RPF has the highest proportion of female personnel compared to other CPFs in India (GS Paper 3, Defence)
Why in news?
- The Railway Protection Force (RPF) currently boasts the largest share of women personnel (9%) among Central Paramilitary Forces in India.
- Specially trained to ensure safety and provide assistance to female passengers in distress, they create a secure environment for travelers.
About RPF:
- It is a prime security and Law Enforcement Agency in the field of Railway Security in India.
- Established in 1957 for better protection and security of Railway property, the Force has evolved to include roles in passenger security and facilitation.
Various measures taken by RPF:
- Infrastructure Developments: Construction of standardized barracks, Changing Rooms, and other amenities designed for the special needs of women officers deployed for train escort duties.
- Nomination of Nodal Officers: Nomination of Female Nodal Officers at all Zones/Units for the redressal of grievances of Female personnel, ensuring their voices are heard and needs addressed.
Key aspects of their role under different Operations –
Addressing concern of Women Security:
- Meri Saheli initiative: Launched across the Indian Railways network, this initiative aims to provide safety and security to lady passengers traveling alone or with minors on long-distance trains. Presently, on an average, 230 teams are being deployed for this purpose covering more than 400 trains on an average daily across Indian Railways.
- These teams have been instrumental in apprehending individuals found inappropriately traveling in ladies' compartments, ensuring a safer environment for female passengers.
Operation Matrishakti:
- RPF personnel, especially women officers, go beyond their call of duty to assist pregnant women who go into labor during their train journeys.
- In the year 2023 alone, lady personnel of RPF assisted in 206 childbirths.
Operation AAHT (Against Human Trafficking):
- Women and girl child are more vulnerable to Human trafficking.
- RPF has launched an operation against Human Trafficking. In 2023, 1048 persons were rescued from traffickers, with 257 traffickers.
Operation Nanhe Farishtey:
- An intensive drive to rescue children in need of care and protection found in contact with railways has been launched. During the year 2023, 3973 girl children were rescued by RPF.
Operation Dignity:
- RPF lady personnel also play a crucial role in rescuing adults, including women, in need of care and protection.
- These individuals may be runaways, abandoned, drug addicts, destitute, or needing medical assistance. In 2023, approximately 3492 such persons were rescued.
Way Forward:
- Through these operations and initiatives, the RPF not only ensures the security of passengers but also demonstrates the invaluable contributions of women in creating a safer, more inclusive railway environment for all.
India’s Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA)
(GS Paper 3, Defence)
Why in news?
- Recently, the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) cleared a Rs 15,000 crore project to design and develop the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA), India’s fifth-generation fighter multirole fighter jet.
Details:
- The Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) under the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) will be the nodal agency for executing the programme and designing the aircraft.
- It will be manufactured by state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).
- The aircraft will put India in a select group of nations that have their own fifth-generation fighter aircraft.
Features of AMCA:
Stealth:
- The 25-tonne twin-engine aircraft, which will be bigger than other fighters in the Indian Air Force inventory, will have advanced stealth features to avoid detection by enemy radar.
- The aircraft would be on par or even superior to other fifth-generation stealth fighter aircraft in use globally.
Fuel & Weapons:
- The aircraft will have a large, concealed internal fuel tank of 6.5-tonne capacity, and an internal weapons bay for a range of weapons, including indigenous weapons, to be buried in its belly.
Engine:
- The AMCA Mk1 variant will have the US-built GE414 engine of the 90 kilonewton (kN) class, while the more advanced AMCA Mk2 will fly on the more powerful 110kN engine, which will be developed indigenously by DRDO’s Gas Turbine Research Establishment (GTRE) in collaboration with a foreign defence major.
- India has been talking with Safran SA of France, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of aircraft engines and related equipment, in order to finalise the roadmap for the development of the combat aircraft engine.
- Other features such as a diverterless supersonic inlet for controlling air flow into the engines, and a serpentine air intake duct to shield the engines from radar emissions, are likely to be part of the AMCA.
Why AMCA matters?
- The AMCA will be India’s indigenous fifth-generation fighter aircraft. The indigenous Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas is a 4.5-generation single-engine multirole aircraft.
- The aircraft will have a low electro-magnetic signature, which will make it difficult for enemy radar to detected it. At the same time, it will have powerful sensors and new weapons, so it is able to register the signature of enemy aircraft and take them out.
- Stealth features such as an internal weapons bay and a bigger internal fuel tank are part of fifth-generation aircraft like AMCA. Up to four long-range air-to-air missiles and multiple precision-guided munitions can be carried in the internal weapons bay, with a payload of 1,500 kg.
- External fuel tanks and externally attached weapons leave a huge signature and are easy to detect for radar. The special material that will be used on the aircraft surface will divert the radar signature instead of reflecting it back.
- Another important aspect would be to ensure a higher utilisation time and smaller serviceability or maintenance periods for the aircraft.
- This will be aided by the inclusion of a comprehensive Integrated Vehicle Health Management (IVHM) system to keep track of multiple structural components, and to assess the condition of the aircraft in real-time.
Development timeline:
- The full development of the aircraft is expected to take around 10 years from now. Five prototypes will be built before HAL begins manufacturing the aircraft.
- The private industry is also expected to be involved in the manufacturing of the aircraft.
Other fifth-generation fighters
- Only a few countries have built a fifth-generation stealth fighter aircraft.
- The list of the aircraft currently in service includes the F-22 Raptor and F-35A Lightning II of the US, the Chinese J-20 Mighty Dragon, and the Russian Sukhoi Su-57.
