Army issues notification for recruitment of Agniveers under Agnipath scheme; registration to begin in  July

NEW DELHI: The Indian Army has issued a notification for the recruitment of soldiers under the Agnipath recruitment scheme. The registration will begin in July. Agniveers would form a distinct rank in the Indian Army, different from any other existing rank. With the introduction of the Agnipath scheme, the enrolment of soldiers in the regular cadre of the Indian Army, except technical cadres of the medical branch, will be available only to those personnel who have completed their engagement period as Agniveer,

The notification came even as some opposition parties have demanded the withdrawal of Agnipath scheme and there have been protests in some parts of the country. The government has come out with details of an elaborate support structure for Agniveers who will be discharged on completion of four years of service.

The Agniveers will not be entitled to gratuity and pension benefits after their term of 4 years. 45,000 Agniveers will be appointed in the first year. The family of an Agniveer will get a compensation of Rs 1 crore if he sacrifices his life in service of the nation.

The notification said that based on organizational requirements and policies promulgated Agniveers who will complete their engagement period in each batch will be offered an opportunity to apply for enrolment in the regular cadre of IA.

These applications will be considered in a centralised manner by the army based on objective criteria including performance during their engagement period and not more than 25 per cent of each specific batch of Agniveers will be enrolled in the regular cadre of the Army, post completion of their four years engagement period.

Agniveers so enrolled as regular cadre would be required to serve for a further engagement period of 15 years and will be governed by terms and conditions of service (of Junior Commissioned Officers/Other Ranks in IA) currently in vogue.