Agnipath Scheme

The Opposition parties have demanded a discussion on the Agnipath military recruitment scheme during the Monsoon Session of Parliament.
Several Opposition parties, including TMC, BJD, Shiv Sena, TDP, Akali Dal, CPI(M),CPI, RSP and JMM, skipped the meeting. TMC said that such pre-session meetings are a sham because the agreement they reach in the meeting is not implemented in the House.

The Centre has announced the Agnipath scheme for recruitment of soldiers in the three branches of the armed forces, on a short-term basis.

Under the scheme, youth (both men and women) between 17.5 to 21 years of age will be enrolled as soldiers for four years.
These recruits, who will be known as ‘Agniveers’, will form a distinct rank bearing a distinct insignia in the respective forces.

Aimed at reducing salaries and pensions to divert resources for military modernisation, the idea of a short-term recruitment model or ‘Tour of Duty’ (ToD) was first mooted around two years back for the selection of officers and jawans, for a limited number of vacancies.
As part of the Agnipath scheme, selected candidates will be enrolled under the respective Service Acts for four years.
The required educational qualification will be Class 10-12, depending on the service and assigned role.
Agniveers will contribute 30% of their salaries to a package called ‘Seva Nidhi’, and this amount will be matched by the government. This fund will accrue interest, and at the end of the four years, each soldier will get ₹11.71 lakh as a lump sum tax-free amount.
The Agniveers will also be provided non-contributory life insurance cover of ₹48 lakh during their service in the armed forces.
There will, however, be no pension or gratuity benefits for these recruits.
In addition, Agniveers will get skill certificates, awards of credits so that they can study further, and a financial package to support future endeavours after their short-term military service.
After four years of service are completed, Agniveers will be eligible to apply for permanent enrolment in the armed forces. Up to 25% of them will be selected on an objective basis and enrolled as regular cadre.

The move is expected to decrease the average age profile of armed forces personnel from the current 32 years to 24-26 years over a period of time.
It is also expected to reduce the defence pension bill. Since 2020, the government has paid over Rs. 3.3 lakh crore in defence pension.
Having a young military will make it easier to train them for emerging technology.
Apart from career options in the army, trainees will find work in a variety of industries thanks to the skills and experience gained during their four-year service. After their four-year stay, the national government is expected to give precedence to Agniveers in regular employment.

Six months of intensive training may not be sufficient to trust them with the same kind of missions as present forces.
Some cited that there is no job security in the scheme and Agniveers will not be eligible for pension benefits.

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