News

Centre unveiled ‘Agnipath’ Scheme for Altering The Recruitment Process Of Soldiers

• By All That Trending
• 14-06-2022
• 18.29K

Recently, the Government of India unveiled a new scheme for the recruitment of soldiers in the armed forces of the country. The government has named this scheme as “Agnipath”. Soldiers recruited under this scheme will be called ‘Agniveer’. According to this scheme, government will recruit Indian soldiers on a short-term contractual basis. Through this process, the government will significantly lower down the ballooning salary and pension bills, that are acting as a liability for the government.  https://twitter.com/adgpi/status/1536624180476923904?  On Tuesday, June 14, 2022, the Cabinet Committee on Security approved this scheme and soon after the discussion, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh held a media briefing, where he unveiled the new scheme. During the briefing, the Defence Minister explained how Agnipath recruitment scheme will transform the structure of India’s defence forces through the induction of young and more energetic profile to the armed forces.  According to the scheme, the Government has introduced revolutionary changes in the Indian soldiers recruitment process. The major change will be in the form of soldier’s duty tenure. Through this scheme, soldiers would be initially appointed for a period of four years, after which, some of them would be retained while other would be called of the duty. 

What Is Agnipath Scheme?

https://twitter.com/AkashvaniAIR/status/1536652482754977792? The Defence Minister explained that the Agnipath scheme is aimed to provide fair chances to Indian youngsters so that they could get the equal opportunity to serve the armed forces as ‘Agniveer’. Furthermore, Navy chief Admiral R. Hari Kumar added that the scheme would ensure a wider talent pool in Indian armed forces, which will make the team more dynamic.  During the briefing, officials made it clear that during the four years of service, the selected individuals will receive a monthly package with a risk of hardship allowance. Furthermore, once this period gets completed, the soldier will receive a ‘Seva Nidhi’ package.  According to reports, the Government has planned to recruit 46,000 Agniveers this year, and the recruitment rallies will begin in 90 days.  The ‘Agnipath’ scheme was earlier conceptualized as ‘Tour of Duty’, and the launch of it was witnessed by the chiefs of the three services. The new scheme is now proclaimed after extensive discussions done on terms and conditions during the last two years. 

Present Structure Of Recruitment Process

Currently, the Indian Army recruits young soldiers under a scheme called ‘Short Service Commission’. Under this scheme, youngsters get a chance to serve the nation for minimum of 10 years. This tenure can be further extended to 14 years maximum, as per the track record of the candidate. The objective for inducting Short Service Commission scheme was also to curb the salary and pension bills of all three serving forces. According to the Union Budget of 2022-23, the Defence sector received an amount of Rs. 5,25,166 crore. This allocation was inclusive of Rs. 1,19,696 for defence pensions. The revenue expenditure of the Centre includes expenses on payment of salaries and maintenance of establishments. Looking to the increased expenditure on soldier’s salaries and pensions, the Government decided to slash this allocation, by launching the Agnipath scheme. Through Agnipath Scheme Indian Army will now be able to recruit young and highly energetic soldiers in the armed forces.

• Tags
• #seo tags