To address delayed promotions and accommodate Agniveers retiring from the Army later this year, the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), the country’s largest paramilitary unit, is considering reintroducing the military ranks of lance naik and naik nearly 30 years after these were abolished, according to sources.The two ranks were abolished in the CRPF in 1997 following a Ministry of Home Affairs order and merged with the police ranks of constable and head constable. However, lance naik and naik continue to exist in the Army.Under the earlier promotion structure, a constable could become a lance naik after five years of service, a naik after 10 years and a head constable after 20 years. The approximately 3.25-lakh-strong paramilitary force is currently grappling with severe stagnation in promotions, with constables receiving their first promotion after an average of 22-25 years. The delay has triggered grievances among personnel.Officials said restoring the two ranks would create two additional promotion opportunities for constables before they reach the head constable level, helping address grievances and boost morale.The proposal is also aimed at making the CRPF service more attractive to Agniveers, whose first batch is due to retire later this year and will be eligible to join the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs), including the CRPF. The CRPF and the Border Security Force had these ranks in line with the Army’s infantry battalions.Agniveers are short-term military personnel recruited into the three armed forces for four years under the Centre’s Agnipath scheme. At present, the CAPFs have an ad hoc arrangement under which constables wear a non-sanctioned senior constable rank insignia, equivalent to the lance naik rank. However, no such arrangement exists for the naik rank.Ranbir Singh, secretary general of the Ex-Paramilitary Personnel Association, told The Tribune that the proposal would benefit security personnel only if it ensured time-bound promotions as otherwise the exercise would prove futile.