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Army issues notification for Agninath scheme

The Indian Army has issued the first notification for recruitment of Agniveers under the Agnipath scheme, with the process set to begin in July and the first set of Agniveers to join service by June 2023. The army has already stated that it would recruit 40,000 Agniveers this year in two batches.

“The registration will open on July 1 and the first rally is expected to be held in mid-August. The first Agniveer will join the unit in June 2023,” an army official said.
Pressing ahead: Lt. General Anil Puri, Additional Secretary, Military Affairs Department, at a press meet in New Delhi.

Candidates will be enrolled for a service duration of four years, which includes a six month training period.

“Registration will be opened from July 2022 onwards by respective AROs [Army Recruiting Office] for Agniveer general duty, Agniveer technical, Agniveer technical (aviation/ammunition examiner), Agniveer clerk/store keeper technical, Agniveer tradesman 10th pass, and Agniveer tradesman 8th pass as per the ARO rally schedule,” the notification said.

In accordance with the terms and conditions released by the army earlier, Agniveers’ rank will be distinct from any other existing rank; their insignia will also be different.

On discharge after completion of four years, Agniveers will be paid a ‘Seva Nidhi’ package which would approximately be ₹11.71 lakh and they will not be entitled to any pension or gratuity. Upto 25% of them would be re-enrolled into the regular cadre. The ‘Seva Nidhi’ is accumulated by part contribution of Agniveers from their monthly with a matching contribution from the Government along with the accruing interest and would be tax free.

Personnel enrolled through Agniveer Scheme will be required to undergo periodical medical check-ups and physical/ written/ field tests as governed by orders issued and the performance so demonstrated would be considered for “subsequent offer for enrolment in the Regular Cadre.”

Army plans to conduct the rallies from July to November with induction into the training centres to be done in two batches, first batch of 25,000 Agniveers by first half of December and remaining in the second batch by first half of February 2023, Army has stated, and 83 are rallies planned across the country covering all states.

On June 14, the Government announced the ‘Agnipath’ scheme for recruitment of soldiers with the age bracket fixed at 17 ½ to 21 years of age. Subsequently, the Defence Ministry announced a one-time upper age limit relaxation in the recruitment process through Agnipath scheme for 2022 to 23 years.