The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) on Tuesday took a historic decision by approving a scheme called ‘Agnipath’, giving the youth in the age group of 17.5 to 21 years the opportunity to get inducted into the Armed services. Most of the recruitments are for a term of four years and on an average 46,000 youngsters are likely to be recruited every year.
“The Cabinet Committee on Security has taken a historic decision today to approve the transformative scheme of ‘Agnipath’. Under this, Indian youth would be granted an opportunity to get inducted into the Armed services. Under the ‘Agnipath’ scheme, efforts are to create a youthful profile of the Armed forces,” Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said while addressing a press conference.
The Union Minister said, “It would help to train them for new technologies and also improve their health levels. This scheme will increase employment opportunities with new skills in different sectors.” The Defence Minister said that the entire nation, especially our youth, treats the armed forces with respect. “Every child aspires to wear an army uniform at some point in their lifetime,” he said.
“Efforts are being made under the Agnipath scheme, that the profile of Indian Armed Forces should be as youthful as the profile of wider Indian population. This will also lead to the
availability of a higher-skilled workforce to the economy which will be helpful in productivity gain and overall GDP growth. The employment opportunities will increase with the ‘Agnipath’ scheme. Skills and experience acquired during Agniveer’s service will assure employment in various fields,” he said.
Appreciating the scheme, Indian Army Chief General Manoj Pande said Agnipath scheme aims to make the Army a future-ready fighting force capable of meeting multiple challenges across the full spectrum of conflict. He said “Agnipath scheme aims to make the Army a future-ready fighting force capable of meeting multiple challenges across the full spectrum of conflict and it will increase the technical threshold of the Army by recruiting ‘Agniveers’ through ITIs and other tech-institutes.”