According to data from the Bureau of Police Research and Development, women make up 10.3 percent of the police force in India, Nityanand Rai, the minister of state for home affairs, briefed the Lok Sabha.
Rai stated this in a letter to Congress MP Vijayakumar alias Vijay Vasanth, “As per data on Police Organisations compiled by Bureau of Police Research & Development, out of the actual strength of 20,91,488 police personnel in States/UTs as on 01.01.2020, the strength of women police personnel is 2,15,504 which is 10.3%,”
Providing a state-by-state breakdown, Rai informed the Lower House that Bihar had the highest percentage of female police officers at 25.30 percent, followed by Himachal Pradesh at 19.15 percent and Chandigarh at 18.78 percent. Apart from that, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana are the only four states that have one director-general of police each. Tamil Nadu has the most female inspectors, with 1055, followed by Maharashtra (425), and Odisha (286).
In response to MP Vijayakumar's query on what steps have been made to raise this “abysmally low” figure, Rai stated, “MHA issued multiple advisories, the most recent being in June 2021, to UT/state governments to increase the representation of women in police to 33%. The aim is that each police station should have at least 3 women sub-inspectors and 10 women police constables, so that a women help desk is manned round the clock.”
The parliamentary committee was particularly disappointed by the 3.68 per cent female representation in the Central Armed Police Forces, and has ordered the Ministry of Home Affairs to take meaningful steps to improve women's representation in the central police forces.
