New Delhi: In the middle of the protest against the newly launched Agneepath scheme – the armed forces on Tuesday said, “the yojana will not entail any change in the existing system of recruitment of soldiers and that it will not at all impact their combat capabilities and operational readiness,”
Additional secretary in the defense ministry’s department of military affairs Lt Gen Anil Puri asserted that “the Agneepath scheme has not been brought to “right-size” the armed forces but to lower their age profile and enhance their overall capability.”
On the selection criteria, Lt Gen Puri said, “There will be no change in the recruitment process. What happened five years ago, what happened earlier, the same will continue. Those recruited under the scheme will be eligible for gallantry awards.”
Various issues were raised about the new scheme after several parts of the country witnessed violent protests in wake of the new model that seeks to recruit youths between the age bracket of 17-and-half years to 21 for only four years with a provision to retain 25 percent of them for 15 more years. For 2022, the upper age limit has been extended to 23 years.
Lt Gen Puri said that “the Agneepath scheme would add strength to the armed forces. The top officials of the three services also announced a detailed schedule of the recruitment process. They asserted that there will be no compromise on the quality of the training to be imparted to the ‘Agniveers’, though its duration would be compressed.”
“The combat capabilities and readiness of the Indian Air Force are non-negotiable. The Indian Air Force and the government will do everything that is required to keep us combat-worthy and combat-ready,” Air Officer-in-Charge of Personnel Air Marshal SK Jha said.
(Vinayak)