New Delhi (Gurpreet Singh): All Agniveers who wish to continue serving, meet physical fitness requirements and maintain discipline will be eligible for absorption into the regular armed forces after six years of service, defence officials said on Thursday. They clarified that the Agnipath recruitment scheme has not been scrapped but has been revised to introduce an additional two-year engagement period.
The clarification follows the government’s announcement on Wednesday to extend the tenure of Agniveers approaching the end of their initial four-year service by another two years, with a pathway to permanent recruitment thereafter.
Under the revised arrangement, the first 25 per cent of Agniveers will continue to be absorbed into the regular cadre after completing their initial four-year engagement. The remaining personnel will be eligible for absorption after the additional two-year period, subject to the prescribed criteria.
What changes under the revised Agnipath scheme?
A defence official said the revised arrangement would allow all eligible Agniveers to enter the regular cadre, without a fixed numerical limit on the second-stage absorption.
“The key criteria are that the Agniveer must be willing, physically fit and disciplined,” another official said.
Officials also said the seniority of Agniveers would be protected after their absorption. Those joining the regular cadre after six years would be placed immediately below their own batchmates who had entered regular service after the initial four-year engagement. They would not be placed below personnel from subsequent batches, officials added.
The government has described the additional engagement period as a pathway for Agniveers to continue their military careers. However, absorption will remain subject to the eligibility conditions.
Why has the Agnipath scheme been revised?
The changes were announced just over three weeks before around 18,300 Agniveers were scheduled to complete their initial four-year tenure and exit the armed forces.
The decision was taken at a Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Chief of Defence Staff General N S Raja Subramani announced the changes on Wednesday.
Introduced in June 2022, the Agnipath scheme initially provided for recruiting young people between the ages of 17-and-a-half and 21 for a four-year term. Under the original arrangement, up to 25 per cent of each batch could be retained in regular service for a further 15 years.
The scheme was introduced with the stated aim of reducing the average age profile of the armed forces. However, it faced criticism from opposition parties and protests by sections of the youth over the future of the remaining 75 per cent of recruits after their four-year tenure.
Defence officials said the latest changes do not amount to a rollback of Agnipath. Instead, the additional two-year engagement period creates a route for the remaining Agniveers to qualify for regular service after completing six years.
