Agniveers to form a distinct rank in the military; Army, IAF issue commence roll-out of new recruitment scheme

Vishal Thapar Jun 20, 2022

The Indian Army and Air Force have issued notifications for enrolment of soldiers under the Agnipath scheme, setting the ball rolling for the implementation of the transformative short-service recruitment scheme for troops below officer rank.

The armed forces have already announced their schedule to induct the first batch of Agniveers (troops enlisted under Agnipath scheme) for training between November and December this year. The Army will announce a detailed schedule of 83 recruitment rallies across the country starting August to enlist 40,000 troops. The IAF and Navy will recruit about 3,000 airmen and sailors respectively.

The notifications put flesh to some of the sketchy details about Agnipath which have been made public so far.

“Agniveers would form a distinct rank in the Indian Army, different from any other existing rank,” the Army notification stated. Distinctive insignia will be worn by the Agniveers on their uniform during the period of engagement, the IAF notification – mirroring the Army terms of reference – added.

The distinction is meant to give respect and lend pride to the Agniveers, 75 per cent of whom will be demobilized after four years and “sent back to society”.

The enrolment for military service is for a term of four years, including the period of training.

The notification explicitly states that the short-term soldiers will “not be eligible for pension, gratuity, neither will they be eligible for the Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS), Canteen Stores Department (CSD) facilities, Ex-Servicemen status and other related benefits”.

Since some of those enlisting could be minors, the application process requires parents or guardians to sign the enrolment form, presumably to ensure that the terms of engagement are fully understood and agreed to at the outset.

Also, the total annual leave allowed to Agniveers is 30 days annually. Sick leave will be based on medical advice. There’s no provision for casual leave. Regular cadre troops are allowed annual leave of up to 75 days, which is extendable in cases of personal emergencies.

Agniveers will get tax free pay of Rs 30,000 per month in the first year, which will increase to Rs 40,000 per month in the fourth year. They will be exempt from making a contribution to a Provident Fund. But 30 per cent of their emoluments will go to a corpus, which will be payable upon their demobilization under the ‘Seva Nidhi’ provision. The Government will match the personal contribution of each soldier towards this corpus, which is to “enable (the demobilized soldier) to return to society for pursuing employment in other sectors”.

The short-service soldier will not be eligible for Dearness Allowance or Military Service Pay (MSP) but will get the applicable risk & hardship, ration, uniform and travel allowances.

They will be entitled to a non-contributory Life Insurance cover of Rs 48 lakh but will not be eligible for the Army Group Insurance Fund schemes and benefits.

Agniveers will be regularly evaluated for their performance through physical, written and field tests. The “performance so demonstrated would be considered for subsequent offer for enrolment in the regular cadre”. The applications for the regular cadre service will be considered in a centralized manner by each service and not more than 25 per cent of very batch will be enrolled in the regular cadre.

Those so enrolled as regular cadre would be required to serve for a further engagement period of 15 years.

With the introduction of the Agnipath scheme, the opportunity to enrol in the regular cadre - except for technical trades in the medical branch - will be available only to those personnel who have completed their engagement period as Agniveers.

Recruitment will be done on an all-India, all classes basis, doing away with regional, caste and community recruitment of the past in some regiments.

Even short-service troops will be governed by the stringent Army, Navy and Air Force Acts, which lay down severe military discipline guidelines. Premature released is not permitted, except in exceptional circumstances with the approval of competent authorities.