Harnessing Agniveer Power: Lessons From Operation Sindoor

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Agnipath is a game-changer scheme in its overall concept. All it requires is a few modifications to enable utilising its full potential
Operation Sindoor marks a landmark success in India's military history post-Independence and is proving to be a game-changer in many ways, especially the close synergy between the three arms of the military, the bold resolve of political leadership, and the effectiveness of indigenous military platforms. It was also the first instance since the India-Pakistan War of 1971 that the Indian armed forces penetrated deep inside Pakistani territory and inflicted unprecedented damage and misery on Pakistan, both militarily and politically.
In just over three days of precise and extremely effective strikes, India struck at the heart of the terror network of Pakistan, hitting nine major terror bases, and followed up by hitting 11 military airbases and downing 5-6 fighter aircraft, bringing Pakistan to its knees in a matter of 96 hours.
Celebrating the 79th Independence Day on 15 August 2025, India honoured its war heroes of Operation Sindoor with several gallantry awards. Among the awardees, it was heartening to see that two Agniveers, too, were awarded the Sena Medal (Gallantry) for their exceptional contribution during the conflict. It is estimated that around 3,000 Agniveers across the three services were part of Operation Sindoor. And, from all accounts, they have acquitted themselves extremely well, proving the critics wrong, who have been seeking the abolition of the Agnipath Scheme of recruitment into the Armed Forces.
The scheme was launched in June 2022, promoted as a transformational reform in the armed forces, aimed at bringing down the mean age in the armed forces and contributing to its youthful profile. It offers employment opportunities for the youth (17.5 years to 21 years old) to serve the nation with an annual intake of around 45,000 to 50,000 Agniveers recruited every year. The numbers could be progressively increased, as required. Those recruited would be trained in respective training centres and serve for a period of 4 years.
At the end of it, 25 per cent meritorious Agniveers would be retained, while others would be let go with an exit package called Seva Nidhi of around Rs 12 lakh and skill certificates to help them in their second careers. During the service of four years, if an Agniveer dies on duty, an insurance package of Rs 48 lakh and an ex gratia payment of Rs 44 lakh have been earmarked.
The government had also announced that it would help the 75 per cent who exit in their second careers through vacancies in Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) as well as in the state governments. A number of state governments have already announced quotas for Agniveers in state services. In a gazette notification issued on 16 June 2025 by the Cabinet Secretariat, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has been made the nodal ministry to coordinate the career progression of individuals who have completed their service under the Agnipath scheme, working with other central government departments and state/UT governments to facilitate this progression.
Accordingly, the Government of India (Allocation of Business) Rules, 1961, were amended, and a new entry was made to Para 19 in the Second Schedule, under the heading 'Ministry of Home Affairs," to state 'Coordinating activities for further progression of Ex-Agniveers".
However, these steps are more towards 'facilitating" rather than 'assuring" jobs for ex-Agniveers after exiting the armed forces. This has been causing a lot of angst against the scheme in political circles as well as among the traditional geographies from which the bulk of the soldiers are generally recruited. In addition, there are a number of other issues that require a serious review if the scheme has to realise its full potential.
Issues in Agnipath Scheme
The first issue and perhaps the biggest concern is the percentage of retention. 25 per cent, which has been currently set in the scheme, is grossly inadequate by any measurement. With only 1 out of 4 set to be retained, it is bound to cause anxiety and uncertainty in the minds of Agniveers and their families. Even the battalions where they are posted would be unsure if their Agniveers, despite proving themselves well, would make the cut.
It also undercuts the lengthy and deliberate recruitment process where, after all the hard work, 75 per cent of selected candidates are to be rejected. Also, for every soldier to progress further into the service, four have to be initially recruited, implying a 400 per cent recruitment against existing vacancies, which is quite difficult.
According to the data presented by the Ministry of Defence to the Parliamentary Standing Committee in April 2025 (just before the Pahalgam terror attack), the total strength of the Indian Army is 12.48 lakh, while the sanctioned strength is higher by more than one lakh. Specifically, the Army is short of 92,410 Junior Commissioned Officers (JCOs) and Non-Commissioned Officers (NCOs), representing a 7.72 per cent shortfall. As of October 1, 2024, the troop strength was 11,05,110 against the sanctioned strength of 11,97,520.
Thus, against a deficiency of more than 92,000 soldiers, 46,000 Agniveers are being recruited. Given that only 25 per cent are to be retained, the effective recruitment (or addition) every year is only 11,500. Adding to these figures is the fact that almost 60,000 soldiers retire every year, implying that the overall number of soldiers in the Army will only decrease every year instead of making up for the deficiencies. With India expected to fight a multipronged war in the future, this could be a serious factor affecting the combat potential of the army.
The next issue is the term of Agniveers before being absorbed or exiting, which is currently four years. The initial six months are spent in an intensive training capsule designed at the Training Centres, which is just adequate enough for basic combat training. However, to ensure that the soldier is battle-ready in a technical and specialist wing of the army like Signals, Engineers, Artillery, Armoured Corps, Missile Units, etc, further on-the-job training is essential in the battalions before an Agniveer can be employed in small battle groups within the battalions.
This additional training can again stretch up to six more months. Effectively, this leaves three years for the Agniveer to showcase his skills and get hands-on experience. Even within this period, the profile of the battalion being located in a Field or a Peace location would make a huge difference in how the Agniveer could perform and be judged to ultimately make the cut into the best 25 per cent to be retained.
There is another associated issue with the four-year term. As per the government norms, any employee becomes eligible for payout of gratuity only after 5 years of continuous service. In the present system, an Agniveer would lose out on it too. Despite being assured of a Seva Nidhi payout on exit, the loss of gratuity could be a significant loss. Also, given the high instances of injuries, both while training and in battle (including counterterror operations), the exiting Agniveer would find it difficult to pick up threads of life, despite handsome assured exit packages.
However, the most important issue in this scheme is with regard to assurance of a job and ra egular salary after exit. As mentioned earlier, the Ministry of Home Affairs has now been mandated to 'coordinate" the future employment of Agniveers. It has asked Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF), like the BSF, CISF, CRPF, Assam Rifles, ITBP, SSB, etc, to earmark vacancies to recruit ex-Agniveers, but, as has been seen in the past with reserved vacancies for ex-soldiers, vacancies do not necessarily lead to job offers. The Agniveers would be expected to apply and then undergo selection processes again for recruitment.
What Needs to be Done?
Operation Sindoor, as well as earlier feedback, has indicated one thing very clearly—Agniveers are proving to be a valuable asset in the battalions. The scheme and the process of recruitment are thus validated. What is required now is to iron out a few issues of concern and improve this scheme so that it actually becomes the game-changer it was envisaged to be.
To begin with, the most important thing is to improve the ratio of retention. Reversing it by retaining 70-75 per cent and letting 25-30 per cent go would be ideal, although an initial retention of even 60 per cent, gradually increasing it over a period, could also work. This would not only ensure retention of well-trained personnel but also help in reducing deficiencies in the army faster and improve morale too. Yes, in any recruitment process across industries, all those recruited do not always live up to the potential, and therefore, those few percentages of 'non-performers" can be let go.
Increasing the term to five years would give the battalions one more year of using the skills of trained soldiers, while the ex-Agniveer would get the benefit of a gratuity payout.
Assured jobs for ex-Agniveers would definitely seal the deal and remove any misgivings in the minds of Agniveers. For this, apart from the declared quotas or vacancies, there needs to be a clearly defined process and an agency to ensure, rather than just facilitate. Accordingly, based on clearly defined criteria within each CAPF or the state governments, a central agency within the army, like the DG Resettlement, could be tasked to ensure interface and facilitate issuance of job offer letters to each ex-Agniveer as per the requirements of the accepting organisation. Thus, instead of the ex-Agniveer running around filling forms and applying after exiting, he/she would get the job offer and joining date before the exit date from the armed forces.
Looking Ahead
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Agnipath is a game-changer scheme in its overall concept. All it requires is a few modifications to enable utilising its full potential. Finding the right formula that serves the armed forces best while looking after the interests of Agniveers is the key and could end up as a win-win situation for all. Armed forces will continue to attract the best talent, the overall profile in the armed forces will become more youthful, CAPF will get fully trained personnel to augment their cadre, and most importantly, the career aspirations of youth will be met.
The writer is a West Asia expert and a Senior Research Consultant at Chintan Research Foundation, New Delhi. His X Handle is @rajeev1421. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18's views.
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tags :
agniveer armed forces army Operation Sindoor
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New Delhi, India, India
First Published:
August 20, 2025, 19:26 IST
News opinion Opinion | Harnessing Agniveer Power: Lessons From Operation Sindoor
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