Of late, the “AGNIPATH” scheme that has been announced publicly by the esteemed Defence minister Rajnath Singh after seeking necessary approval from C
Of late, the “AGNIPATH” scheme that has been announced publicly by the esteemed Defence minister Rajnath Singh after seeking necessary approval from Cabinet Committee on Security, spearheaded by Mr. Narendra Modi has become a hot topic for discussion. While the scheme seems to take a middle ground in certain aspects, aspirants are still at crossroads about participation or boycott. Below is a fundamental introduction and enlistment of the features of the program to enable candidates to make a sound judgement about their involvement or absence from the program.
WHAT IS THE PROGRAM?
The “Agnipath” scheme seeks to act as a recruitment initiative to inculcate more members into the Indian Armed Forces and increase career opportunities in the field.
PURPOSE
The primary objective of the program is the enlisting of young flesh into the country’s backbone, ie: the military to give the defence system a rejuvenated profile while tapping into the valour of the youth. Another important facet of the program is to properly utilise the modern technologies propagated by the various technical institutions of the country to facilitate the transition of the armed forces into the modern era. However, these objectives serve as a distraction to subdue the major purpose of curbing the percentage of the budget expended on salaries and pensions.
ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA & RECRUITMENT
Another purpose that the program seeks to fulfil is the recruitment of more young individuals into the forces to squash the shortage of personnel. With this intention, roughly 46,000 candidates will be selected in the first phase and the number will gradually be increased to 59,000 within four years.
Concerning the prerequisites for eligibility, youth from ages 17.5 to 21 are applicable on an “All India, All Class” basis. However, the candidates must meet the medical requirements prescribed for standard enrollment in the armed forces.
Educational qualifications; however, vary depending on the different categories. For instance, within the General Duty, All Arms category, aspirants must pass Class 10th Matric with 45%. Agneepath Recruitment 2022, Apply Online, Eligibility, Age Limit …
Further, the candidates will be employed for four years under specific service acts with the Army, Navy, or the Airforce. Following this, 25% of each batch could be enrolled in the regular cadre of the armed forces. The selection process for the same will be unified and depend on the performance of personnel during the stipulated tenure. Lastly, recruitment links are as follows:
Indian Army Agneepath Recruitment 2022 Bharti, Apply Online StartsAgnipath – Indian Air Force: Touch The Sky With Glory
TRAINING
Training for the Agniveer program would approximately be 6 months, following which the active service for the next 3.5 years would commence. To explain, the training period for the Army recruits would fall between 3.5 to 6 months and the Navy recruits would have 4 months of professional training and an ensuing 2 weeks of sea training.
SALARY
The starting salary for an Agniveer is said to be ₹30,000 from which an omission of 30% will be made and consequently the following amount will be donated to the Agniveer Corpus Fund. Later, the salary would increase and reach up to ₹40,000 in the final year.
BENEFITS
Of the perks provided by various state governments and ministries, the all-encompassing is the “SevaNidhi” package, which is a one-time payment consisting of their contribution in addition to the interest on the same and an equivalent contribution from the government. The total package in most cases adds up to ₹11.71 lakhs and this amount would be exempt from any taxations. Furthermore, about 10% of the Home and Defence Ministry posts have been reserved for Agniveers per the Union Government. Similarly, about 10% of jobs in the Indian Coast Guard and a similar percentage of positions in the Central Armed Police Forces and Assam rifles will also be held for them following the completion of their tenure. Moreover, the Ministry of Ports, Shipping, and Waterways and that of Civil Aviation have assured to rope in the youth from these programs to enable a smooth transition.
Besides this, various state governments and industrialists have also promised advantages in the workforce to the participants.
Agniveers will be given priority in jobs in Haryana and Madhya Pradesh.
Following completion of tenure, police aspirants in Assam and Karnataka will also be given priority in recruitment.
Anand Mahindra, a well-known business conglomerate has announced his desire to include trained Agniveers in the Mahindra group.
Likewise, industrialist Harsh Goenka also declared his decision to recruit Agniveers into the RPG after their work with the armed forces.
ADVANTAGES
Enticing financial package
The reputation of serving the armed forces and an increase in credibility
Improving skills and developing qualifications through training at esteemed institutions.
A revitalised recruitment scheme allowing accessibility for more aspirants to join the armed forces.
DISADVANTAGES
The program doesn’t warrant health benefits and permanent jobs after its completion. Only 25% of personnel are retained in the military while the remaining 75% are left without any prospects.
The brief training of 6 months as opposed to the standard 2-3 years required for the training of a jawan in the army is seen as lacking in substance to prepare a person for army life adequately.
The scheme doesn’t offer a pension or any other gratuity in exchange for the service and is tough financially.
It can be seen as a scheme devised for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls and reducing the expenditure of the armed forces by removing the possibility of long-term pension.
In essence, the “AGNIPATH” program does seek to provide a solution for revolutionising the Indian Armed Forces; however, the opportunity does come with underlying costs and does need revisions.
Lastly, the recruitment for the Navy aspect is already available online with forms and aspirants can now begin applications for the same.
https://onlinebseb.in/indian-navy-agniveer-recruitment-2022-apply-online/
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