The central government is planning to make changes in the Agnipath Scheme, reported India Today citing Defence sources. It has been reported that the government is planning to raise percentage of Agniveers to be retained in the armed forces. Agniveer scheme has faced flak from many parts of the country and from parties across the political spectrum. There is already a demand for rollback or at least reforms in the Agniveer Scheme.
Currently, the rules permit only 25 per cent of the Agniveers to be absorbed into the armed forces after their training and four-year tenure. India Today reported that the government plans to raise the percentage to 50 per cent.
"One fourth is too low a number to be retained to maintain the desired combat strength on the ground," said a top Defence source. "The Army has recommended that the percentage of Agniveers retained should increase to around 50% at the end of the four years," India Today quoted the unnamed source as saying.
It has been reported that the army has already submitted recommendations to the government.
The Agnipath scheme was launched by the government in 2022 to supplement the security forces. In the scheme, candidates, called Agniveers, would serve in one of the three armed forced of the country for a period of four years following which 25 per cent of them would be absorbed for a full-time career in respective armed forces.
Critics of the scheme say that 25 per cent retention means that only 1 out of 4 Agniveers will be absorbed in armed forces. This means that three candidates would stare at an uncertain future. It has been observed that the BJP suffered electoral setbacks in Lok Sabha elections in regions which contributed large number of candidates for Agnipath scheme.
