The Union Cabinet on 14 June 2022 approved a recruitment scheme called Agnipath for Indian youth to serve in the Armed Forces. The scheme allows patriotic and motivated youth to serve in the Armed Forces for a period of four years. Agnipath scheme entails a recruitment process for individuals with ranks below that of officers, with the goal of deploying fitter, younger troops on the front lines. It’s a game-changer that will give the Army, Navy, and Air Force a more youthful image. The youth joining the armed forces under Agnipath scheme will be known as Agniveers.
Both men and women would be eligible to join for a four-year term, including training. Agniveers would be given precedence for jobs in PSUs and state governments once their service is completed.
The 1st year salary package of Rs 4.76 lakh with upgradation of up to Rs 6.92 lakh in 4th year While post release, Seva Nidhi package is of approx. Rs 11.71 lakh, including interest (tax free). There’s also a non-contributory insurance cover of Rs 48 lakh. Provided the individuals receive a Agniveer skill certificate which will assist in post release job opportunities.
Unfortunately, the Agnipath Scheme has drawn wide criticism and protests across states in India. The main agenda behind the ongoing protest and agitation is the uncertainty of the future of the Agniveers.
While protesting the government initiative, they vandalised public property, burned trains, and brought life to a halt in several Indian states.
The protesters point out there is no job security in the scheme and Agniveers will not be eligible for pension benefits. They demand a rollback of contractualisation of jobs in the Indian Army. The aspirants say that all their hard work to join the army would go waste as they can work in the army only for four years. Among other things, the aspirants say, they will be left jobless after four years.
On the other hand, the supporters of the scheme says that the scheme provides a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the youth to serve their country and contribute to national development. The Armed Forces would be younger and more vibrant. The Agniveers will have a good financial package with the opportunity to train in the best military ethos in civil society and institutions, as well as improve their skills and qualifications. This will make well-disciplined and skilled youth with military ethos in the civil society.
Analyzing both the positive and negative aspects of this change, there appears to be some misunderstanding about the scheme’s specifics, which must be rectified.
We need to understand that Agniveers are not just military assets, they are social assets. They will be better than all others in every aspect and they will contribute more than an average individual in each and every sector, whether it be public or private.
Infact, if we talk about the international standards, such schemes have been implemented in several countries across the globe. Many of the countries have already tested and proved the worth of such a scheme in which a civilian comes, gets trained for a particular period of time, then leaves and finds another job based on the experience he has gained from his service.
Well, resorting to violence and arson is not a solution. We should first let the scheme be implemented and then find the reasons to criticize. There is no need to become a fortuneteller and predict that this is surely going to fail. Afterall, the domains of warfare are changing and we need younger, more tech-savvy people in the services.