Union Minister for Shipping Shripad Naik on Saturday unveiled the scheme to facilitate the Agniveers joining the armed forces, including the Indian Navy, under the Agnipath scheme, to join the Merchant Navy.
In fact, the Union Minister announced that the Director General of Shipping and the Indian Navy has already inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), wherein the DG Shipping will come out with six schemes to help the Agniveers putting up service in armed forces under the Agnipath scheme to join the Merchant Navy after four years in the Indian Navy.
Addressing the seafarers on the occasion of International Seafarers Day organised by the Goan Seamen Association of India (GSAI) at the Ravindra Bhavan, Margao on Saturday, Shripad said the Agnipath scheme allows the youth of the country to serve in the armed forces, including the Navy for a period of four years.
“In order to facilitate the Agniveers to join the Merchant Navy after they complete four years of service in the Navy, the DG Shipping has devised as many as six schemes. The DG Shipping has issued an order detailing the transitional scheme for the Agniveers from the Indian Navy to the merchant Navy,” he said.
He added: “The scheme would ensure that the Agniveers would meet the educational criteria, either prior to joining the Merchant Navy or during training. The schemes have been devised after detailed discussions with the Indian Navy. The schemes will provide institutional support as per the convention set by the International Maritime Organisation.”
Further addressing the seafarers, the Union Minister said that the Shipping Ministry and the Director General of Shipping had provided support to the seafaring community over the years, but hastened to add that a lot still needs to be done for the community.
Saying that India has a pool of around 5.60 lakh seafarers and is occupying significant position in the maritime sector, Shripad said the employment in the sector was affected during the Covid-19 pandemic. “In order to bring in transparency and accountability, the Director General of Shipping has initiated a number of steps for the benefit of the seafaring community,” he added.
