Chief of Defence Staff changes rules regarding Agniveer service and discharge

Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General NS Raja Subramani on Wednesday announced a significant change regarding the service of Agniveers under the Agnipath scheme. As per the previous scheme, 75% of Agniveers were to be discharged after a 4 years service period, but now the policy has been changed and a decision has been taken to retain all Agniveers for full-term service. This decision was taken during a joint cabinet briefing with Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.

General NS Raja Subramani stated that the main reason behind this rethink is the change in the nature of warfare in the last few years. He said, "You need a mix of youth power, technology and maturity. These changes meet the requirements of the armed forces, which need to have a young and motivated force as well as a mature and technology-equipped force." He further added that based on the type of conflicts occurring in the world and the type of quality manpower we need, all defence forces constantly review and this decision has been taken.

Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw stated that the evaluation of the Agnipath scheme was a part of the scheme itself. He said that the government and the armed forces have a unanimous view that this scheme has been extremely successful. All the benefits that were expected have been received. Vaishnaw added, "If we want to achieve Viksit Bharat, we must move forward with flexibility, adapt according to the needs of society, and embrace changes occurring in the world's systems and environment, including changes occurring in warfare methods."

The four years review report of the performance of Agniveers under the Agnipath scheme highlighted their skill, motivation, physical capability and technological capabilities, due to which the government reconsidered their service rules. Earlier, the government had increased the service period of Agniveers from 4 years to 6 years. The Ministry of Defence reported that the implementation of this scheme would reduce the average age profile of the armed forces by 4 to 5 years.

Military affairs expert Lieutenant General (Retd) DS Hooda stated that it is highly irrational to release personnel trained for specific roles and then invest in new batches. This decision to retain Agniveers will remove the concern of losing trained personnel. If the scheme had continued in the old manner, approximately 18,300 Agniveers from the three services were to be released by the end of the year. This change is a major deviation from the most decisive feature of the Agnipath scheme.

CDS Subramani expressed confidence that maximum Agniveers will opt for full-term service. He said, "They are motivated people, and when these 75% people complete their additional two-year period, their seniority will be behind the 25% people. This is fair, because there is meritocracy here. We do not measure everyone by the same yardstick. This has been done after proper thought and understanding."

He further stated that Agniveers have a dignified exit plan with an attractive financial package. The armed forces are ready to retain all willing Agniveers for a second two-year engagement period and thereafter include them in the regular cadre. After this change, there is a possibility of three categories of soldiers: those who become permanent after four years, those who become permanent after six years, and senior personnel recruited under the old method.

For recruitment under the Agnipath scheme, young men and women aged 17 years and half to 21 years are eligible.

The Agnipath scheme was a recruitment scheme launched by the Government of India, the aim of which was to increase the number of young-age soldiers in the armed forces. Under this scheme, soldiers are released with a financial package after completing a short-term service or are made permanent based on selection.