As protests against “Agnipath” policy turned violent on Friday in several parts of the country, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Home Minister Amit Shah reached out to the job aspirants, asking them to start preparing for the recruitment which will start soon after the age limit was increased to 23 years from 21 on Thursday.
The age limit was raised as a “one-time” waiver as recruitment was put on hold for the last two years due to the corona pandemic, denying a chance to the candidates, Rajnath said, adding it is a “golden opportunity”.
Home Minister Amit Shah said the decision to increase the upper age limit for the recruitment in the defence services will benefit the job aspirants in a big way.
Union Minister Anurag Thakur posted a video on his Twitter, in which he was seen interacting with a group of youngsters in his constituency Hamirpur and clearing their doubts about the scheme.
Army Chief General Manoj Pande too urged the aspirants to avail of this opportunity as they could not do so in the past two years. Raising of the upper age limit for induction under the “Agnipath” scheme would permit a larger section of youth to enroll as “Agniveer”, said IAF chief VR Chaudhari.
Shah said the recruitment process in the Army was affected for the last two years due to the coronavirus pandemic, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken a sensitive decision by showing concern for the youth of the country.
“The recruitment process in the Army was affected due to the corona pandemic for the last two years, so Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi ji has taken a sensitive decision, showing concern for the youth, to give them two years concession in the age limit from 21 years to 23 years in the first year of Agnipath scheme,” Shah said in a tweet in Hindi.
A large number of youth will benefit from this decision. Through the “Agnipath” scheme, they will move forward in the service to the country and their bright future, he said. “I thank @narendramodi ji,” he added.
In an attempt to assuage the concerns of the young people agitating against the “Agnipath” military recruitment, Rajnath said the new model is a “golden opportunity” for those wanting to join the country’s defence system. The process will start in a “few days,” Rajnath said.
He said the Government’s decision to increase the upper age limit from 21 years to 23 years for recruitment under the scheme in 2022 will allow a significant number of youths to join the armed forces.
“Due to the lack of recruitment process in the army for the last two years, many youths could not get the opportunity to join the army. Therefore, keeping in mind the future of the youths, on the instructions of Prime Minister @narendramodi, the Government has increased the age limit for recruitment of Agniveers from 21 years to 23 years,” the Defence Minister said.
The Government on Thursday night increased the upper age limit for recruitment under the “Agnipath” scheme to 23 years from 21 for the year 2022 amid widespread protest against the new model for enrolment of soldiers into the three services.
Unveiling the scheme on Tuesday, the Government said youths between the age of 17-and-a-half and 21 years would be inducted for a four-year tenure while 25 per cent of the recruits will be retained for regular service.
The new scheme for the recruitment of soldiers in the Army, Navy and Air Force was projected by the Government as a major overhaul of the decades-old selection process to enhance the youthful profile of the three services.
The Army Chief said the Government’s decision to raise the upper age limit will provide an opportunity to the youth who were preparing to join the force but could not be recruited due to the Covod-19 pandemic in the last two years.
Pande said the decision of the Government has been received by the Army to grant the one-time waiver and that the recruitment process will be announced shortly.
“The schedule of the recruitment process will be announced shortly. We call upon our youths to avail this opportunity for joining the Indian Army as Agniveers,” Pande said.
After the scheme was rolled out, the Army said it would ensure an enhanced youthful profile of the force and result in a “reduction in the average age from 32 to 26 years over some time”.
The three services chiefs have also strongly backed the scheme and said it was unveiled after over two years of deliberations.
In a similar message, the Navy also said it was ready to welcome the first batch of “Agniveers” and welcomed the decision to raise the age limit.
Military officials said with the infusion of technology and revamping of the training programme, the armed forces would ensure that the personnel inducted under the scheme have the same skill sets which are required to meet the operational challenges.