AGNIPATH SCHEME
WHAT IS AGNIPATH SCHEME ?
- It s a scheme of Indian Armed forces in which selected candidates will be enrolled as AGNIVEERS for 4 years in non-officer ranks.
OBJECTIVES OF THE SCHEME:
- To attract young talent from the society to effectively exploit, adopt and use emerging modern technologies.
- To provide armed forces ethos, courage, camaraderie and teamwork in youth.
- To reduce the military expenditure in pensions and other benefits which are non-capital based.
BENEFITS OF THE SCHEME:
For Armed forces-
- Youthful profile by optimal balance of youth and experience.
- Improved battle preparedness with energetic, diverse, trained and resilient youth.
- It will create good reserves of combat ready soldiers for future.
For Nation –
- National Integration based on unity in diversity with equal opportunities to youth and women from all regions.
- No commitment of pension and other retirement benefits to recruits will provide government an extra leverage to focus on other social development schemes.
For Individual –
- Opportunity for youth to fulfill the dream of joining armed forces.
- Good financial package make individual stable.
- Confident and better citizen by military training, ethos and camaraderie forged over the years.
CONCERNS WITH THE SCHEME:
- Many military experts are of the opinion that shorter duration service of 4 years could compromise on training, morale and commitment in comparison to the permanent soldiers.
- Agniveers may have to face hardships in getting employment after 4 years of service.
- Many critics also argued that the scheme may lead to possible militarisation of society and rise in crime rates if the outgoing agniveers did not get suitable employment after 4 years.
- Agnipath scheme lacks pension and other retirement facilities for recruits.
Syllabus : Prelims + Mains; GS2 – Governance
