The army is preparing to make a big change in its Agneepath plan which is increasingly becoming a political arena.
Senior military officials involved in the matter said that the armed forces may suggest to the government to increase the age limit for youth joining Agneepath to 23 years and retain at least 50 percent of Agni veterans in the army after four years of service. Officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said that the suggested changes in the controversial military recruitment scheme introduced two years ago were aimed at increasing the combat effectiveness of the army. The Agneepath scheme has created controversy across the country, especially in the states of North India where there have been incidents of arson and violence over the implementation of the scheme. The results of the Lok Sabha elections showed that the BJP suffered heavy losses in these areas. The Agneepath process further deepened the divisions among the political parties of the country. While the government is defending the scheme, the opposition seems to be opposing it.
Why is 50 percent Agniveer necessary?
According to officials, the armed forces may ask the government to increase the upper age limit from 21 years to 23 years to include first research graduates in the proposed scheme. Who can be prepared for technical jobs in all three forces. Second is to keep 50 percent firemen in service as compared to the current 25 percent to meet the shortage of manpower in specialized areas. According to officials, this change is necessary to increase combat effectiveness. The three forces were inducting a large number of graduates under the old recruitment process.