By: Sunil Kumar
March 5 2021
An allowance for growing mustache is only paid to police personnel in the Indian states of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.
An allowance for growing mustache is only paid to police personnel in the Indian states of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.Because of historical choices and legacies, mustache allowances remain in Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) uniform rules. Though mustaches are allowed, police uniform rules in India do not allow beards. Only in two Indian states — Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh — do police officers get a mustache allowance. The Indian Police Service (Uniform) Rules of 1954, the state rules on uniforms, the 1986 rules for Uttar Pradesh, and corresponding uniform rules for PAC respectively govern a police officer's appearance. The additional director general of PAC, Binod Kumar Singh, said that the mustache reward was revived for personnel of all 33 PAC battalions in Uttar Pradesh (UP) in 1986. Earlier, the allowance for maintaining a mustache was ₹50. In 2019, they were provided up to ₹250 a month if they sported healthy mustaches. He also added that big mustaches were common until 1995, but the younger generation started preferring a clean-shaven look. In the 1980s, occasional incentives were given to personnel. These varied from Rs 50 to Rs 100, which depended on the district police chiefs' optional powers. In Madhya Pradesh, only some and not all districts' officers used to get an allowance of ₹33 per month. In 2013, the Supreme Court had said that a Maharashtra cop wishing to maintain a beard during a religious period should seek prior permission. In 2019, the Agra Police tweeted about Sub-Inspector Harendra Pal Singh being awarded a mustache incentive allowance (cash prize) by the Senior Superintendent of Police.