Rajnath Singh announces new Indian reserve battalion named after Maharana Pratap

Maharana Pratap Memorial in Udaipur, Rajasthan.

Udaipur: In a significant announcement, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh said on Tuesday that an Indian reserve battalion named after Maharana Pratap will be set up.

Addressing a public meeting in Rajasthan, Singh said, "A Indian reserve battalion will be setup, which will named Maharana Pratap reserve battalion."

The move comes in the wake of the Cabinet in January this year approving a proposal for raising 17 Indian Reserve Battalions for Jammu and Kashmir and Left-Wing Extremism (LWE) affected states. 

It had included five battalions in Jammu and Kashmir, four in Chhattisgarh, three each in Jharkhand and Odisha and two in Maharashtra. 

The government had introduced the scheme of Indian Reserve Battalions in 1971 and so far, 153 battalions have been sanctioned to various states. 

Of them 144 have been raised and one battalion in Jharkhand has been converted into Specialized Indian Reserve Battalion. 

(With ANI inputs)