Of 46,000 soldiers to be recruited through new policy, 25% will be retained for regular service
The Government on Tuesday launched a novel recruitment policy for jawans named “Agnipath” for the three armed forces wherein the soldiers called “Agniveer” will serve a four-year tenure on a contractual basis. On the completion of this period, 25 per cent of them will be retained for regular service of 15 years or more. Nearly 46,000 soldiers will be recruited through the new policy and cut the increasing salary and pension bills. Women recruits will also be covered under it.
Unveiling the much-awaited policy at a news conference, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh termed it a “transformative initiative” aimed at giving a youthful profile to the forces. He also said some State Governments, Central Ministries and Public Sector Undertakings (PSU) will shortly announce some vacancies for “Agniveers” coming out of the forces after the four-year stint.
Flanked by three Services chiefs, Rajnath said there is no need to be skeptical about the new policy as it has been firmed up after due deliberation. The new policy will come into force 90 days from Tuesday and all recruitments will now take place through “Agnipath”. Recruitment of soldiers has been on hold for the past two years due to the Covid.
The Government will not shy away from spending funds for the armed forces, Rajnath said when asked about the estimated savings from ending pension entitlement for the “Agniveers”. Incidentally, one of the main aims of bringing in this scheme is to reduce the huge pension budget and salaries bills.
Also, several veterans have expressed apprehension that the new policy may impact the operational effectiveness of the armed forces as soldiers will serve short stints.
Besides this worry, they also fear that the “Agniveers” leaving the armed forces after the four-year tenure will at best be a semi-skilled labour force. It will reduce their employment avenues in the fast-changing environment with a focus on information technology and other skills needed for the modern-day corporate field.
Giving salient features of the scheme, the Minister also said the Government did not copy any model followed by other countries. “Nakal se shakal bhi badal jaati hai,” Rajnath quipped adding the main objective is to enhance national security.
Briefing media shortly after the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) cleared the policy, Rajnath said it was a “historic” decision. It will allow the youth of the country to have a feel of military service, he said.
The Minister said it will be easy to train the youth as “Agniveer” in the modern-day technology revolution and they will be physically fit. The scheme will open new employment opportunities as the employers will have access to high skilled manpower. He described it as a “win-win proposition”.
Navy chief Admiral R Hari Kumar said the scheme will ensure a wider talent pool for recruitment in the armed forces, adding that women will also be inducted into the Navy as sailors as per requirements. At present, women are serving as officers in the Navy and are deployed on warships, he added.
Army Chief General Manoj Pande said the scheme aims to bring a paradigm shift in recruitment in the armed forces. It will help ensure optimum balance between youth and experience in the army, he added.
Pande said the army's operational capability will be fully maintained during the initial implementation and stabilisation stage of the scheme.
The “Agniveers” will also be deployed at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and the Line of Control (LOC) with China and Pakistan respectively, he said.
Asked about class and caste-specific recruitments for various regiments and the impact on them when “Agnipath” kicks in, the Army chief said at present, more than 75 per cent of the Army comprises all-India, all-class composition.
Also, Pande said over the next few years the composition of the class and caste regiments will also change.
He said there will be “no compromise” on physical, medical and professional standards and parameters that were in place for recruitment of soldiers in the army.
“We will institute a fair, transparent, and scientific method in screening the initial intake for four years and applying similar yardsticks to select those who will get re-enrolled,” Pande said. He said an enhanced youthful profile of the army that is a “reduction in average age from 32 to 26 years” will be achieved over a period.
Currently, the Army recruits young people as jawans for a tenure of about 15 years or more. Once they retire, the soldiers are entitled to full pension and medical benefits. Moreover, nearly 50,000 personnel retire every year.
The new scheme is aimed at slashing the salary and pension bills of the three services. The defence budget of Rs 5,25,166 crore for 2022-23 included Rs 1,19,696 crore for defence pensions.
The allocation for revenue expenditure was Rs 2,33,000 crore. The revenue expenditure includes the expenses on payment of salaries and maintenance of establishments.
Describing it as a major defence policy reform to usher in a “new era” in the human resource policy of the three services, the Defence Ministry said the scheme comes into immediate effect and will govern the enrolment for the three services, implying that existing framework of employment for soldiers will cease to exist.
Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari said the IAF is looking to tap into the source of dynamic young people and it will train and expose them to the high tech environment and hone their skills for future employment.
In a statement, the Defence Ministry said the scheme will enhance the youthful profile of the Armed Forces and provide a fresh lease of josh and jazba while introducing a transformational shift towards a more tech-savvy armed forces, which, it said, is the need of the hour.
The statement said the “Agniveers” will form a distinct rank in the armed forces, different from any other existing ranks. The enrolment will be undertaken through an online centralised system for all three services with specialized rallies and campus interviews from recognised technical institutes such as industrial training institutes and national skills qualifications framework, among others. Enrolment will be based on “All India All Class”.
It said the applications will be considered in a centralised manner based on objective criteria including performance during their four-year engagement period and up to 25 of each specific batch of “Agniveers” will be enrolled in regular cadres of the armed forces.