New Delhi: Around 3,800 candidates have registered for the Indian Air Force’s Agniveer Vayu programme under the Agnipath recruitment scheme after the online registration portal opened at 10 am Friday, ThePrint has learnt.
Earlier in the day, the Air Force had revealed details of the two-phase recruitment process and its registration schedule, while announcing that the online portal was now open for public access.
Registration window to apply for #Agniveervayu is operational from 10 am today.
To register, candidates may log on to https://t.co/kVQxOwkUcz#Agnipath#भारतीयवायुसेनाकेअग्निवीर pic.twitter.com/2ZQl8Ak6nn
— Indian Air Force (@IAF_MCC) June 24, 2022
According to the schedule, the registration window for the first phase will close on 5 July, with the online examination period slated for the last week of July.
The schedule also listed that phase II would be conducted in August, with medicals running until early November. Results and the enrolment process will take place the following month, with the course finally commencing at the end of the year.
According to the online portal, only male candidates are eligible to apply to Agniveer Vayu. “Applicant can be a civilian or a serving NC (E) of the Indian Air Force. If you are a civilian, then you must be an unmarried male candidate,” the portal said.
Earlier, the Indian Army and Navy had also released their respective recruitment procedures and schedules, with registration windows for both services expected to commence in July.
Overall, 46,000 Agniveer recruits for the armed forces are targeted for this year.
Agnipath scheme
Originally intended as a pilot project titled ‘Tour of Duty‘ involving 100 officers and 10,000 soldiers, the Agnipath scheme is a four-year programme directed at prospective applicants, or Agniveers, aged 17-and-a-half to 21 years. It was officially announced by the Modi government earlier this month with the goal of replacing the existing regiment-based sepoy recruitment process and reducing the average age of the armed forces.
Upon conclusion of the four years of enrollment, only 25 per cent of Agniveers per batch will be selected to the regular cadre of India’s armed forces. As ThePrint had previously reported, sources revealed that the remainder would not attain ex-servicemen status.
The scheme has proved to be controversial and unpopular with several sections of society, with questions over its implementation and employability of those who do not get selected into the regular cadre after four years.
Violent protests against the scheme have taken place since its announcement, with the Modi government stating several measures as means to reassure protesters, such as a 10 per cent reservation in job vacancies for Agniveers, age relaxation and expanded recruitment of women sailors for the Navy from the scheme.
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