Agnipath Recruitment Scheme: What Happens to Agniveers After Four Years?

Agnipath Recruitment Scheme aims at inducting youth of the country as Agniveers to serve in the Indian Army for a period of four years

Agnipath Recruitment Scheme, which was recently announced by the Government of India, has led to youth of the country protesting across different cities. The scheme, which aims at providing an opportunity for Indian youth to serve in the Armed Forces for a period of four years, has not been appreciated by job seekers in the country. Protestors claim that the scheme is unfair, and have been questioning the Government of India as to what the selected Agniveers were supposed to do after completing four years.

What is the Agnipath Recruitment Scheme and Agniveers?

The Union Cabinet recently approved the recruitment scheme for Indian youth to serve in the Armed Forces. The scheme is called Agnipath Recruitment Scheme and the youth selected under this scheme will be known as Agniveers. “It will provide an opportunity to the youth who may be keen to don the uniform by attracting young talent from the society who are more in tune with contemporary technological trends and plough back skilled, disciplined and motivated manpower into the society,” says a statement from the Government. Agniveers will be paid a monthly salary of up to Rs 40,000.

Enrolment will be undertaken through an online centralised system for all three services with specialised 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’ basis and the eligible age will be in range from 17.5 to 23 years. Agniveers will meet the medical eligibility conditions laid down for enrolment in the armed forces as applicable to respective categories or trades.

What Happens to Agniveers in Agnipath Recruitment Scheme After Four Years?

After protests erupted across the country, the Government of India has clarified that the Agniveers who wish to work after a period of four years will be offered the following benefits:

• Given priority is central armed police forces, Assam rifles and police allied forces across several states.
• Several companies and sectors including IT, engineering and security have announced their intent to recruit skilled and disciplined Agniveers.

Agniveers who do not wish to work will be offered the following benefits:

• Get a financial package of Rs 12 lakh.
• Priority under bank loan schemes for those hoping to become entrepreneurs.
• Those wishing to study further will be offered class 12 equivalent certificate and bridging course.