All About AGNIPATH SCHEME
AGNIPATH
SCHEME, WILL IT PROVE A MILITARY TRANSFORMATION?
WRITTEN BY
MUSKAN
PRASAD
3RD YEAR , B.A.LLB (HONS)
AMITY LAW SCHOOL, NOIDA
EDITED
BY
POOJITHA POLICHETTY
3RD YEAR B.A.LLB(GEN)
DR. AMBEDKAR GLOBAL LAW INSTTITUTE, TIRUPATI
Introduction
The
Indian Armed Forces comprise the army, navy, and air force. The youth have
always seen joining the army as an attractive career opportunity. The number of
youths who get themselves enrolled every year in the Armed forces provided
solid proof that this indeed was a promising profession for the youngsters of
today. Everybody has reasons for joining this profession; the main reasons are
job security, handsome pay, respect, and serving the country.
In
general, soldiers were recruited into the armed forces on a 15+ years tenure
with a lifelong pension. But from 2019,
no recruitment was done for 3 years, the reason cited for this by the government
was Covid – 19 pandemic. While around 60,000 soldiers continued to retire every
year. This resulted in a personal shortage in the army, affecting its
operational capabilities. Thus, in the year, 2020 a ‘Tour off duty’ scheme was
proposed for the voluntary recruitment of civilians into the forces, enabling
them to join the forces and serve the nation for three years of short service.
This
scheme was proposed on a trial basis. It was planned that it would start with a
test group of 100 officers and 1000 soldiers. Following the proposal, the Union
Cabinet approved the recruitment scheme for the Indian youth to serve in the
armed forces with the name of Agnipath. The youth selected under this scheme
would be categorized as Agniveers. Agniveers will be enrolled for four years in
the Indian armed forces.
What
is Agnipath Scheme?
This
scheme was introduced by the Centre for the recruitment of soldier into the
three respective services of the armed force. This system will only provide a
route for the recruitment of people into the military. The people who will be
selected under this scheme will be taken for 4 years. A question might arise as
to who Agniveers are or who will be called Agniveers. So, the youth who will be
joining the scheme will be called Agniveers.
Purpose
of the Agnipath Scheme
After
the government announced this scheme there was a certain purpose that the
government is trying to achieve through this scheme. The first one is that the
whole recruitment process will be carried out through this scheme only and to
implement this Indian army Entrance Program so that the young people can be
trained under this and a reduction in the retirement and pension cost. The
major aspect of this recruitment process is that there won’t be any admission tests
for youngsters.
Benefits
of the Agnipath scheme
According
to the Centre, there are many benefits of this scheme these are,
- 1. The selection of the Agniveers who were not retained, will get Rs. 12 lakhs to start a new life or can utilize this fund further for their education.
- 2. This scheme is open to the recruitment of about 46,000 soldiers in the Army, Navy, and Air Force in the first year.
- 3. The center also states that those who wish to become entrepreneurs will get help from government security business loans.
- 4. Other sectors such as Security, Engineering, and also IT sectors will give priority to the retired Agniveers.
- 5. After the completion of the 4 years, only 25% of the Agniveers will be retained which also means that lakhs of the candidate will get permanent jobs.
- 6. Those Agniveers who will retire or will not be retained will get a first-hand experience of serving in the armed forces. This in turn will help them become more disciplined and skilled by the end of their service, also as mentioned in the above point they will have the financial backing of Rs. 12 lakhs through which they can either start their own business or do other things.
- 7. Getting adequate re-employment opportunities for those who will be returning and who could emerge as role models for today’s youth
1. There will be no pension benefits for Agniveers. So though under this scheme they will get a lump sum amount of about Rs.12 lakhs after the completion of their 4 years on the other hand they will not get any pension benefits which means a major loss. Thus, for most of them, a second job is essential for them to support themselves and their families.
After this scheme was proposed by the Centre, they had to observe a series of protests by the youth in some parts of the country. These protests involved the burning down of trains destruction of public as well as private property. This massive amount of protests has happened mainly in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.
One
of the main reasons was the flow of misinformation through social media and
also as these Agniveers who will be falling under this scheme will not be
getting any retirement benefits and pensions. The people who had protested had
put forward the claim that this scheme hinders or prevents their claim for a monetary
benefit such as the pension, as the Centre plans to keep only 25% of the Agniveers after the completion of the
4-year tenure.
There
are other reasons behind this huge protest along with the reason mentioned above
these are
Period
or tenure of service – the short period of
employment has outraged many youths. According to them serving the army just
for 4 years is not reasonable and those who will be retiring or leaving the
service after the completion of the period will have a path full of uncertainty
ahead of them.
Age
criteria- A genuine concern has been raised by the
protestors. As they want the government to raise the upper age limit since many
of the young people who want to join have crossed the upper age limit of 23
years which is the upper age criteria for joining under the Agnipath scheme.
Also, before joining the army the youth often would spend years in training
with the NCC, and all this just rounded up in the 4 years and if they are not
selected then they will have to reorient themselves to the need of a different
job when they are about to hit their 30s this idea in itself did not fit with
the aspirants.
Major
changes in the recruitment process ( After the protest )
After
the massive nationwide protest against the Centre on the recently launched
Agnipath Scheme which continues to intensify, in the light of the recent event
the government has made some amendments to the scheme about addressing the
concerns of the protestors. The center has decided on 10% reservations for the Agniveers
in various Central government jobs after the completion of their period as per
the Scheme. The 25% of Agniveers who will get recruited under this new scheme
will be provided with reservations for job vacancies in the Ministry of
Defence, Indian Coast Guard, and Civilian Posts. Apart from these other changes
have been made which are mentioned below
10%
quota in Defence Ministry jobs –Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has announced
that the government will reserve 10% jobs in the Defence Ministry and other
sectors too as mentioned above. However, this reservation would be in addition
to the existing reservation for ex-servicemen.
10%
reservation in CAPF and Assam Rifles - To assuage the concerns over the scheme
the Home Ministry has announced to reserve 10% of vacancies in the Centre
paramilitary force (CPF) and the Assam Rifles for the Agniveers also besides a
3-year relaxation in the upper age limit.
Change
in the upper age limit for the first batch – the Centre has increased the upper
age limit from 21 to 23 years for the first years, amidst the widespread
protest against the new model for the enrollment of the soldiers in the three
services.
Conclusion
I
would like to conclude that there are pros and cons to the same and only time
will tell whether this scheme will bore any fruit or not. Though this scheme
might seem to give very low employment opportunities considering the
unemployment rate in India where employment is the need of the hour.
References
Ø https://www.lawyersclubindia.com/articles/agneepath-scheme-an-analysis-15034.asp
Ø https://d3rk2wqy1pqubb.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/agnipath-scheme-1.jpg
Ø
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