Know All About Agneepath Scheme And The Protests

The Agnipath scheme announced by the Centre kicked up a row in several states across the country with the youth aspiring for jobs in the three armed forces of the defence sector going on a rampage and vandalizing public property.

Agnipath Benefits

According to the scheme announced by the Centre, youth aged between 17.5 years and 23 would be recruited as soldiers, sailors for a period of 4 years, including the training period. The scheme will be an all-India and all-class, and will form a distinct rank in the armed forces, sources in the defence sector said.

The recruitment rallies for these jobs will commence in 90 days and about 46,000 soldiers will be recruited under the scheme this year.

The soldiers recruited under the scheme would be referred to as Agniveers — and will get a salary of Rs 30,000 – Rs 40,000 per month, apart from allowances as applicable. They will be recruited only if they meet the medical eligibility conditions as applicable for respective categories/trades within the armed forces.

After four years, the Agniveers will have an option to enrol into the regular cadre, with only 25 per cent from each batch likely to be inducted into the armed forces.

The soldiers recruited under this scheme will also get a post-release ‘Seva Nidhi Package’, of Rs 11.71 lakhs including interest (tax free), besides a non-contributory insurance cover of Rs 48 Lakhs.

An additional ex-gratia of Rs 44 lakh will be given in case of death during the four-year service period. They will also get an Agniveer Skill Certificate, which will aim to assist them in finding post-release job opportunities. Agniveers will also have an option of accessing a bank loan of Rs 18.2 lakhs over three years and more, against the Seva Nidhi package.

However, sources made it clear that the Agniveers who leave after four years will not get ex-servicemen status. This means that there shall be no entitlement to gratuity and pension benefits and this triggered the protests.

Protests galore

Protests were witnessed in Maharashtra, Telangana, Bihar, Haryana and several other states.

The job aspirants squatted on the railway tracks and vandalised the railway property too in various cities across the country. More than 1,000 protestors reportedly vandalised property at the Gwalior railway station forcing the police to take to lathicharge. Following the widespread protests, the Centre even relaxed the age of the job aspirants by two years and extended it to 23 years.

Despite the protests and chaos against the recruitment scheme, political parties in Andhra Pradesh including the ruling YSRC, opposition parties TDP and Jana Sena remained silent on the issue.

Telangana youth dies in firing

The job aspirants, mainly the youth, went berserk and broke the window panes of the trains and even set afire a train leading to firing by the Railway Protection Force which even claimed the life of a job aspirant from Warangal. Telangana Chief Minister, who remained silent all through Friday, slammed the Centre for its flawed policies and announced an ex-gratia of Rs 25 lakh to the bereaved family of the job aspirant.

The Centre said that it introduced the scheme to include the youth in the military to make the armed forces be at their fighting best at all time. It also said that the scheme will help attract young talent in the society to get adapted to the emerging technologies and also help in building a better resume for their life.

However, the radical scheme evoked violent protests across the country with the aspirants raising questions over the job security and post-service benefits. The eventual aim of the scheme is to keep the three services younger and agile, while reducing the overall pension burden.