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Even as the country-wide protests against the Agnipath scheme continue, the Indian army on Monday released a fresh notification regarding the Agniveer recruitment rally that announced that the registrations for the same will open from July.
In its notification, the Army said the online registration for the force's recruitment can be done on "www.joinindianarmy.nic.in" and is mandatory for all the job aspirants under the new model.
The Army said 'Agniveers' would form a distinct rank in the Indian Army, which would be different from any other existing ranks and the release of an 'Agniveer' at their own request prior to completion of terms of engagement is not permitted. The Army said the 'Agniveers' would not have any right to be selected after completion of their four-year tenure.
'Agniveers' will be barred from disclosing classified information gained during the four-year service period to any unauthorised person or source under the Official Secrets Act, 1923.
"Personnel enrolled through Agniveer scheme, will be required to undergo periodical medical check-ups and physical/ written/ field tests as governed by orders issued. The performance so demonstrated would be considered for a subsequent offer for enrolment in the regular cadre," the Army said.
It said that based on organisational requirements and policies promulgated, 'Agniveers' after completing their engagement period in each batch will be offered an opportunity to apply for enrolment in the regular cadre.
Eligibility Criteria
Class 10 pass with 45 per cent marks in aggregate and 33 per cent in each subject are mandatory for the applicants. For the technical cadre of 'Agniveers' including for the Aviation wing, the aspirants will need to clear class 12 with Physics, Chemistry, Maths and English with 50 per cent marks in aggregate and 40 per cent in each subject.
For those applying for positions of clerk or storekeeper (Technical), Class 12 in any stream is required with 60 per cent marks in aggregate and 50 per cent in each subject.
For this cadre, 50 per cent marks in English and Maths/Accounts/Book-Keeping are mandatory.
The Army has kept two categories for 'Agniveer' under tradesmen heading -- one for those having cleared 10th class and another for 8th pass ones.
In both categories, there is no stipulation for aggregate marks but the candidates need to have 33 per cent marks in each subject, the notification said.
According to the notification, bonus marks of 20 would be given in the Common Entrance Examination to some categories of the applicants such as sons of a serviceman, son of ex-serviceman, son of war widow, son of a widow of ex-serviceman.
Agnipath has an age bracket of 17-and-half years to 21 for only four years with a provision to retain 25 per cent of them for 15 more years. The government has extended the upper age limit to 23 years for recruitment in 2022.
The 'Agniveers' will be eligible for 30 days leave in a year as against 90 days for those in regular service. Medical leave will be granted based on medical advice
In June 2022, the Centre introduced the Agnipath Scheme in a bid to recruit soldiers below the rank of commissioned officers into the three services of the armed forces.
Soldiers recruited under this scheme will be known as Agniveers who will serve in the forces for 4 years including training for six months followed by 3.5 years of deployment. During the tenure, they would be entitled to honours and awards, as per extant guidelines governing the subject for Indian Army.
Post-retirement, they could apply to continue in the Army and 25% of the Agniveers will be selected for the permanent cadre.
Initially, it was decided that aspirants between 17-and-a-half years and 21 years of age would be eligible for recruitment under the scheme. However, following the massive protests across the country, the Defence Ministry said that “the upper age limit for the recruitment process for Agnipath scheme for 2022 is increased to 23 years".
Indian Army: From 1 July, the notifications regarding the same will be issued by various recruitment units. The recruitment rallies will take place in August, September and October
The first batch of 25,000 personnel will join the training in the first and second week of December. The second lot of recruits will join in February.
Indian Navy and Airforce: The naval headquarters will come out with a broad guideline for the recruitment by 25 June. The first batch will join in November. Meanwhile, the Indian Air Force to start registration process under Agnipath scheme on 24 June.
(With inputs from agencies)