Rajnath Singh to brief Parliamentary panel on Agnipath scheme

Air Force has received 7,49,899 applications for recruitment under the scheme

Participants at a training session for the Agnipath examination at Morhabadi ground in Ranchi on July 7, 2022. | Photo Credit: PTI

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is scheduled to brief the Parliamentary Consultative Committee on Defence on various aspects of Agnipath on July 11, the Defence Ministry said on Thursday.

Defence Secretary, three Service Chiefs and senior Ministry officials are likely to be present, a statement from the Ministry said.

Recruitment of soldiers in all the three Services will henceforth take place through the recently-launched scheme. 

The registration process for recruitment is under way for the Army and Navy, while it has closed for the Air Force. “Compared to 6,31,528 applications in the past, which was the highest in any recruitment cycle, this time 7,49,899 applications have been received,” the Air Force said on Twitter.

The Navy is opening its doors to women in all streams under the Agnipath scheme. Up to 20% or 600 women will be recruited, Navy officials said.

The IAF Registration was open from June 24 to July 5, while registrations for the Army and Navy opened on July 1. According to the schedule given by the IAF, the course is set to commence on December 30, 2022.

The Army has 71 Army Recruitment Offices (ARO) across the country and two AROs for recruitment of Gorkhas. Of these, 14 AROs started registration on July 1, while another 26 opened registration on July 5.

The Army plans to hold 83 rallies to recruit 40,000 Agniveers in two batches this year, while the Navy and Air Force will recruit 3000 Agniveers each. In the first batch, the Army will induct around 25000 Agniveers by the first half of December. The second batch will be inducted by the first half of February 2023.

On June 14, the Government announced the “Agnipath” scheme for recruitment of soldiers into the armed forces for four years, replacing the current permanent entry scheme, and the age bracket for new recruits was fixed at 17½ to 21 years. For this year, the Government has announced a one time upper age limit relaxation to 23 years.

Agniveers, on completion of four years, will get an opportunity to join the permanent cadre and up to 25% will be selected.