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Rajnath announces 10% job quota for Agniveers in Coast Guard, DPSUs
The Agnipath model, announced by Singh on June 14 in the presence of the three chiefs, has replaced the legacy system of recruitment with the aim to lower the age profile of the three services, ensure a fitter military and create a technically adept war fighting force capable of meeting future challenges
Defence minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday said the government has cleared a proposal to reserve 10% of jobs in organisations under the ministry for Agniveers recruited under the Agnipath model for short-term induction of soldiers in the defence services, provided they meet the requisite eligibility criteria for such subsequent employment, even as thousands of angry defence aspirants ignored appeals for calm and intensified their protests across the country demanding that the scheme be immediately rolled back.
“The 10% reservation will be implemented in the Indian Coast Guard and defence civilian posts, and all the 16 defence public sector undertakings. This reservation would be in addition to existing reservation for ex-servicemen,” the minister said. The decision was taken at a top-level meeting chaired by Singh and attended by the three service chiefs, defence secretary and senior officials of the department of military affairs.
The Agnipath model, announced by Singh on June 14 in the presence of the chiefs, has replaced the legacy system of recruitment with the aim to lower the age profile of the three services, ensure a fitter military and create a technically adept war fighting force capable of meeting future challenges.
Necessary amendments to relevant recruitment rules will be undertaken to implement the 10% reservation, Singh said. “Defence public sector undertakings will be asked to make similar amendments to their respective recruitment rules. Necessary age relaxation provision will also be made,” he added.
The 16 DPSUs are Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, Bharat Electronics Limited, Bharat Earth Movers Limited, Bharat Dynamics Limited, Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Limited, Goa Shipyard Limited, Hindustan Shipyard Limited, Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders, Mishra Dhatu Nigam Limited, Armoured Vehicles Nigam Limited, Advanced Weapons & Equipment India Ltd, Munitions India Limited, Yantra India Limited, Gliders India Limited, India Optel Limited and Troop Comforts Limited.
“This is a good step. It will assuage some of the concerns about future employment of Agniveers,” said former Northern Army commander Lieutenant General DS Hooda (retd).
The three service chiefs on Friday mounted a defence of the Agnipath model, arguing that it presented an opportunity to youth to serve the nation, and military service would equip them with skills for subsequent employment.
Army chief General Manoj Pande said youth had perhaps not fully understood the contents and implications of Agnipath, and that had led to apprehension over the scheme. Once they understand, they will realise it is good for them and the armed forces, he said on Friday.
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 more years after another round of screening, enhance the operational preparedness of the armed forces, and create a skilled and dynamic work force for employment in other sectors.
There is now no other avenue for recruitment for personnel below officer rank (PBOR) in the army, air force and navy.
Navy chief Admiral R Hari Kumar had earlier said the introduction of the scheme was long overdue, and was in line with the recommendations made by the Kargil Review Committee to ensure a younger age profile in the armed forces.
The model is expected to bring down the average age of a soldier in the armed forces from the current 32 years to 24-26 years over the next six to seven years.
The Indian Air Force will be the first service to recruit young men under Agnipath. It will kick off selection under the new recruitment model on June 24.
The defence ministry on Thursday granted a two-year age relaxation to defence aspirants and made those who are 23 eligible for a career in the military for the next round of recruitment as a one-time waiver given that the process was stalled for more than two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The armed forces will recruit 46,000 Agniveers this year, with the army expected to conduct its first recruitment rally under the new model in 90 days.
The government has said that Agniveers will be absorbed on priority in other central security forces and be eligible for government jobs such as in the railways. But some veterans have raised concerns about the combat-readiness of the new recruits, their levels of motivation, and whether the prospect of a short tenure will make them risk averse.
The four-year service includes training for 10 weeks to six months. Those recruited under the legacy system train for nine months and serve the armed forces for about 20 years before retiring in their late 30s with a pension.
Those recruited under the new scheme will draw an annual package 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.
Soldiers who are released after four years will get ₹11.71 lakh as Seva Nidhi severance package, including ₹5.02 lakh contributed by them during their service. The soldiers released after four years will not be entitled to a pension, while those retained to serve for another 15 years will get the retirement benefit. Pensions account for a fifth of India’s defence budget. The country allocated ₹5.25 lakh crore for military spending this year, including a pension outlay of ₹1.19 lakh crore.
Thousands of defence aspirants plan to pour into the national capital on June 20 to protest the Agnipath model, and demand the scheme’s rollback. Several veterans have said the government must take a fresh look at the scheme before rolling it out, and address the concerns flagged by the defence aspirants about the length of service, financial package and resettlement.
