Home Guard Salary: How Duty Allowance Works in Each State

Here is the honest answer on home guard salary: a home guard does not get a regular monthly salary. Home Guards are a volunteer force raised by each state, and you are paid a duty allowance for each day you are called on duty. The rate is fixed by your state government, so the money differs from UP to Bihar to Rajasthan. Below I explain how the allowance is worked out, show real official examples from a few states, and cover eligibility, the home guard exam, training and how to join.

What is a home guard job

Home Guards are a voluntary force that works alongside the police. The Ministry of Home Affairs describes them as mainly an auxiliary to the state police. Common duties are:

• Guard duty at offices, banks, courts and other public places.
• Traffic control at crossings, fairs, melas and festivals.
• Patrolling with the police, and duty at polling booths during elections.
• Help during floods, fires, accidents and other disasters.

Home Guards are a state subject. There is no central Act for them. Each state or UT runs its own force under its own Home Guards Act and Rules, usually through a Director General or Commandant General of Home Guards. The Centre shares part of the cost of raising, training and equipping them.

The first home guard unit in India was raised in Bombay in December 1946 to help the police during riots. Later the Centre asked all states to set up similar forces. Today almost every state has one.

Home guard salary: how the duty allowance works

Because it is a volunteer force, you are not a permanent government employee. You are called for duty when the district needs you, and you are paid for those days only. If you are not called, you are not paid.

The Supreme Court has laid down how the daily rate should be set. In its order, which the MHA has asked all states to follow, the duty allowance per day should be such that 30 days of duty adds up to the minimum pay of a police constable in that state. In a later case from Odisha, the Court made clear that this minimum pay includes basic pay, grade pay, dearness allowance and washing allowance, and that the amount is counted for each day of work, not as a fixed monthly salary.

So when someone asks "home guard ki salary kitni hoti hai", the right reply is: daily rate multiplied by the number of duty days you got that month. A home guard who gets 25 days of duty earns far more than one who gets 10.

Home guard salary per month: official examples from states

These examples come from official state orders and court records. They show how the system works. Rates are revised from time to time, so treat them as past figures and check the latest order in your state.

Notice two things. First, the 30 day figure is the best case. Many home guards get fewer duty days, especially outside election and festival seasons. Second, older rates in many states were very low, and they rose sharply only after court orders linked them to police pay.

State-wise home guard salary: UP, Bihar, Rajasthan and others

People search for up home guard salary, bihar home guard salary, rajasthan home guard salary, odisha home guard salary, jharkhand home guard salary and more. The structure is the same everywhere: a daily rate set by the state, paid for days on duty. Only the rate changes. Here is where to look for the current figure:

For example, the homeguard salary in UP depends on the UP rate and on how often the district calls you; the phrase up police home guard salary means the same thing, since home guards deployed with UP Police are paid the state's daily duty allowance. The home guard salary in Rajasthan and the home guard salary in Odisha work the same way under their own state orders.

Ignore social media posts that quote one fixed "home guard salary per month" for a state. That number only holds if you get duty every single day. Ask the district office how many duty days volunteers in your district usually get.

Home guard eligibility and age limit

Each state sets its own rules in its enrolment notice. The common pattern is:

• Residence: you must live in the state, and often in the district where you enrol.
• Qualification: usually 10th pass. Some states have asked for less or more in the past.
• Age: a minimum of 18 or 20 years and an upper limit set by the state. For example, Delhi's Home Guards training material lists 20 to 47 years for men and 20 to 42 years for women.
• Physical standards: a minimum height (Delhi lists 165 cm for men and 150 cm for women), chest measurement for men, and a timed run.
• Character: no criminal record, and good health.

Women can join in most states. If you want a full list of options for women, see govt jobs for women.

Home guard exam and selection process

The home guard exam is simpler than a police constable exam. Most states use some mix of these steps:

1. Application through the district office or an online portal.
2. Physical measurement: height, chest and weight.
3. Physical efficiency test: a run in a set time.
4. Written test in some states, usually objective general knowledge. For the up home guard exam pattern, check the latest notice from the agency named by the UP government.
5. Document check and medical fitness.

Since there is often little or no written exam, home guard enrolment is one of the govt jobs without a tough exam. But the number of seats is limited, and enrolment is opened only when the state decides.

Training, ranks and the home guard commandant

After enrolment you get basic training. In Delhi, basic training is 36 days at the Central Training Institute. It covers drill, discipline and police support duties. Advanced courses follow in disaster response, fire fighting, search and rescue, first aid, communication, self defence and leadership.

The volunteer ranks in Delhi, from top to bottom, are District Commandant, Company Commander, Senior Platoon Commander, Platoon Commander, Platoon Havildar, Section Leader, Assistant Section Leader and Home Guard Jawan. Other states use similar names. Volunteers in higher ranks may get a small rank allowance per day, as Himachal Pradesh's order shows. Where a state has full-time staff officers in its Home Guards department, their home guard commandant salary follows the state pay scale for that post, not the daily allowance.

Is the home guard job worth it

Think of home guard service as a part-time, local, uniformed role, not a career job on its own.

• Good points: you serve near home, you get uniformed experience and training, and income comes in when duty is regular.
• Weak points: no fixed monthly salary, no regular post, and duty days can drop in quiet months.
• A useful bonus: some states reserve a share of certain posts for home guards. Odisha's Home Department, for example, has reserved posts for home guards in excise constable, fireman and jail warder recruitment.

My advice: if you are 10th or 12th pass, use home guard duty as a base while you prepare for a regular job such as police constable, UP Police constable, Bihar Police constable or SSC GD constable. Those give a fixed pay level, allowances and a career path. See more ideas in govt jobs after 10th.

How to apply and official website

Home guard enrolment is announced by the state Home Guards department or the district commandant, and sometimes through the state police recruitment body. Watch your state's Home Guards website, the district office notice board and local newspapers. Read the notice for age, height, documents and the exact home guard duty allowance before you apply. Never pay an agent: enrolment is done only by the state.