'Agniveers performing extremely well in battalions': Top army general shares update on Agnipath scheme

Lieutenant General Channira Bansi Ponnappa on Sunday shared an update on the Agnipath scheme, which was rolled out in June 2022. Under the scheme, the first batch was recruited and enrolled in December 2022-January 2023. Ponnappa, currently serving as the Adjutant General of the Indian Army, said that about 1 lakh Agniveers have been enrolled in the Army. 

"This also includes around 200 women, approximately 70,000 have already been dispatched to the units and are performing extremely well in the battalions," he said while speaking to the news agency ANI. "This includes around 100 women police also. Around 50,000 vacancies have been released, in this year 2024-25. The recruitment process is ongoing." 

The Lieutenant General said that the Agniveers are undertaking all the actions - operational and other professional duties just like any other sepoys or sepoys recruits on the ground. "They are completely integrated and assimilated into the units. They wear the same uniform and perform the same duty."

Recently, some army veterans expressed fears that under the current scheme, soldiers won't get the required training and their morale would also be affected as there would be two kinds of jawans - one for a regular one and the other for a short period. 

Under the Agnipath scheme, recruits are hired for a four-year period. After four years, 25 per cent will be retained, while 75 per cent will return to civilian lives to take up another job. 

The central government has announced 10 per cent reservation for agniveers in central paramilitary forces. However, a section of people including former veterans and the opposition believe that the scheme needs some tweaking. 

Former Navy Chief Admiral Arun Prakash believes the length of the service in the Agnipath scheme should be up to 10 years instead of the current 4 years. 

In an article published last month, Prakash wrote that the Agnipath scheme, in its present form, is suitable only for the army, whose large infantry is not excessively burdened with technology. In the case of the Navy and Air Force, he wrote, at least 5-6 years are required before a new entrant can acquire enough hands-on experience to be entrusted with the operation of lethal weapon systems and complex machinery and electronics.

The former navy veteran suggested that this training period can be reduced to 3-4 years if forces get more intelligent and smarter people, but he added that the army needs to utilise the soldiers for a few more years once they are trained.  

"If you're getting more intelligent and smarter people into the services maybe you can reduce it (training) to three or four years. But then you must utilise once he's trained and proficient at his job. You must keep him in the service for a few more years to contribute to his unit. So I would say 7-8 maybe up to 10 years is perhaps more sensible than the present four years," he said in an interview with The Wire.