Central Government reveals a new scheme called “Agnipath” for the recruitment of soldiers in Indian Armed Forces
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh at a media briefing today unveiled a new scheme called “Agnipath” for the recruitment of soldiers in the Indian Armed forces (Army, the Navy and the Air Force) on a short-term contractual basis.
The new scheme was announced after extensive consideration of it over the last two years. The scheme is aimed at slashing the salary and pension bills of the three services, which have been increasing rapidly.
A New recruitment policy will recruit troops into the Army, the Air Force and the Navy for a duration of four years as jawans, airmen and sailors, respectively. In the first phase, around 45,000 youth in between the age group of 17.5 years to 21 years will be recruited for a period of four years in the three services.
The recruitments will begin within the next 90 days and the first batch is expected to be ready by July 2023.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said – “The Agnipath recruitment scheme is a transformative initiative that will provide a youthful profile to the armed forces.” Under this scheme, Indian youngsters will be provided an opportunity to serve in the armed forces as ‘Agniveer’
Currently, the Army recruits young people under the short service commission for an initial tenure of 10 years, which is extendable up to 14 years.