Amid violent protests across the country, the Indian Army on Monday (June 20) issued a notice on the government's Agneepath program. The notification relates to the first round of recruitment under the programme. Registration begins in July.
The newly released notice basically outlines the terms and conditions of the service, eligibility, download and other important details of the program.
The Army Notice states: “Entries will be opened beginning July by the respective Army Recruiting Offices (AROs) for Agniveer General Duty, Agniveer Technical, Agniveer Technical (aviation/munitions examiner), Agniveer Clerk/Store Technical Keeper, Agniveer Tradesman ( 10th pass) and Agniveer Tradesman (8th pass) as per the ARO rally schedule."
He added, "Agniveers enrolled in the plan are not entitled to any type of pension and allowances," a differentiated grade in the Army that differs from other existing grades
Those enrolled in Enrolling in this system must undergo periodic medical examinations, in addition to physical/written/field tests as per order.Protests erupted in different parts of the country after some military hopefuls were unhappy with changes introduced under the new recruiting program.
Concerns were raised about length of service, lack of pension schemes for early redundancies and the age limit of 17.5 to 21 mentioned above.
The Army said that based on the organization's requirements and guidelines, Agniveers will be offered the opportunity to apply for enlistment in the regular squad upon completion of their time in each group.
"These applications will be centrally reviewed by the Army based on objective criteria, including performance during their enlistment period, and no more than 25 percent of each specific group of Agniveers will be enrolled in regular cadres upon completion of their four-year enlistment period," it said in the document released by the Army."Agniveers enrolled in this way as regular cadres must complete an additional 15-year commitment period and are subject to current service conditions (for junior officers/other ranks)," he said.
The Army said Agniveers had no right to be selected after their four-year term had ended.
According to the document. Each Agniveer must formally agree to all of the Agnipath program terms and conditions as part of the enrollment process.
For personnel under the age of 18, the registration form must be signed by a legal guardian.The "agniveers" are entitled to 30 days of annual leave compared to 90 days for those on regular duty. Sick leave is granted on medical advice.
The army said 30 percent of Agniveer's monthly salary will be compulsorily deposited in a corpus and the government will contribute an equal amount.