CISF Moves to a Sector-Based Command Structure from November 1: What Changes and Why
The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) will change how it organises and supervises its field units from November 1, 2026. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) approved the change.
Until now, CISF units were grouped mainly by geography (North Sector, Eastern Sector and so on). From November 1, units guarding the same type of installation will come under one command, wherever they are located.
Eight existing sectors get new, sector-based roles: the NCR Sector becomes the Government Buildings, Museums and Monuments and Mass Rapid Transit System (GBMM and MRTS) Sector; the North Sector (New Delhi) and North Eastern Sector-II (Kolkata) become Power-I and Power-II; the Eastern Sector (Ranchi) becomes the Coal Sector; the Central Sector (Bhilai) becomes the Steel Sector; the North Eastern Sector (Guwahati) becomes the Petroleum and Natural Gas Sector; the Western Sector (Mumbai) and South Sector (Chennai) become the West Coast Port and East Coast Port Sectors.
The DAE and DoS Sector (atomic energy and space, Bengaluru) and the two Airport Sectors (New Delhi and Bengaluru) continue as they are. These were already organised by function.
The aim is better supervision, sector-specific skills and training, more uniform security practices, and closer coordination with the ministries and companies that run these installations.
The two port sectors follow the November 2025 decision making CISF the Recognised Security Organisation (RSO) for India's roughly 250 seaports.
Central Industrial Security Force (CISF)
The Central Industrial Security Force, or CISF, is an armed police force of the Union government that guards India's most important installations. It protects airports, seaports, power plants, steel plants, coal mines, oil refineries, atomic energy and space centres, the Delhi Metro, Parliament and many government buildings and monuments. It works under the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and is one of India's Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs). Think of it as a specialised, trained security guard service for the places the country cannot afford to lose.
The November 1 restructuring changes how the CISF supervises its units, from region-based sectors to sectors based on the type of installation. Power, coal, steel, petroleum, ports and urban sites will each have their own command, matching the different risks each sector faces.
Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs): Structure and Role
Central Armed Police Forces, or CAPFs, are armed police forces that belong to the Union government and work under the Ministry of Home Affairs. They guard India's land borders, protect key installations, and help state police when law and order breaks down. They are different from the Army, Navy and Air Force, which work under the Ministry of Defence. Police and public order are State subjects, so CAPFs usually act in aid of state governments when asked.
The CISF restructuring is an internal change in one CAPF. It shows how a force built for guarding fixed sites is shifting to specialised, sector-wise command as its duties grow to airports, ports and urban transit.
- CISF sector-based restructuring effective November 1, 2026, approved by the MHA
- New sectors: GBMM and MRTS; Power-I (New Delhi); Power-II (Kolkata); Coal (Ranchi); Steel (Bhilai); Petroleum and Natural Gas (Guwahati); West Coast Port (Mumbai); East Coast Port (Chennai)
- Unchanged: DAE and DoS Sector (Bengaluru); Airport Sector-I (New Delhi); Airport Sector-II (Bengaluru)
- CISF guards 13 major ports; the port sectors will cover about 250 major and minor seaports
- An earlier change from October 15, 2026 put about 27 steel units under Bhilai, about 54 power units under Kolkata and 22 coal units under Ranchi
- CISF established 10 March 1969 under the CISF Act, 1968