DNA Exclusive: Agnipath - Gamechanger recruitment policy in Indian armed forces'

The Narendra Modi government has launched a new recruitment scheme called Agnipath. Under the new scheme, youth between the age of 17-21 will be recruited into the Indian armed forces for a time period of four years. The youth recruited under this scheme will be known as Agniveer. As many as 50,000 personnel will be recruited under the scheme every year. The new scheme will reduce Indian armed forces' average age to 26 years from 32 years. It will also reduce the expenses earlier made for pensions. Therefore, on the one hand, the scheme brings mordernisation, and on the other, it reduces the expense.

In today's DNA, Zee News Editor-In-Chief Sudhir Chaudhary analyses the defence ministry's new scheme to recruit young officials for a time period of four years.

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The government's new scheme can be understood in five points:

1) The scheme will be implemented in all three forces - Army, Navy and Air Force. The recruitment will only be done on the positions below the officer ranks, i.e. on Non-Commissioned Ranks.

2) Personnel between the age of 17-21 will be eligible for these roles. They will only work with the force for four years. The personnel will get training for the initial 6 months and later they will be sent to work on different roles. They will retire on completion of their tenure of 4 years.  

3) The government will provide a beefy package to these agniveers on their retirement.

In the first year, they will get a salary of Rs 30,000. Out of 30,000, they will get Rs 21,000 in hand and Rs 9,000 will be deposited into their retirement fund. In the second year, the salary will rise to Rs 33,000; in the third year, the salary will rise to Rs 36,500 and in the final year, the same will go up to Rs 40,000. Out of this, Rs 12,000 would be deposited into their retirement fund every year. So, the salaries would begin at Rs 21,000 (in-hand) in the first year, and would go upto Rs 28,000 in the final year.

4) The government will open these vacancies twice a year. This year, the government has decided on a target of hiring 46,000 'Agniveers'. The government aims to recruit 50,000 officials every year from the next year onwards.

5) The hirings under the scheme will be based on all India Merit Basis. So far, the hirings were done in the armed force on Regiment basis, under which - troops were hired on the basis of region and caste - for eg. Maratha regiment, Jat regiment, Sikh regiment etc.

Now, any citizen of India will be able to admit in any regiment. And in next 10 years, the government wishes to end the regiment system of recruitment from the army.

Watch DNA, to understand in detail the government's new policy of hiring youth into the army.