The Centre on Thursday raised the upper entry age limit for recruitment under the new Agnipath military scheme to 23 years from 21 amid large-scale protests across the country. The government stated that the age relaxation will be given only one time for the proposed 2022 recruitment cycle.
In a statement, the government said, “Cognizant of the fact that it has not been possible to undertake the recruitment during the last two years, the Government has decided that a one-time waiver shall be granted for the proposed recruitment cycle for 2022. Accordingly, the upper age limit for the recruitment process for the Agnipath scheme for 2022 is increased to 23 years.”
The Centre’s newly launched military recruitment scheme, unveiled earlier this week, led to violent protests across the country — from Bihar to Gurugram — with agitators demanding its rollback. The scheme proposed to hire youth between the age bracket 17.5 years and 21 years to take up jobs in the Indian armed forces for a tenure of four years.
The upper entry age limit of 21 years was among the several issues that the protesters raised against the recruitment scheme.
Under Agnipath, after compulsory retirement after four years, the government plans to involve youth in civilian jobs. However, the move was widely criticised by job aspirants as well as the opposition.
Govt Seeks to Allay Concerns
Following the protests, government officials on Thursday sought to allay the concerns expressed by some over the financial security of those inducted into the Agnipath scheme. Officials said that ‘Agniveers’ will have a multitude of options after completing their four-year-long stint with the armed forces such as entrepreneurship, further studies and priority in other jobs.
“Those wishing to be entrepreneurs — they will get a financial package and bank loan scheme. Those wishing to study further will be given a class 12 equivalent certificate and bridging course for further studies. Those wishing to obtain jobs will be given priority in CAPFs and state police. Several avenues are also being opened up for them in other sectors,” a senior government official explained.
The scheme, which will replace the existing processes for recruitment into the Army, Navy, and the Indian Air Force (IAF), was unveiled on Tuesday by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and was hailed as “transformational”. Recruitment rallies to the services are set to begin within 90 days.
“The scheme will increase employment opportunities and aim to create a youthful profile of the armed forces. The ‘Agniveers‘ will be given a good pay package and an exit retirement package after four years of service,” Rajnath Singh had said at a press conference after a Union Cabinet meeting on Tuesday.
Under the scheme, the Army is set to induct around 40,000 soldiers, the Navy 3,000 sailors, and the IAF 3,000 airmen in the first year. An official told News18 that as per current plans, in the second year, the total intake would likely go up to about 46,500, of which the Army’s and the Navy’s numbers would remain the same at nearly 40,000 and 3,000, but the IAF’s figure would go up to about 3,500.
In the third year, there are plans to recruit close to 52,400 youth, of which, the Army’s intake would be approximately 45,000, the Navy’s 3,000, and the IAF’s 4,400.
The Armed Forces plan to induct around 58,800 youth in the fourth year, of which the Army’s intake is likely to be about 50,000, the Navy’s 3,500, and the IAF’s 5,300.
The increased intake will significantly take care of the shortfall of Armed Forces personnel created in the last two years when recruitments remained stalled.
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