For the first time-ever, more than 25% police officers in a 69-member panel for the United Nations Mission Services 2022-2024 or United Nations Selection Assistance and Assessment Team (UNSAAT) 2022-2024 are women, news agency ANI reported quoting government sources.

A Home Ministry official told ANI that 19 of the 69 members are women from various paramilitary groups, Central Police Organizations (CPOs), and police personnel from various states.

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The 69-member team will be deputed in five Indian operations abroad, including Cyprus, South Sudan, and Mali, as part of the UNSAAT 2022-25 panel.

According to another Home Ministry official, the maximum deployment period for each of the 69 members in Indian missions will be one year.

Previously, 264 personnel of various police services had been nominated for UNSAAT. Following a request from the United Nations, the Ministry of Home Affairs limited the team to 150 people on February 25.

Given the status of COVID-19 and its possible influence on the next Selection Assistance and Assessment Team (SAAT) visit, the United Nations agreed to limit the number of UNSAAT-2022-2024 candidates to 150.

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“Of the initial 150, the Ministry of Home Affairs nominated candidates, only 127 were reported for the Assessment of Mission (AMS) between January 31 and February 7. “Two of the 127 individuals were dismissed, one owing to COVID and the other during paperwork,” stated the officer. “Finally, just 125 appeared for AMS and 69 were selected for the United Nations Mission Services after passing several rounds of testing.”

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These 69 police officers are from Andhra Pradesh, Chandigarh, Delhi, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Telangana, Uttrakhand, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal as well as Assam Rifles, Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Border Security Force BSF), Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), Railway Police Force (RPF). National Investigation Agency (NIA), Intelligence Bureau and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).