Senior government officials told News18 that recruitment in the Indian Armed Forces under the newly launched Tour of Duty or Agneepath scheme is likely to increase progressively to about 59,000 soldiers, airmen and sailors over the next four years, up from around 46,000 in the first year. Was.
The scheme, which will replace the existing procedures for recruitment in the Army, Navy and the Indian Air Force (IAF), was unveiled by Defense Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday and termed as “transformative”. Recruitment rallies for the services are scheduled to begin within 90 days.
gradual increase
Under this scheme, the Army is set to induct around 40,000 soldiers, Navy 3,000 sailors and IAF 3,000 airmen in the first year.
An official told News18 that as per the existing plans, in the second year, the total recruitment is likely to go up to around 46,500, of which the Army and Navy numbers will remain the same at around 40,000 and 3,000, but the IAF figure will go up to around 3,500.
In the third year, the plan is to recruit around 52,400 youth, of which the Army will recruit around 45,000, the Navy 3,000 and the Indian Air Force 4,400.
The armed forces plan to induct around 58,800 youth in the fourth year, of which the Army is likely to have around 50,000, the Navy 3,500 and the Indian Air Force 5,300.
In order to meet the shortage of Armed Forces personnel created in the last two years when the recruitments were stalled, the increased recruitment will be significantly noticed.
Skill Development Ministry to issue detailed certificate
Sources told News18 that a centralized digital database would be created by the three services. Agnivers Or soldiers who join the scheme during their four-year tenure to track their skills and keep records.
“In addition, the services will draft a robust evaluation system for Agniveers, which will help in tracking their performance,” said a source.
Sources indicated that when the Agniveers are released after four years, the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship is likely to issue a detailed skill-set certificate highlighting their qualifications.
Defense Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday said that various states and ministries in the central government are working towards ensuring that Agnivars get preference in jobs after completing their tenure, which follows a holistic government approach to the scheme. gives a signal. He had said that in a few days the full picture would come out.
After this, Home Minister Amit Shah said on Wednesday that Agniveers who have completed four years of service will be given priority for jobs in paramilitary forces and Assam Rifles.
“Agneepath scheme is a visionary and welcome decision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for bright future of youth. In this context, today the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has decided to give priority to Agniveers who have completed 4 years under this scheme for recruitment in CAPFs (Central Armed Police Forces) and Assam Rifles.
Under the scheme, all sailors, airmen and soldiers, except the technical cadre of the medical branch, will be recruited into the services.
They will be provided with a contributory financial package called service fund when they are released. Additionally, they will be incentivized with higher academic credit, lateral absorption and other bridging courses when they are released after four years, the government had said.
Under the scheme, youth in the age group of 17.5 to 21 years will be inducted into the armed forces for four years. After exiting the services at the end of that period, up to 25% of them may voluntarily apply to join the services on regular basis based on merit and organizational requirements.
It will also be progressively open to men and women based on service-specific needs. His nomination will be on the basis of ‘All India, All Classes’. They will form a separate rank in the Armed Forces and carry a different insignia.
While the government has called the scheme transformative, it has drawn a sharp reaction from veterans. Many retired defense personnel have argued that it should have been first tested on a small scale before being fully implemented in one go. Others have pointed out that this scheme should have been employed for all ranks.
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