IAF receives 'highest ever' 7.5 lakh applications under Agnipath scheme
The Indian Air Force (IAF) received 7.5 lakh applications under the newly launched Agnipath recruitment scheme. The registration process under the scheme began on June 24 and ended on Tuesday. Announcing the completion of the recruitment process, the IAF tweeted, "Compared to 6,31,528 applications in the past, which was the highest in any recruitment cycle, this time 7,49,899 applications have been received."
Why does this story matter?
This comes after several Indian states witnessed violent protests against the Agnipath scheme. Notably, aspirants are opposed to the scheme fearing it will make enrolment into the Indian Armed Forces contractual with no job security. Meanwhile, officials claim the scheme will allow for much-needed young recruitment in the defense forces. Armed forces' recruitment processes were suspended two years ago because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Check out IAF's tweet
What was IAF's enrolment process?
In a detailed notification last month, the IAF had listed out the eligibility criteria, examination fee, terms and conditions, age limit, medical standards, financial benefits including salary, insurance, and the procedure for the Phase 1 and Phase 2 selection process. Notably, candidates who clear Phase 1 will only be eligible to appear for Phase 2 of the selection process.
What is Agnipath scheme?
Officials said the Agnipath military recruitment scheme for armed services is aimed at reducing the wage and pension costs. Under this proposal, defense troops will be freed after four years. Only 25% of them may be recalled for a complete term. There will be no pension and gratuity benefits. However, a lump sum amount will be given to them upon completion of the service.
Leaves, entitlements of Agniveers
The Agniveers will be granted 30 days' leave in a year. They will also be entitled to a medical leave based on medical advice. Also, 30% of the Agniveer's monthly salary will be mandatorily deposited in a corpus and an equal amount will be contributed by the government. Enrollment forms for personnel under 18 years of age need to be signed by parents/guardians.
Massive protests in several states
Violent protests, including setting trains on fire and stone-pelting incidents, were witnessed in several states, including Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Haryana, Telangana, Odisha, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Jharkhand, and Assam against the Agnipath scheme. Some organizations called for a Bharat Bandh on June 20 to mark their protest and massive traffic snarls were witnessed across Delhi-NCR and over 80 trains were canceled.
No roll-back of Agnipath, all concessions pre-planned: Defence Ministry
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Defence on Sunday stated that the Agnipath scheme would not be rolled back, saying that such changes had been long overdue since the armed services sought to bring in more youth and experience. It further added that the reservations for "Agniveers" announced by different ministries were pre-planned and not in response to the protests after the policy was launched.
