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Agnipath back in focus as IAF starts training
New Delhi The Indian Air Force’s first batch of 3,000 Agniveers, recruited under the Agnipath scheme launched this year, began its training on Friday even as the army’s first Agniveers are set to begin their training at regimental centres with improved infrastructure across the country from January 2, 2023, marking a turning point in how soldiers are inducted into the military, officers familiar with the matter said on Friday
New Delhi The Indian Air Force’s first batch of 3,000 Agniveers, recruited under the Agnipath scheme launched this year, began its training on Friday even as the army’s first Agniveers are set to begin their training at regimental centres with improved infrastructure across the country from January 2, 2023, marking a turning point in how soldiers are inducted into the military, officers familiar with the matter said on Friday.
The navy’s Agniveers began their training in the first week of December.
The Agnipath model for short-term induction of soldiers into the three services is a major departure from the military’s decades-old recruitment system that was discontinued when the government announced the new scheme in June 2022. Around 19,000 army Agniveers will begin their training in the first phase, followed by another 21,000 in the second round in March, said one of the officers cited above, asking not to be named.
The army Agniveers will be trained for six months at regimental centres in Ahmednagar, Nasik, Hyderabad, Jabalpur, Bengaluru, Ramgarh, Danapur, Ranikhet and Goa, said another officer.
IAF’s first batch of 3,000 Agniveers kicked off their training at the Airmen Training School at Belagavi in Karnataka on Friday, while the navy’s Agniveers started their training at the INS Chilka training establishment in Odisha. The navy’s first batch of Agniveers consists of 3,000 trainees including 341 women. IAF will start inducting women under the Agnipath scheme next year onwards. The army’s Agniveers include 100 women who be inducted into the Corps of Military Police.
A year-end review published by the defence ministry described the Agnipath scheme as a “major transformative reform”.
Preparation and promulgation of basic military training policy governing training of Agniveers has been revised and implemented for smooth commencement of the training, the ministry said. “Requirement of training infrastructure for regimental centres encompassing simulators. IT infrastructure, physical training/sports infrastructure and works has been worked out and promulgated to cater for the reduced duration of training,” the review added. Recruits trained for around nine months under the legacy system, compared to up to six months now.
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Over 5.4 million candidates registered for the 46,000 jobs in the three services, according to defence ministry data.
India on June 14 announced the new scheme, replacing the legacy system, to lower the age profile of the armed forces, ensure a fitter military, and create a technically skilled war fighting force capable of meeting future challenges. It sparked widespread protests and forced a concerted outreach by the government to scotch apprehensions about the scheme.
“The new scheme has its advantages but we will have to see how it unfolds. The model should be allowed to evolve with appropriate course corrections so that it stays contemporary and futuristic,” said former army deputy chief Lieutenant General Subrata Saha (retd).
The Agnipath scheme seeks to recruit soldiers for only four years, with a provision to retain 25% of them in the regular cadre for 15 years after another round of screening.
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Army chief General Manoj Pande on Thursday described the Agnipath scheme as path-breaking.
“We have upgraded the training infrastructure at regimental centres, got in more simulators and paid more attention to infusion of technology to make the training more effective and meaningful. We have also come up with an extremely transparent, robust and credible assessment and selection system based on which the Agniveers will be selected for continuation of service beyond the initial four years,” Pande said.
He added that commanders at all levels had taken full ownership of the scheme and the focus was now on its correct implementation.
Agniveers will draw an annual salary of ₹4.76 lakh in the first year of service and ₹6.92 lakh in the fourth, will get a non-contributory insurance cover of ₹48 lakh, and an additional ex-gratia payment of ₹44 lakh for death attributable to service.
Those released after four years will get ₹11.71 lakh as Seva Nidhi severance package, including ₹5.02 lakh contributed by them during their service. They will also have job quotas in different government organisations, paramilitary forces and other departments.
