“Why India needs Agnipath Scheme for Military Empowerment”

By- Vinamar Jain

Agnipath scheme is a pan India merit-based recruitment scheme for recruiting soldiers,
airmen, and sailors. It was introduced by the Government of India and unveiled by Defence
minister Rajnath Singh on 14th June 2022 which aims to transform the armed forces. Under
this scheme, Indian youngsters (including both male and female aspirants) will be able to get
the opportunity of serving the country’s armed forces as ‘Agniveer’ in the regular cadre of
armed forces. More than 46,000 will be recruited in 2022 under this scheme. This will be a
new military rank and all the recruits will be done for a time frame of 4 years only rather than
the prior 15+ year tenure with a lifelong pension. The Agniveer’s will be provided a good pay
package of around 4-5 lakh per annum with a 10% hike every year and an exit retirement
package after a service of 4 years. After 6 months of training and 3.5 years of deployment,
only 25% of the Agniveers will be retained or re-enlisted in the regular cadre based on merit,
willingness, and medical fitness. They will then be able to serve as permanent cadres. The
Agniveers would be bound under a contract and are unlikely to be taken under consideration
for the fixation of the final pensionary benefits. They would be provided a “Seva Nidhi”
package of 11-12 lakhs, partly funded by their monthly contributions, skill certificates, and
other loans for help in their further career enhancement. Applicants for the Agnipath Scheme
must meet the same educational requirements as those for regular positions in the police
force. The Indian Armed Forces will try to give a class 12 certificate to a class 10 student
who joins as an agniveer, according to the criteria. If unfortunately, they achieve martyrdom,
their families would receive full payment for unserved services. A non-contributory insurance
cover of Rs. 48 lakhs is covered under this scheme as well. The scheme was introduced to
strengthen India’s security and provide a youthful profile to armed forces through the rollout
of the Agnipath recruitment scheme. This scheme provides improved battle preparedness
through a selection of the best with a rigorous and transparent selection process. Although the
scheme has led to a lot of criticism and attracted flak from many serving as well as retired
officers, who stress it takes seven to eight years to become a fully trained combat-ready
soldier, airman or sailor. They fear it will lead to poorly motivated and trained military
personnel, who will become risk-averse because the bulk of them will have to hunt for second
careers after four years. This short-term contractual employment will impact this fighting
spirit. But the facts and statistics provide another input. The main objective of the
government behind introducing this scheme is to control the expenditure on pensions which
account for roughly half of the annual defense budget and consequently shift the expenditure
onto the funds for military modernization. The security of the country is in big trouble if
nearly half its defense budget is being spent on salaries and pensions rather than the
development of the military. Considering the statistics, the government initiated such a risk-
inducing scheme after seeing that the spending on defense pensions had been more than the
capital outlay itself. Out of the total 4.85 lakh crore defense budget in the financial year 2020-
21, a total of 1.34 lakh crore rupees were spent on the salaries and pensions of the armed
forces. To put it in simple words, our country had been more focused on the pensions and
salaries of the soldiers than actually modernizing the armed forces. India had been spending
more on pensions than army modernization. This was seen as a dangerous unviable trend and
hence the scheme was called upon to decrease the burden on pensions and channel that
money towards developing and modernizing the army with the latest equipment. Apart from
that, our army chief also stated that this scheme of Agnipath would reduce the average age of
the army from 32 to 26 years over the due course of time which means that most of the armed
forces recruits would remain youthful. This would lead to a swift defense system in the
country. The scheme is said to provide greater opportunities to large scale for taking part in
the armed forces. The Agniveers would get settled by the age of 25 with a handful of money
after their retirement from the armed forces. They will receive an ‘Agniveer Kaushal’
certificate along with a preference for central armed police forces employment. 15+ year
tenure with a lifelong pension. The Agniveers will not only have skills and military expertise
but also the financial backing of Rs 12 Lakhs - they can start their own business or utilize the
funds for further education. They will be exposed to the disciplined lifestyle of the armed
forces which will further benefit them in their second careers after retirement. So, overall the
scheme provides a good deal for the youth of the nation who get the opportunity to serve for
the country as well as retire at an early age with a good amount of pension which they can
further utilize to study or enhance their skills or start-up their own business. Even if they
don’t have the caliber to settle on their own, various companies are willing to offer them
good postings. The ministry of home affairs announced a 10 percent reservation for
Agniveers in the central armed police forces or CRPF and Assam Rifles. In order to enhance
the future prospects of the Agniveers, the Union Ministry of Education has launched a special
three-year skill-based degree program that will recognize the skill training recognized by
them during their tenure in the armed forces. We can sum it up by stating that the Agnipath
scheme is much needed to empower the military forces of India. India doesn’t make it
compulsory for youth to join the armed forces but this scheme provides a great deal of
opportunity for the youth to enroll and enjoy the beneficiaries of the scheme.