Agnipath will lead to a leaner military, savings in pensions. But there are challenges beyond the bold step forward,

News: Recently, the Government of India has announced the Agnipath Scheme for recruitment of soldiers, the majority of whom will serve for four years.

What is the Agnipath scheme

It will lead to recruitment of non-officer personnel to the armed forces, who will be called as the Agniveer.

They will be hired on contract in the age group of 17.5 to 21 years old and will serve for four years.

At the end of their service, they will get Rs 11.71 lakh through the Seva Nidhi package in which their contribution of 30% of the monthly salary will be matched by an equal amount by the government.

25% of the Agniveers in each batch, will be selected for regular cadre to serve for another minimum of 15 years.

They will get a life insurance cover of Rs 48 lakh, ex-gratia payment of Rs 44 lakh in case of death, and payment for the remainder of the four years of service in case of death.

What will be the process of recruitment?

The recruitment will be All India All Class (AIAC). It will not be restricted by ethnicity or caste unlike the regiments introduced by the British colonisers.

They will be recruited from recognised technical institutes like the Industrial Training Institutes through a centralised online system with specialised rallies and campus interviews.

What was the need of such a reform?

At present, the “colour service” of 17 years have led to an ageing army. More than 60% of men are above 30 years of age. Today, the number of sepoys has fallen below 40%. Therefore, it will lead to regular intake and ensure availability of youthful, patriotic, physically fit and highly-motivated youth.

In fact, all major militaries in the world are undergoing reform. There is a trend towards reduction in the number of personnel and emphasis on increasing capital expenditure on modern weapons and equipment.

Defence salary and pension bills account for roughly half of the annual defence budget. It imposes overall budgetary constraint and compromises the availability of funds for military modernisation.

Argument Against

The policy will lead to hiring without the promise of lifelong benefits, including the shortened training.

It will result in demobilised young soldiers who may pose a violent threat to society. It will be difficult to absorb them in the economy because India does not create adequate employment opportunities in India.

The new recruitment plan can strain existing training resources and produce a quality problem.

The mix of long-term and short-term soldiers will skew in favour of the latter and affect battle readiness.

Argument in favour

In many modern armed forces around the world, the service period ranges from 2 to 8 years. Therefore, the Agniveers will bring down the average age by 4-5 years.

The shorter duration service does not compromise on training, morale and commitment. For example, the Israeli army, the US and the UK Army have shorter duration contracts.

The training for Agniveers will be comparable to the timeframe in many world-class armed forces.

In case of demobilisation, the demobilized soldiers will be in their 30s. They will have better skill-sets and motivation. Therefore, they will not pose a threat to society.

Way Forward

The new reform can only be assessed in the coming years. The government will need to have a plan to anticipate and address the problems that lie beyond the bold step forward.

Source: The post is based on the following articles –

“Agnipath will lead to a leaner military, savings in pensions. But there are challenges beyond the bold step forward” published in the Indian Express on 15^th June 2022;

“A reform called Agnipath will ensure youthful and tech-savvy profile of armed forces while reducing burden of pensions and gratuities” published in the Indian Express on 15^th June 2022;

“Jawans, Josh & Jobs” published in the Times of India on 15^th June 2022.