E-Paper
Around 20% Agniveers in navy to be women: Officials
The navy opened registrations for 3,000 jobs under the new scheme on July 1, a fortnight after the government introduced the far-reaching and hotly debated recruitment reform.
Up to 20% of candidates that the navy plans to recruit under the government’s new Agnipath scheme for short-term induction of soldiers are expected to be women, officials familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.
The navy opened registrations for 3,000 jobs under the new scheme on July 1, a fortnight after the government introduced the far-reaching and hotly debated recruitment reform.
“These women will be inducted in all branches and trades of the navy. They will be posted in all operational and afloat units,” one of the officials said, seeking anonymity.
The navy will be recruiting women in the personnel below officer rank (PBOR) cadre for the first time. Those recruited under the new scheme will be called Agniveers.
“Depending on the women meeting the eligibility criteria, we expect to induct around 20% women candidates in the first phase of recruitment this year,” said another officer, declining to be named.
Also read: Supreme Court agrees to hear pleas on Agnipath next week
India had on June 14 announced the new military recruitment scheme replacing the legacy system of hiring to lower the age profile of the armed forces, ensure a fitter military and create a technically skilled fighting force capable of meeting future challenges.
It sparked widespread protests and forced a concerted outreach by the government to scorch apprehensions about the scheme.
The armed forces will recruit 46,000 Agniveers this year, out of which the army will hire 40,000, and the air force and navy 3,000 each.
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.
The four-year service includes training for 10 weeks to six months. Those recruited under the legacy system trained for nine months and served the armed forces for about 20 years before retiring in their late 30s with a pension. Agniveers released after four years will not be eligible for a pension.
The navy is also set to commission India’s first indigenous aircraft carrier Vikrant, the largest warship to be built in the country, around Independence Day next month, the officials said. The carrier will provide a significant boost for the country’s naval presence and reach.
Also read: NCC cadets who cleared army test challenge Agnipath in Kerala high court
The warship, with a displacement of 37,500 tonnes, will operate MiG-29K fighter jets, a new deck-based fighter the navy is planning to buy, Kamov-31 helicopters, MH-60R multi-role helicopters and the indigenous advanced light helicopters. It has already tested Boeing F/A-18E Super Hornet and Dassault Aviation’s Rafale-M for the deck-based fighter aircraft.
The navy has completed the trials of the F/A-18E and Rafale-M aircraft and is compiling a report before finalising its qualitative requirements for the maritime fighters, the officials said, adding that India will buy the planes under an intergovernmental agreement. India is also working on a twin-engine, deck-based fighter that will eventually be deployed on its aircraft carriers.
India currently only operates INS Vikramaditya, bought secondhand from Russia for $2.33 billion. The navy has been arguing that it needs three such floating airfields given its vast area of interest.
Vikrant will put India in a select league. Only the US, the UK, Russia, France and China have the capability to build aircraft carriers.
