photo courtesy :Jansatta
New Delhi, 04 November—Growing resentment with the BJP-RSS ecosystem in the rural countryside seems to have forced the Modi government to amend its much-touted Agnipath scheme today which enables the absorption of all Agniveers across the three services into the Armed Forces as regular soldiers.
This will be done by extending a two-year engagement period offer to the 75 per cent of Agniveers who do not get absorbed in the first go, after their four-year tenure, following which they will all get a chance to join the Armed Forces as regular soldiers, subject to their willingness and if they meet the objective selection criteria for the Armed Forces.
The decision effectively means that all Agniveers will now get an opportunity to join the Armed Forces as regular soldiers.
In a major tweak to the Agnipath scheme, the government extension of service for all Agniveers whose four-year contractual term is ending in December.
Chief of Defence Staff Gen NS Raja Subramani announced the decision following a meeting of the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Under the existing policy, 25 per cent of Agniveers recruited four years ago are eligible for absorption into the regular armed forces. The changes announced on Wednesday would apply to the remaining 75 per cent who were due to exit the forces in December.
These Agniveers will now be offered a second term of two years. At the end of this period, they will have the option of becoming regular soldiers, subject to their willingness, physical fitness, performance and prevailing guidelines, Gen Subramani said.
The existing Agnipath scheme provides for recruitment on a four-year contractual term. The extension comes as more than 18,300 Agniveers are set to be discharged by December 31 after completing their four-year tenure.
The CDS said the Cabinet’s decision had created a pathway for Agniveers to be absorbed into the armed forces on a permanent basis.
He said the performance of Agniveers during the past four years had been very good.
Sources said that the Modi government moved to amend its Agnipath scheme which was conceived as a major economic reform to cut down budget expenditure on Armed forces personnel and payment of pension to them but the scheme became hugely unpopular in the rural countryside.
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