BJP MP Varun Gandhi, in a letter to Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, questioned several provisions of the new short-term, contractual, armed forces recruitment scheme ‘Agnipath’, and expressed apprehensions that the scheme may give rise to disaffection among the youth.
In his letter, Mr. Gandhi said that in his interactions with young people he found that there were many doubts in their minds over the provisions of the scheme. Its short-term (four-year stint), contractual nature (with only 25% absorbed into the Indian armed forces after the four-year term) and no provision for pension were some of the issues that Mr. Gandhi said worried the youth.
“As 75% of soldiers will become ‘unemployed’ after four years and their total numbers will keep rising every year, it will give rise to more disaffection among the youth,” Mr. Gandhi said.
He asked about the prospects for these retired soldiers when the corporate sector had not shown much interest in hiring even the regular military personnel who retired after 15 years.
“Four years of service will disrupt their education, and they will also face difficulties in getting another job or more education as they will be older to others with similar qualification, “ he said, adding “they will face financial hardship as well.”
‘Waste of training costs’
“These soldiers with only six-month basic training may be a cause of disruption to the existing regimental formations,” he added, also stating that the low number of regular absorption of ‘Agniveer’ will only result in the waste of training costs.
The Central government on June 14 unveiled the ‘Agnipath’ scheme for the recruitment of soldiers in the Army, Navy and the Air Force largely on a four-year short-term contractual basis. Officials said this would bring in fitter and younger troops to deal with future security challenges facing the nation.
Sharing details during the launch, Mr. Singh had said, “Under the ‘Agnipath’ scheme, Indian youth will be provided an opportunity to serve in the armed forces as ‘Agniveer’. This scheme has been brought to strengthen the security of the country. It is a transformative scheme.”
