AGNIPATH SCHEME | IAS GYAN

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The Union government has announced the ‘Agnipath Scheme’ with the aim to transform the process of recruitment of soldiers, sailors and airmen into the Defence Services.
The scheme has created controversies and protests in several parts of the country.

AGNIPATH Scheme

The objective of the AGNIPATH Scheme is to encourage youth to serve in the Armed Forces for 4 years.
The youth selected under the scheme will be known as Agniveers.
They will get an attractive monthly package with Risk and Hardship allowances.
They will be paid a one-time Seva Nidhi package after the engagement of four years.
- It will be exempt from Income Tax.
Agnipath Scheme will positively impact the Human Resources Management of the Armed Forces.
They will get a salary of Rs 30,000 to Rs 40,000 per month and an allowance as applicable.
There shall be no entitlement to gratuity and pensionary benefits.
They will get a Life Insurance Cover of Rs 48 lakh during their service in the Indian Armed Forces.
About 25% of Agniveers will be selected in the Armed Forces as regular cadres.
The eligibility age limit will be in the range of 17.5 to 21 years, and they will be selected based on all India-level competitions.

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Arguments in Support of the Scheme

It will provide a younger military; the average age will go down from 32 to 26 years.
It will attract technologically smart people and they will be more talented in handling new kinds of modern equipment.
It will attract people from the Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) and other technical institutes.
It will help to reduce the salary and pension budgets.

Arguments against the Scheme

4-year limitations will discourage people from joining defense forces.
It will mentally and psychologically affect the youth as they could fail to maintain the same levels of morale and motivation that permanent soldiers have in the military.
The shortened training period will affect the skill and capabilities of the new soldiers.
It will impact the operational effectiveness of the defense forces.

Way Forward

It will be too early to judge the outcome of the scheme. It should be adopted first at a small level to observe how it works, and then after proper observation and making adjustments according to the ground realities, we can adopt it on large scale.