Seventeen new police battalions will be raised in Jammu and Kashmir and the Naxal-hit states with Central assistance. According to Home Ministry sources, five battalian will be for Jammu and Kashmir and 12 for the Maoist-affected states. In case of Naxal-hit states, 75per cent vacancies will be filled up by youths from the 27 worst-affected districts.<br/><br/>In case of Jammu and Kashmir, the recruitment process will concentrate on insurgency prone areas. The cost of raising each of the battalion will be around Rs 61 crore and 75 per cent of it will be provided by the central government. At present, there are 144 India Reserve Battalions in various states. In addition, the Centre has recently approved raising eight additional IR Battalions, four each for Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.