Chief of Defence Staff General N.S. Raja Subramani, on Wednesday, announced a two-year extension of tenure for Agniveers. The announcement comes weeks before around 18,000 personnel were to exit the armed forces after completing their four-year engagement.
The decision was taken by the Union Cabinet presided over by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Under the revised scheme, the 75 per cent of Agniveers who were earlier set to exit the armed forces after four years will now be offered an additional engagement period of two years.
CDS Subramani said all Agniveers will be given an opportunity to continue their engagement in the armed forces, depending on their performance and its review. Agniveers getting the two-year extension will also receive enhanced emoluments, the CDS added.
Explaining how the extension will be implemented, General Subramani said the first batch of Agniveers is nearing the completion of its four-year tenure, and the performance evaluations conducted over these four years have received very positive feedback.
Under the Agnipath scheme, introduced on June 14, 2022, soldiers were recruited for a four-year term, with a provision to retain only 25 per cent of them in regular service based on merit. Previously, the remaining 75 per cent were to transition back into society as disciplined and motivated youth.
However, under the updated scheme, these Agniveers will now be offered an additional engagement period of two years.
"Upon the completion of this two-year period, all those who are willing will be enrolled into the Armed Forces, subject to objective selection criteria," General Subramani said.
The CDS said the Cabinet had created a pathway for all Agniveers to be absorbed into the Indian Defence Forces.
He also pointed out that when the Agnipath scheme was introduced, it was stated that there would be continuous performance evaluation of Agniveers and that the scheme would be reviewed periodically.
Further, the CDS clarified that the scheme will continue in its current form. ..."that is, the first four years, will continue. The Agnipath scheme has not been discontinued. It will continue. Secondly, this second engagement period of two years gives those Agniveers who have not been selected in the first four years a chance to serve longer. Their relative experience, qualifications and skills are relative. It's not that they are bad; it's relative. So, in these two years, they get a chance to serve longer in the Army, with the provision that they can be enrolled as regular soldiers. So this is a win-win situation for both," he was quoted as saying.
The CDS noted that when the scheme was introduced, it was made clear that "it was not set in stone" and that the performance of Agniveers would be evaluated and reviewed.
"There were objective selection criteria, and a centralized database was maintained for all Agniveers across all three services to track their performance. Their performance was reviewed annually. Based on these evaluations...the Indian Defence Forces recommended to the government that 75 per cent of the Agniveers be granted an additional engagement period—specifically, an extension of two years."
He said discussions regarding the decision was going on for the past three to four months.
