The Central Armed Police Forces (General Administration) Act, 2026 is a comprehensive piece of legislation that regulates the administrative and service matters of specified Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) in India. It was notified after receiving assent from President Droupadi Murmu. The Act was created to replace the fragmented regulation of these forces under their respective individual Acts, aiming for a centralized, harmonized system. The legislation seeks to ensure legislative clarity, preserve the operational distinctiveness of the CAPFs, and harmonize judicial directions with administrative requirements.
The Act applies to five major CAPFs: the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Border Security Force (BSF), Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), and Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB). It governs Group A (general duty) officers of the rank of Assistant Commandant and above, officers on deputation from the Indian Police Service (IPS), and officers of the Indian Army on deputation or re-employment. A key mechanism of the Act is the mandatory deputation quota for IPS officers, which legally cements the reservation of top leadership posts. Specifically, it mandates that 50% of the posts at the Inspector General (IG) rank, a minimum of 67% of the posts at the Additional Director General (ADG) rank, and 100% of the posts at the Director General (DG) and Special Director General ranks must be filled by IPS officers on deputation.
The Act grants the Central Government the power to frame Rules on matters like recruitment, deputation, and service conditions, which will have an overriding effect. This means the Rules can be framed notwithstanding any other law, any judgment or order of any Court, or any government order. This provision effectively overrides the Supreme Court's 2025 directive that had asked the Centre to "progressively reduce" IPS deputation up to the IG rank within two years. The Act connects to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), which is designated as the defining administrative body.