Agnipath Yojana, is a new scheme introduced by the Government of India for recruitment of soldiers below the rank of commissioned officers into the three public services of the armed forces.
The Agnipath Scheme will be the route
for enrollment into the military personnel recruited under this system are to
be called Agniveers, which will be a new military rank.
It was approved by Indian Government
in June 2022 and will be implemented from September 2022. This scheme will
bypass many things including long tenures, pension and other benefits which
were there in old system.
The scheme is for both male and female
aspirants of age group 17.5 to 21 years. The recruitment through this scheme
would be for Indian Army, Navy and Airforce and will take place twice a year.
The posts available would be below the officer cadre.
Nature of service and recruitment under Agnipath Yojana
The recruits named Agniveers will
serve as for a tenure of four years that includes training for six months
followed by 3.5 years deployment, after retirement from the service, they will
have opportunity to apply to continue in army and 25 percent of Agniveers will
be selected for the permanent cadre.
Salary Structure for 1styear, 2nd year, 3rd year and 4th year respectively.
- Customised Package (Monthly) : 30000, 33000, 36500, 40000
- In Hand (70%) :21000, 23100, 25580, 28000
- Contribution to Agniveers Corpus Fund (30%) :9000, 9900, 10950, 12000
- Contribution to Corpus Fund by GOI : 9000, 9900, 10950, 12000
- Total Contribution to Agniveer Corpus Fund after 4 Years : 5.02 lakh
- Total Contribution to Agniveer Corpus Fund after 4 Years by GOI :5.02 lakh
- They will get a non-contributory insurance cover of 48 lakh.
- After their tenure is over, they will receive the “Seva Nidhi“ package of 11-12 lakh from the Government of India. The ‘Seva Nidhi’ will be exempt from Income Tax.
- The monthly contribution from the individual will partly contribute to the “Seva Nidhi” Package.
It is expected to recruit 45,000 to 50,000 personnel through this scheme.
Advantages of Agnipath Scheme
- A transformative reform of recruitment policy of the Armed Forces. A unique opportunity to the youth to serve the country and contribute to Nation Building. Armed Forces profile to be youthful and dynamic. Attractive financial package for the Agniveers.
- They will get skill certificates and bank loans after the completion of their service which will help them in their second career.
- With the Agneepath Govt Scheme, a younger and a bigger youthful profile of the armed forces will be achieved.
- Right now the army recruits youths for a short service commission for an initial tenure of 10 years tenure. This 10-year tenure is extendable to 14 years of service.
- The government stated that the system will come into immediate effect and will govern the enrollment for the 3 services- Army, Air Force and Navy. This statement implies that the existing framework of the enrolment of the soldier will still exist.
- Opportunity for Agniveers to train in the best institutions and enhance their skills & qualifications. It is expected Agniveers will get preferential job opportunities in Central Armed Police Force.
- With the Agneepath Govt Scheme, the Government of India aims to cut down the high salary and pension bill out of the budget.
- Availability of well-disciplined and skilled youth with military ethos in civil society and adequate re-employment opportunities for those returning to society and who could emerge as role models for the youth.
Disadvantage of Agnipath Scheme
- Inadequate training- for highly skill arm forced it takes six to seven years to become a good soldier Just 6 months of training is not enough to make a soldier capable of war.
- Maintenance of state-of-the-art weapons and training to operate them is not complete. By the time they learn to operate modern weapons, they will leave the army. In such a situation, the hope of better performance of those soldiers in the battlefield is reduced.
- Paucity of passion- according to defence expert 'name, salt and mark' are very important in the army will a young man who has come for 4 years do this work? Second, will only 25 percent of the trained jawans be enough to protect the country?
- Confidence will drop- As per defence expert the country's army has proved itself on every front now this step is going to bring down the morale of the army as after 4 years of service only 25 percent of the youth retain.
- No Pension Benefit: Personnel who retire after 4 years of service will not be eligible for pension scheme of the Indian Army.
- Training may persist unutilized: High possibility of Agniveers losing motivation in work due to insecurities of being jobless after four years.
Aggressive reaction of aspirants against Agneepath scheme
Massive protests erupted in parts of
country over the Agnipath recruitment scheme, several aspirants expressed
dissatisfaction over the length of service, no pension provisions etc.
The scheme was neither debated in the
parliament nor in the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence. No
information about the scheme was given to the public prior to its announcement
or not produce any white paper for discussion and feedback.
A day after the announcement of the
scheme, violent protests erupted in several states where the army aspirants
angry with the new scheme called for its rollback.
However, in the midst of nationwide outrage over the new recruitment scheme for the Defense Services.
10% reservation for Agniveers in Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) and Assam Rifles.
The Ministry of Home Affairs has decided to give a 10 percent reservation for recruitment in CAPFs & Assam Rifles for Agniveers. The MHA has also decided to give a three years relaxation in the upper age limit for the Agniveers to be recruited in the two forces.
The Home Ministry also said that for the 1st batch of Agniveer, age relaxation will be for 5 yrs beyond the upper age limit.
Conclusion
Agneepath scheme for defense will be a
win-win situation for the nation, armed forces, society and individuals. It
will help in building a nation in civil society with the help of disciplined,
empowered and skilled youth with military ethos.
However, as per the response and
feedback of the candidates, the feedback should be discussed with all the
stockholders to be taken and if there is any deficiency then offered in a more
sophisticated form.
