The scheme has been designed to enable a youthful profile of the armed forces, a government statement on the new recruitment scheme said. It is envisaged that average age profile of Indian Armed forces would come down by about 4-5 years by implementation of this scheme.
It will provide an opportunity to the youth who may be keen to don the uniform by attracting young talent from the society who are more in tune with contemporary technological trends and plough back skilled, disciplined and motivated manpower into the society, the statement added.
The scheme is a major defence policy reform introduced by the government to usher in a new era in the human resource policy of the three services. The policy, which comes into immediate effect, will hereafter govern the enrolment for the three services.
Agniveers (the name given to the selected youths under the scheme) will be given an attractive customised monthly package along with risk and hardship allowances as applicable in the three services. On completion of the engagement period of four years, Agniveers will be paid one time ‘Seva Nidhi’ package, which shall comprise their contribution including accrued interest thereon and matching contribution from the government equal to the accumulated amount of their contribution including interest. This amount is expected to be in the range of ₹11-12 lakhs and will be tax free. The monthly emoluments will be in the range of ₹30,000 which will increase by 10 per cent annually.
Agniveers will be provided non-contributory life insurance cover of ₹48 lakh for the duration of their engagement period in the Indian Armed Forces.
During this period of service to the nation, the Agniveers will be imparted with various military skills and experience, discipline, physical fitness, leadership qualities, courage and patriotism. Post this stint of four years, the Agniveers will be infused into the civil society where they can contribute immensely towards the nation building process, a government statement said.
The new recruitment would form a distinct rank in the Armed Forces, different from any other existing ranks. Upon the completion of four years of service, based on organisational requirement and policies promulgated by the Armed Forces from time-to-time, Agniveers will be offered an opportunity to apply for permanent enrolment in the Armed Forces. Up to 25% of each specific batch of Agniveers will be enrolled in regular cadre of the Armed Forces.
The individuals, selected for enrolment in the Armed Forces as regular cadre, would be required to serve for a further engagement period of minimum 15 years and would be governed by the existing terms and conditions of service of Junior Commissioned Officers/Other Ranks in Indian Army and their equivalent in Indian Navy and Indian Air Force and that of Non Combatant enrolled in the Indian Air Force, as amended from time to time.
The scheme will lead to much more youthful and technically adept war fighting force by ensuring a fine balance between youthful and experienced personnel in the Armed Forces, the statement said.
