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PM Modi meets 3 service chiefs amid row over Agnipath scheme
General Manoj Pande, Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari and Admiral R Hari Kumar met Modi separately for about half an hour each, an official said on condition of anonymity.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with the three service chiefs in the capital on Tuesday, even as defence ministry officials further justified the Agnipath military recruitment scheme, whose announcement last week led to widespread protests in the country.
General Manoj Pande, Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari and Admiral R Hari Kumar met Modi separately for about half an hour each, an official said on condition of anonymity.
There was no official word on what transpired during the meetings.
Earlier in the day, officers from all three services addressed the media about the necessity of the Agnipath scheme, which was announced by defence minister Rajnath Singh on June 14, to recruit youth between the ages of 17-and-a-half and 21 years for a four-year tenure, with a one-time exception of up to 23 years for this year.
The first batch of Agniveers will be trained and deployed by July next year.
“Agnipath scheme balances on three things – youthful profile of the armed forces, technical savvy and adaptable people joining the Army, and making the individual future ready,” said lieutenant general Anil Puri , additional secretary at the department of military affairs. Serving in the armed forces is a challenge and a call of patriotism, he said.
“The Agnipath scheme is being rolled out so that armed forces get the best talent,” he reiterated.
The recruitment process will be conducted in line with the already implemented system that is being followed for the regular enrolment of cadets, military officers said.
The Agnipath scheme is in favour of the nation and the armed forces, and all recruitment in the Indian Air Force will now take place through Agniveer Vayu, said Air Marshal Suraj Kumar Jha, air officer in-charge of personnel. “We are ready to welcome the first batch of prospective cadets,” he said.
The recruitment process for the enrolment of Agniveers will remain the same and there will be no changes made, said Vice Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi, chief of personnel, Indian Navy. After serving for four years, Agniveers will have the provision to be directly inducting into merchant navy, he said.
He further explained the operational aspects of the prospective recruits within the 4-year duration. “There will be no difference between an Agniveer and a regular cadet who had been trained for a period of one year,” Tripathi said. Efforts will be made to improve the trainer to trainee equation, which will enhance the training process, he added.
The training timeline will be compressed to six months without compromising quality, officials said. Agniveers will be eligible for gallantry awards, they said.
