A post is being shared widely on social media with a claim that there are 5,79,092 VIPs in India, who are provided with free security, air travel, electricity, water, and medical facilities. Let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: There are 5,79,092 VIPs in India.
Fact: No official figure is available for the number of VIPs in India. In reply to an RTI, the ‘Ministry of Home Affairs’ said, “the term ‘VIP’ is not part of any formal official nomenclature and there is no formal procedure whereby an individual is classified as a ‘VIP’ or non-VIP for the purpose of provision of security cover”. According to a report published by the Bureau of Police Research and Department, “a total number of 19,467 Protected Persons (PPs) (Ministers, MPs, MLAs, Judges, Bureaucrats, etc.) were provided with Police protection for more than 6 months during the year 2019”. Hence the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
When we searched on the internet for information regarding the number of VIPs in India, we could not find any official figure for the number of VIPs in India. However, we came across an RTI reply given by the ‘Ministry of Home Affairs’ in July 2014. In the response, the ‘Ministry of Home Affairs’ said, “the term ‘VIP’ is not part of any formal official nomenclature and there is no formal procedure whereby an individual is classified as a ‘VIP’ or non-VIP for the purpose of provision of security cover”.
Similarly, when asked about the “details of the norms adopted by the Government for according VIP status in the country and the names of the people included under VIP category at present”, then Minister of State for Home Affairs replied in Lok Sabha saying – “There is no official nomenclature whereby any such status as a VVIP or VIP is attributed to an individual”.
According to a report published by the Bureau of Police Research and Department (BPRD), “a total number of 19,467 Protected Persons (PPs) (Ministers, MPs, MLAs, Judges, Bureaucrats, etc.) were provided with Police protection for more than 6 month during the year 2019, which has decreased in comparison to 21,300 (revised) PPs, who were provided security during 2018”. So, the number of people provided with police protection is also not high as the number of VIPs claimed in the post.
Also, it was found that the former Presidents of the USA do receive benefits after their term. The details regarding the benefits they receive can be read here and here.
To sum it up, there is no official figure for the number of VIPs in India.
