MHA assigned for further progression of ex-agniveers

Hindustan Times

5 hours ago

The Centre has issued a notification tasking the Union home ministry with coordinating activities for further progression of ex-Agniveers after their term with the armed forces ends, people familiar with the development said, adding that the first batch of Agniveers will complete its term in a year.
According to a notification, the Government of India (Allocation of Business) Rules, 1961 was amended on Monday.
The amendment has inserted a new point in the second schedule under the Department of States of the ministry of home affairs 'coordinating activities for further progression of Ex-Agniveers', the notification said. With this amendment, the work relating to coordinating activities for further progression of ex-Agniveer has been assigned to MHA, an official said.
The officer said that an online portal will be developed for coordinating and monitoring further progression of ex-Agniveers.
Besides, the home ministry will coordinate with various ministries and departments of government of India and also with states and UT governments to facilitate career progression of Agniveers who exit after completing four years in the armed forces
The Agnipath scheme for recruiting personnel below officer rank (PBOR) in the three services, for long a political hot button, was introduced around three years ago with the stated objective of keeping the armed forces young and battle-ready. Agnipath was a major departure from the military's decades-old recruitment system that was scrapped when the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government announced the new scheme in June 2022. It recruits soldiers for only four years, with a provision to retain 25% of them in regular service for another 15 years.
Only young men and women aged between 17 and a half and 21 are eligible under the Agnipath scheme. Agniveers draw an annual salary of ₹4.76 lakh in the first year of service and ₹6.92 lakh in the fourth, get a non-contributory insurance cover of ₹48 lakh, and an additional ex-gratia payment of ₹44 lakh for death attributable to service.
Those released after four years will get ₹11.71 lakh as Seva Nidhi severance package, including ₹5.02 lakh contributed by them during their service.
Soldiers recruited under the legacy system serve for about 20 years before they retire in their late 30s with pension and other benefits including health care and canteen facilities, which Agniveers released from service after four years are not entitled to.
The government has reserved 10% vacancies in the Central Armed Police Forces, and several defence public sector undertakings are making similar amendments to their recruitment rules along with age relaxation to hire Agniveers. Some states, including Haryana and Rajasthan, have already announced reservations for Agniveers in their police forces.
As reported by HT, at least 3,000 Agniveers - barely 20 years old and recruited during the last two years - manned critical weapons and systems integral to the army's hardy air defence (AD) shield activated during Operation Sindoor, which Pakistan couldn't punch through despite launching wave after wave of missile and drone attacks on multiple Indian military installations, airbases and cities during the May 7-10 clash between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.