The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) has officially moved from a territorial command structure to a specialist functional sector structure. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has approved the move, which brings similar units under one command to provide enhanced security for the country’s strategic and economic assets.
The force says the restructuring is a strategic reset to improve national security, enhance preparedness, and secure the critical infrastructure vital to the vision of a Viksit Bharat. “Effective today, the CISF has officially moved from a territorial command structure to a highly specialised, functional sector structure,” it says.
Until now, CISF’s field and administrative bases were organised largely on geographical lines. A single territorial sector headquarters often supervised more than 50 units across diverse categories, such as power plants and coal mines, requiring coordination with multiple ministries and organisations.
CISF units guarding space installations, atomic energy facilities and airports had already been an exception and operated under dedicated single commands. “The principle driving this reform is that security must be organised not just around where an asset is located, but what it does and what its disruption would mean for the country,” the statement said.
Under the new set-up, 8 of the 11 territorial sectors have been reorganised. The Western Sector (headquartered in Mumbai) has been renamed the West Coast Port Sector, and the Southern Sector (headquartered in Chennai) has become the East Coast Port Sector.
These two coastal sectors will be responsible for the security of the seaports along India’s west and east coasts.
Other re-designations include: the Eastern Sector at Ranchi as the Coal Sector; the Central Sector at Bhilai as the Steel Sector; the North Eastern Sector at Guwahati as the Petroleum and Natural Gas Sector; the North Sector at New Delhi as the Power-I Sector; and the North Eastern Sector-II at Kolkata as the Power-II Sector.
The National Capital Region Sector has been reorganised as the Government Buildings, Museums and Monuments and Mass Rapid Transit System (GBMM & MRTS) Sector in New Delhi, covering government buildings, museums, monuments and systems such as the Delhi Metro.
The existing Department of Atomic Energy and Department of Space Sector in Bengaluru, along with Airport Sector-I in New Delhi and Airport Sector-II in Bengaluru, will continue under their specialised functional arrangements. After the restructuring, the force will have 11 sectors.
This change is significant for maritime security. In 2025, the Union government designated the CISF as the nodal seaports security force. It gave it the status of a Recognised Security Organisation (RSO) for the domain under the ISPS Code. India has some 250 major and minor seaports, and CISF currently provides security to 13 of the major ports (JNPT in Maharashtra and Mundra in Gujarat being two of them).
The dedicated coastal sectors are designed to develop the specialist capability and provide the enhanced oversight required as the force’s port security role continues to grow.
Officials said the functional model will improve operational oversight, promote sector-specific expertise, ensure greater uniformity in security practices, and strengthen coordination with concerned ministries, departments, and installation management. It is also expected to enable faster, more informed responses to evolving threats such as drone attacks, sabotage and coordinated disruptions targeting critical infrastructure.
The restructuring aligns CISF’s supervisory structure more closely with the distinct operational processes, hazards and vulnerabilities of different sectors: power, coal, steel, petroleum and natural gas, ports, government buildings, museums, monuments and urban transit systems, while supporting the force’s expanding mandate beyond conventional industrial security.