Agnipath Scheme: Government announces several support measures for 'Agniveers'

NEW DELHI: The Centre on Saturday approved a 10-percent reservation in job vacancies in the defence ministry for the "Agniveers" meeting the requisite eligibility criteria, in continuation of a series of measures that it announced in the last few days to allay apprehensions about the new recruitment model for soldiers. The approval of the proposal by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh comes amid mounting protests against the "Agnipath" military recruitment scheme in various parts of the country and is seen as an attempt to pacify the agitators.

"The 10 percent reservation will be implemented in the Indian Coast Guard and defence civilian posts, and all the 16 Defence Public Sector Undertakings," Singh's office said. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) as well as several states have announced that the "Agniveers", after serving the armed forces for four years, will be given preference while filling up vacancies in police forces. Several other departments have also announced support for the Agnipath scheme and promised job opportunities for the "Agniveers" after the completion of their four-year tenure in the three services.

In the last few days, the Centre has announced a series of support measures to allay apprehensions about the new scheme. On Thursday, it increased the upper age limit for the recruitment of "Agniveers" from 21 years to 23 years for the recruitment cycle of 2022. The decision was taken in view of the fact that recruitment was not possible for the last two years, largely due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Army annually recruits 50,000 to 60,000 soldiers. However, the recruitment could not take place for the last two years due to the pandemic. Separately, the MHA has decided to reserve 10 per cent job vacancies for recruitment in the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) and the Assam Rifles for "Agniveers". The MHA has further announced that it will give a three-year age relaxation to "Agniveers", beyond the prescribed upper-age limit, for recruitment in the CAPFs and the Assam Rifles. For the first batch of "Agniveers", the age relaxation will be of five years, the MHA announced in a series of tweets on Saturday.

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The Directorate General of Shipping under the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW), along with the Navy, has announced a system for smooth induction of "Agniveers" into the merchant navy. Under this, the MoPSW has announced six attractive service avenues for a smooth transition of "Agniveers" in various roles in the merchant navy, post their stint with the Indian Navy. This will enable the "Agniveers" to acquire the necessary training, with rich naval experience and professional certification, to join the remunerative merchant navy across the world, officials said.

The Department of School Education and Literacy, through its autonomous institution, the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS), has announced that it will institute a special programme in consultation with the defence authorities to enable those Agniveers who have cleared the Class-10 exam to obtain the Class-12 pass certificate by developing customised courses. It will benefit the Agniveers to gain adequate educational qualifications and skills, officials said.

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In order to enhance the future career prospects of the Agniveers and equip them for various job roles in the civilian sector, the Ministry of Education has decided to launch a three-year skill-based bachelor's degree programme for serving defence personnel that will recognise the skill training received by them during their tenure in the defence establishments. Under this programme that has been designed by the IGNOU and will also be executed by it, 50 percent of the credits required for a graduate degree will come from the skill training -- both technical and non-technical -- received by the Agniveers and the remaining 50 percent will come from a basket of courses, the officials said. The programme is aligned with UGC norms and with the National Credit Framework-National Skill Qualification Framework (NSQF) as mandated under the National Education Policy 2020, they added. It also has a provision for multiple exit points -- an undergraduate certificate on successful completion of the first-year courses, an undergraduate diploma on successful completion of the first and second-year courses and a degree on the completion of all the courses in the three-year time frame.

The officials said Skill India and the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) will work collaboratively with various wings of the armed forces to train the students in additional skills to make them better suited for civilian jobs. They said the Agniveers will get Skill India certification while in service, which will enable them to pursue many diverse opportunities in entrepreneurship and job roles that are being created in the Indian economy after the completion of their tenure. All organisations of Skill India -- the Directorate General of Training (DGT), the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), various sector skill councils and entrepreneurship institutes, as well as the skills regulator, will be connected with this exercise to ensure that the Agniveers get the required skill certifications related to their job roles while in service.

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In order to identify ways in which banks and financial institutions can support the Agniveers on the completion of their tenure of duty, the Secretary, Department of Financial Services (DFS) held a meeting with the chief executives of public sector banks (PSBs), public sector insurance companies (PSICs) and financial institutions (FIs), the officials said. "At the meeting, it was decided that the PSBs, PSICs and FIs would explore employment opportunities for Agniveers in suitable capacities, based on their educational qualifications and skills through suitable benefits and relaxations," an official said. It was also decided that banks would explore possibilities of supporting Agniveers through suitable credit facilities to upgrade their skills, for education for setting up businesses and to take up self-employment. A number of corporate houses and industry bodies have welcomed the new recruitment process for the armed forces.