With the first batch of Agniveers having joined the units and got deployed on the ground, there are deliberations going on over increasing the intake size per batch from around 46,000 and the recruitment to permanent cadre from 25% to 50%.
This comes as the services, especially the Army, look to make up for the shortage in personnel that has accumulated over the last three years.
The matter is under deliberation and there is no decision yet, a senior defence official said.
There was no recruitment during the COVID-19 period and around 60,000 soldiers retire from the Army every year.
On June 14, 2022 the government announced the Agnipath scheme for recruitment of soldiers into the armed forces for four years, doing away with the earlier process and the age bracket for new recruits was fixed at seventeen-and-a-half to 21 years of age.
Following massive protests, the Defence Ministry announced a one-time upper age limit relaxation in the recruitment process for 2022 to 23 years citing that it was not possible to undertake recruitment during the last two years due to the pandemic.
In the first intake, the Army inducted 40,000 Agniveers in two batches; the first batch was inducted by the first half of December and the second batch by the first half of February 2023. All recruitment in the forces for soldiers, sailors and airmen will now be through the Agnipath scheme.
Current plan
The overall intake has been capped at 1.75 lakh till 2026 and Agniveers on completion of four years will get an opportunity to join regular cadre and up to 25% would be selected through another recruitment process.
However, officials noted that with no recruitment for two years and further recruitment limited to 1.75 lakh, it would create significant number of vacancies after a few years.
In a related issue, there are also deliberations going on to increase the age limit for entry though the technical route from 21 to 23 years. This is to attract enough technically qualified individuals, an official explained.
In another development, the services are also debating imposing any criteria for trainees who leave during training. As of now, there is no restriction or criteria and several trainees have left midway as they received better opportunities, the official said. For instance, officer recruitment has detailed guidelines for cadets to quit training in between.
The government has said the Agnipath scheme would bring down the average age of the armed forces from 32 to 26 years in line with the age profile of major armies worldwide.
