Agniveer Agnipath Recruitment Scheme for Armed Forces

Government Unveils Agnipath Agniveer Recruitment Scheme for Armed forces

The government of India has unveiled its radical new changed recruitment scheme for Indian Armed Forces called 'Agnipath' where a new recruitee will be called 'Agniveer'. The Cabinet has cleared the ‘Agnipath’ scheme for the recruitment of youth in the Armed Forces on 14th June 2022.

The recruitment of troops was suspended for the last two years due to the Coronavirus Covid19 pandemic. Therefore, the demand for the opening of recruitment in the armed forces was being raised throughout the country as many eligible youth especially rural background youth have aspirations to join the Indian Armed Forces.

The Agnipath Recruitment Scheme

In the new Agnipath Armed Forces recruitment scheme, the candidates will be selected for four (4) years only in three services of the Armed forces viz. Army, Navy and Air Force and they will be called 'Agniveer'.

All of the recruited Agniveer will be de-mobiled after the four year period and 25% of them will be taken back to serve a full term of another 15 years. These four years will not be counted for pension benefits at the time of reiement.

It is proposed to recruit around 46000 youngsters in this new Agnipath recruitment scheme from the age of 17.5 (Seventeen and a Half) to 21 (Twenty One) years annually (For the current year 2022 the maximum age is relaxed up to 23 years) with a monthly salary of ₹30000-40000/- plus allowances. for the first year the consolidated package will be ₹30000/- per month, for the second year ₹33000/- per month, ₹36500/- per month for the third year and ₹40000/- per month for the fourth year. Insurance and Medical covers will be provided as like the regular cadre of soldiers.

The present proposal in the Agnipath scheme is to retain 25% of demobilised troops but the final say in this regard is with the government.

The youth who will be de-mobilised in the scheme will be given 6 (Six) months of training to adapt to real-world situations outside of the armed force. 75% of Agniveers will be demobilised with an exit of the 'Seva Nidhi' package of ₹11.75 Lakh, partially funded by their monthly contributions, as well as skill certificates and a bank loan for help in their second careers. A diploma and a degree are being planned for recruits, besides skill training when they are released from the armed forces.

A diploma and a degree is being planned for recruits, besides skill training when they are released from armed forces.

Aim of the scheme

The Agnipath recruitment will be on All India All Class enrollment. The present regimental cadre system will be stopped.

The scheme has been designed to enable a youthful profile of the Armed Forces. It will provide an opportunity to the youth who may be keen to don the uniform by attracting young talent from the society who are more in tune with contemporary technological trends and plough back skilled, disciplined and motivated manpower into the society.

For the Armed Forces, it will enhance the youthful profile of the Armed Forces and provide a fresh lease of ‘Josh’ and ‘Jazba’ whilst at the same time bringing about a transformational shift towards a more tech-savvy Armed Forces.

The aim of the Agnipath scheme is also to reduce the salary component in the revenu expenditure and the pension bill, which is nearly half of the annual defence budge of Rs.5.2 lakh crore, and is incresing and thus reduing the fund for military modernisation.

The Opposition to the scheme

There is big opposition to this Agnipath scheme also there as many retired armed officers have raised their voices in this regard. Their main opposition is that it will take 7 to 8 years to become a fully trained combat-ready soldier, airman or sailor. It will lead to poorly motivated and trained military personnel, who will become risk-averse because the bulk of them will have to hunt for second careers after four years.

It will also detach an Agniveer from his 'Battalion' or the 'Paltan' whereas in the current scheme a soldier is emotionally and mentally attached to his paltan. Short-term or contractual employment may not bring the fighting spirit to the soldier.

Interested to join as Agniveer?

Please visit following website of Indian Armed forces to appy for Agniveer posts -

1. Indian Air force - https://www.careerindianairforce.cdac.in
2. Indian Army - https://www.joinindianarmy.nic.in
3. Indian Navy - https://www.joinindiannavy.gov.in

Conclusion

Since it is a new proposal, let us wait what effect this scheme brings to the new recruited called Agniveer. We should evaluate all pros and cons of the Agnipath scheme before commenting.

It is envisaged that the average age profile of the Indian Armed forces would come down by about 4-5 years by the implementation of this scheme.

The nation stands to immensely benefit from the infusion of highly inspired youth with a deeper understanding of self-discipline, diligence and focus who would be adequately skilled and will be able to contribute in other sectors.

Please visit https://pib.gov.in/PressReleseDetail.aspx?PRID=1833705 for more details about Armed Forces Agnipath and Agniveer scheme.

Edit-1 (December 2022). - The government has decided to conduct a preliminary recruitment examination at various test centers across India to cut the crowd the Agniveer recruitment rally sites. Selected candidates will only be called at various recruitment sites. The current recruitment test application submission last date is 20th March 2023. 

Edit-2 (March/April 2023). The Government of India has notified a 10% reservation of the vacancies shall be reserved for ex-Agniveers for recruitment in Border Security Force (BSF), in Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and in Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), along with relaxation in age.

Edit-3 (May 2023). The Railway has also notified a 15% reservation of the vacancies shall be reserved for ex-Agniveers for recruitment its various types of vacancies, along with relaxation in age.