Thumbs Up For Agnipath: Over 1.83 Lakh Aspirants Have Already Registered For Indian Air Force Recruitment

The Indian Air Force (IAF) has received over 1.83 lakh applications under the Agnipath scheme within six days of the start of registration process.

Enthusiastic response: The numbers reflect the keenness among youth to join the armed forces — in this particular case, the IAF — under this recruitment scheme.

• The registration process began on 24 June.

• For the IAF alone, 56,960 applications were filed till Sunday (26 June) and 94,281 applications by Monday (27 June).

• Registration closes 5 July.

• The Indian Army and the Indian Navy will launch their recruitment drive in July.

What's Agnipath? It's a reformed recruitment scheme for Indian military's non-officer positions.

• Youths between the ages of 17-and-a-half and 23 years will be eligible to be inducted.

• Selected recruits, called Agniveers, will join the military for four years, after which, based on their preference and performance, 25 per cent will be retained for a longer duration.

• All Agniveers will be given a one-time tax-free seva nidhi of Rs 11.7 lakh.

• The purpose of the scheme is to cut the salaries and pensions section of the defence budget and thereafter to channel the additional savings towards defence equipment modernisation and technological improvement.

Anti-Agnipath protests: Several parts of the country have been rocked by protests against the scheme, which have descended into clashes with the authorities, vandalism, and arson.

• Protesters are demanding a rollback.

• NSA Ajit Doval dismissed the possibility of a rollback while calling out vested interest groups for misguiding and inciting the youth. He termed such people 'conflict entrepreneurs'.

• Addressing the concerns of aspirants who couldn't join the armed forces due to the absence of recruitments for two years due to Covid-19, the government increased the upper-age limit for recruitment under the scheme from 21 years to 23 years.

• Many BJP-ruled states have said that Agniveers will be accorded priority in induction into the state police forces.

Going ahead: The tri-service chiefs have made it clear that any tweaks to the Agnipath scheme will only be made after a few years, when enough data has been collected about the efficiency and performance of the newly recruited Agniveers.

Bottom line: For now, the dying down of the protests and the impressive response to the scheme, as evident from the applicant numbers, is a positive sign for advocates of this scheme.