CISF trains 1st batch of women commandos in MP

For decades, India’s airports, nuclear plants and industrial hubs have relied on the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF). For the first time in the CISF’s history, this vigilance will include an all-women commando unit.

The CISF has begun training its first batch of 30 women commandos at the Regional Training Centre in Barwaha (Madhya Pradesh). The eight-week advanced commando course, underway since August 11, is designed to train them for quick reaction teams and special task force deployments at high-security establishments.

They will undergo a gruelling training schedule: live-fire drills under stress, rappelling, forest survival modules, obstacle runs, endurance tests and a 48-hour confidence-building mission, where trainees must make rapid decisions in simulated hostile conditions.

“This is more than a training exercise, it is a statement. For the first time, women are not just in support or administrative roles, but at the heart of operational combat readiness,” a senior CISF officer told The Tribune.

After the first batch completes training on October 4, the second batch will begin on October 6. In the initial phase, 100 women from the Aviation Security Groups and sensitive CISF units will be trained. Their deployments will began at airports before they move on to other critical installations.

With 12,491 personnel, women currently make up eight percent of the CISF. The Ministry of Home Affairs is pushing to raise it to 10 percent. Another 2,400 women will be recruited in 2026 to meet the target. For the CISF, the initiative signals a deliberate move to break gender barriers in roles once reserved for men, while boosting the operational diversity. “This is not tokenism. These women are being trained to do everything their male counterparts do and to do it shoulder-to-shoulder,” said another officer.