Positive step, mutually beneficial: Defence Experts hail tenure extension of two years for ‘Agniveers’
New Delhi, Nov 4 (IANS) The Union Cabinet’s decision to offer two-year additional tenure to the ‘Agniveers’, beyond their stipulated four-year service, has been welcomed by a couple of Defence Experts as they foresee it as a “mutually beneficial” step going forward.
“This will prove to be mutually beneficial for both the Armed Forces as well as Agniveers, as the latter, having trained in multi-pronged operations over a period of time, will enrich the services,” said Defence Expert Brig. Hemant Mahajan (Retd) speaking to IANS.
Outlining the four-year stint as “short and transient”, he said that the biggest ‘negative aspect’ of the scheme was the fact that four years period is very less for training them, particularly in wide spectrum of technical arms and artilleries and added that the extended two years tenure will provide them with enough time to learn and master the ground skills.
He said that the changes in the Agnipath scheme will also enhance chances of their (Agniveers) absorption into the forces.
Dhruv Katoch, a noted defence expert, also welcomed the move as the early onset of Diwali for the Agniveers.
“I consider this a very positive step, and I would say that Diwali has arrived four days early for all the Agniveers,” Katoch remarked.
The Agnipath scheme, rolled out in June 2022, entailed recruitment of soldiers for a four-year term, with a provision to retain 25 per cent of them in regular services.
Bringing a major change in the recruitment process, also seen as a rollback in the policy, the government on Wednesday announced that Agniveers, after the end of their four-year tenure, will get an additional two-year extension period and will also be offered permanent recruitment, subject to meeting specific eligibility criteria and individual consent.
The move comes weeks before the three services were to start releasing 75% of Agniveers from their first batch in a phased manner starting mid-November. Over 18,300 Agniveers are set to exit the Armed Forces by December 31 after completing a four-year term.
–IANS
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