Agnipath Scheme Rollback? Agniveers Can Now Be Absorbed Into Armed Forces

Under the Agnipath scheme, 75 per cent of Agniveers who had to exit will now be given an additional two-year engagement period, after which the willing Agniveers can enrol in the Armed Forces, the government on Wednesday said in a major Cabinet decision today.

Launched in 2022, Agnipath scheme provides for short-term induction of personnel into the armed forces with an aim to bring down the age profile of the three services. Those recruited under the scheme are called Agniveers. 

The cabinet move came weeks before around 18,000 Agniveers were to exit the armed forces.

Chief of Defence Staff General NS Raja Subramani said all Agniveers will be given an opportunity for continuing their engagement in the armed forces.

It will depend on the performance and review of their performance, he said.

"From the beginning it was clear that this scheme will be reviewed. Every year the Agniveers were reviewed and we arrived at a decision that there should be a two year extension," General Subramani said, adding the scheme from the beginning "was not set in stone".

"This review did not just happen today; it has been an ongoing process. We have been discussing this for the past three to four months, and today the cabinet has approved our recommendations," he said. 

The General further stressed that the Agnipath scheme in its current form, that is, the first four years, will continue.

"The Agnipath scheme has not been discontinued. It will continue. Secondly, this second engagement period of two years gives those Agniveers who have not been selected in the first four years a chance to serve longer. Their relative experience, qualifications and skills are relative. It's not that they are bad; it's relative. So, in these two years, they get a chance to serve longer in the Army, with the provision that they can be enrolled as regular soldiers. So this is a win-win situation for both," he said.

Under the Agnipath scheme, soldiers were recruited for a four-year term, with a provision to retain only 25 per cent of them in regular services.

The decision comes amid the criticism of the shorter period of engagement, which also led to many states including Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Maharashtra and others providing reservations for Agniveers in police and other services.