Three service chiefs brief PM on Agnipath, prepare roadmap

Amid widespread protests and resentment over the government’s new scheme Agnipath, the three service chiefs on Tuesday separately met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and briefed him about their plan to implement the policy. It is learnt that Army chief General Manoj Pande, Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari and Navy chief Admiral R Hari Kumar apprised Modi of the overall induction process and the steps being taken by them for a successful rollout of the scheme.

There was no official comment on the meetings.

The meeting took place shortly after the defence ministry held the second press briefing since Sunday to assuage the fears of the protesting youth, mostly defence aspirants, regarding the short-term nature of the scheme. The scheme was launched last week by the three service chiefs in the presence of defence minister Rajnath Singh.

Earlier during the day, the government once again made it clear that the scheme is not going to be rolled back. “There will be no change in the recruitment process. What happened five years ago, what happened earlier, the same will continue,” said Lieutenant General Anil Puri, the additional secretary in the defence ministry’s Department of Military Affairs. He said the recruits under the scheme will be eligible for gallantry awards and that it is being rolled out so that the armed forces draw the best talent.

At the press briefing, top officials of the three services announced a detailed schedule of the recruitment process, asserting that there will be no compromise on the quality of the training to be imparted to the ‘Agniveers’, though the duration of their training period 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 S K Jha, said.

Lt Gen. Puri said the Agnipath scheme would add strength to the armed forces. Air Marshal Jha said there is “absolutely no change” in the IAF’s process of induction, entry-level qualification, examination syllabus and medical standards for the recruits under the Agnipath scheme. “All the enrolments in the Indian Air Force will take place only through Agniveer Vayu,” he added.