naik ranks, over three decades after they were merged with Constable and Head Constable, respectively. These ranks, abolished in 1997 by a Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) decree, are presently active in the Army. The CRPF has issued instructions to its lower formations to gather stakeholder opinions through special sainik sammelans or meetings, aiming to expand promotional opportunities for constables.\n\nUpon reviewing suggestions from the ground level, these will be compiled at the sector level and forwarded to headquarters by October 18, for submission to the appropriate authority. According to the existing hierarchy, a trainee who begins as a constable can achieve Lance Naik after five years, Naik in ten years, and Head Constable in twenty years. At present, approximately 3.25 lakh CRPF personnel encounter limited promotional opportunities, with a constable typically receiving their first promotion after 22-25 years. This promotional stagnation has resulted in discontent among the jawans.\n\nThe reintroduction of Lance Naik and Naik ranks aims to offer two additional promotion opportunities before reaching the Head Constable rank, which will alleviate grievances and enhance morale. This move is also intended to make the CRPF service more appealing to Agniveers from the Army, whose first cohort will retire in 2024 and will be eligible to join the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs), including the CRPF. Agniveers are short-term military recruits from the Army, serving for four years under the Centre's Agnipath scheme. Currently, CAPFs temporarily grant constables a non-sanctioned senior constable rank insignia, rendering them equivalent to the Lance Naik rank, while no such provision exists for the Naik rank.",
  "summary": null,
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "The Indian Express - India",
        "title": "CRPF plans to reintroduce Lance Naik, Naik ranks three decades after abolishing them",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/17/crpf-plans-to-reintroduce-lance-naik-naik-ranks-three-decades-after",
        "published": "2026-10-17T23:50:08.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}