Union Government launches ‘Agnipath’ scheme for recruitment of soldiers

On Tuesday, the central government introduced a new scheme called "Agnipath" for recruitment in the Army, the Navy and the Air Force. The recruitment will be largely on a short-term contractual basis to abate the soaring salary and pensions bill.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh while announcing the scheme said, "The Agnipath recruitment scheme is a transformative initiative that will provide a youthful profile to the armed forces." 

The alteration in the recruitment process will lead to the induction of the soldiers initially for four years and some of them would be retained.

"Under the Agnipath scheme, Indian youngsters will be provided an opportunity to serve in the armed forces as 'Agniveer'," Rajnath Singh added.

Talking about the scheme, Navy chief Admiral R. Hari Kumar said that the change in the recruitment process will augment a talent pool for recruitment in the armed forces.

The "Agnipath" scheme, earlier known as the "Tour of Duty", was launched in the presence of the chiefs of the three services. The scheme was flagged off after extensive discussions on it over the last two years. Security personnel recruited under this scheme will be called "Agniveer".

For 2022-23 the defence budget stands at ₹5,25,166 crore and ₹1,19,696 crore for defence pensions. 2,33,000 crore has been ascertained for the allocation for revenue expenditure.