Amid protests against Agnipath scheme, armed forces announce notification dates for recruitment process

While the Indian Army said that the notification will be issued in the next two days, the Indian Air Force said that the recruitment process will start from June 24. The Indian Navy said that the process will begin very soon.

The relaxation was announced by the government late on Thursday evening. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said Friday that it showed that the government cares about the youth of the country.

Policemen try to douse a fire in a train, set by people protesting against Centre’s ‘Agnipath’ scheme, in Ballia. (PTI)

The government has announced “a one-time upper age limit relaxation for the recruitment process through Agnipath scheme for 2022 to 23 years, and the “relaxation of age indicates that the government cares for our youth,” Singh said, adding, that the Department of Military Affairs, Ministry of Defence, and the services, he said, “are committed to commence the recruitment process at the earliest, we invite youth of our country to join Indian Armed Forces and serve the nation through Agnipath.”

As protests against Agnipath, the government’s new recruitment policy for the armed forces, continue unabated, Army Chief General Manoj Pande welcomed the government’s decision for the age relaxation. He said that the notification for the recruitment process will be issued in two days and their training will begin by December.

He told ANI news agency that the “recruitment process is going to begin soon” and “within the next 2 days, notification will be issued” on the joinindianarmy.nic.in website. “After that our Army recruitment organisations will declare a detailed schedule of registration and rally. During this process we will ensure that all the youth and aspirants get adequate time for registration and preparation.” Pande told ANI.

New Delhi: Indian Youth Congress (IYC) members take out a ‘Mashal March’ against government’s newly introduced ‘Agnipath’ scheme, at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, Thursday, June 16, 2022. 

He also mentioned “As far as the question of Agniveers going to recruitment training centres is concerned, the training of first Agniveers will begin this December.”

In a statement earlier he had said that the government’s decision to relax the upper age limit “will provide an opportunity for many of our young, energetic and patriotic youth who, despite the COVID pandemic, were preparing to join the recruitment rallies, which couldn’t be completed in the last two years due COVID restrictions.” He asked the youth to “avail this opportunity for joining the Indian Army as Agniveers.”

Air Force Chief Air Chief Marshal V R Chaudhari also announced that the process to recruit Agniveers will begin next week. “I feel very happy that for the first recruitment the upper age limit has been raised to 23. This change will benefit the youth. I am confident that the youth will apply in big numbers.” Chaudhari said in an address.

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“Air Force’s recruitment process will begin from June 24,” he announced. The Navy said in a statement that the waiver by the government “would facilitate entry of those youth who could not join Armed Forces due to temporary stoppage of recruitment during COVID-19 pandemic.”

It mentioned that the 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.”

Navy Chief Admiral R Hari Kumar told Times Now in an interview that the Navy intends to start training the Agniveers by November. He repeated what he had mentioned on Tuesday, when the scheme was announced, that the Navy Agniveers will also include women.