NEW DELHI, June 17: Despite the agitation against the government’s recruitment scheme “Agnipath” intensifying and spreading to different parts of the country, the Indian Air Force is due to begin recruitment under the scheme from June 24.
IAF chief Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari said on Friday that the air force would kick off selection under the new model on June 24. The armed forces plan to recruit 46,000 Agniveers – in the age group of 17 and a half and 23 years – this year.
Indian Air Force will be the first service to recruit young men under the Agnipath model for the short-term induction of soldiers in the military, with the army and navy also finalising their recruitment calendar. The navy is expected to start recruitment “soon” while the army may complete the process only by year-end, the official sources said.
The upper age limit was 21 when the scheme was announced on June 14, but the government on Friday announced a two-year age relaxation for defence aspirants as a one-time waiver given that the process was stalled for more than two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Army chief General Manoj Pande said the army’s first Agniveers would start training at recruitment centres by the year-end. The army was beginning to feel the strain of a manpower crunch stemming from the Covid-induced recruitment freeze. It is currently short of around 125,000 soldiers in the personnel below officer rank (PBOR) cadre. It has an authorised strength of 1.2 million soldiers.
“The Indian Navy is ready to welcome the first batch of Agniveers in our service, for which the recruitment process will start very soon. We call upon all young men and women of our country to join the Indian Navy as Agniveers and contribute to national security and nation building,” the navy said.
Agniveers will be assigned front-line duties in the three services. They will serve in forward areas along the borders with China and Pakistan, at premier air bases, on board warships and submarines, and handle modern weapons and systems.
(Manas Dasgupta)