In India, the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) is the collective name of central police organisations under the Ministry of Home Affairs of India. These are technically paramilitary forces formerly known as the Central Para-Military Forces. Since 2011, India adopted the term "central armed police forces" to drop the word "paramilitary". These forces are responsible for internal security and guarding the borders. These forces are indeed headed by a Director General (DG), who is usually an Indian Police Service (IPS) officer, except for Assam Rifles, which is headed by an Lt. General-ranked officer from the Indian Army.

The Ministry of Home Affairs, or simply the Home Ministry, is a ministry of the Government of India. It is mainly responsible for the maintenance of internal security and domestic policy. It is headed by Minister of Home Affairs.