New Delhi: The Armed Forces are gearing up to get the Agnipath short-term recruitment scheme off the blocks, with the Air Force starting the selection process on 24 June.
Sources told news agency PTI that the Army would issue the notification on the recruitment process by Monday and aimed to start training by December.
They also said it would deploy the initial batches of recruits in operational and non-operational roles by the middle of next year.
Officials said after the initial notification on enrollment, various agencies of the Army would subsequently come out with details of the induction process.
Violent protests have rocked several states in the country after the Agnipath scheme was announced by the government on Tuesday.
A 19-year-old from Warrangal died in Telangana’s Secunderabad while another remains critical on the third day of protests Friday.
Hundreds of train schedules have been disrupted across the country, with several cancelled and some terminated before destination.
The Opposition has slammed the Agnipath recruitment scheme that will enlist youth for four years and subsequently retire 75 per cent of them without long-term benefits.
The Congress has demanded a rollback of the scheme stating it was neither in the interest of the country nor its security.
Former Union minister and Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Sharad Yadav said the scheme was not a reform but an “attempt to damage” the existing system of recruitment in the Armed Forces. He demanded the Centre revisit the initiative.
The Centre conceded a little on Thursday by raising the upper-age limit for recruitment to 23 from 21. But this is a one-time condition only for 2022 as enrollment has been stalled for the last two years.
Under the original plan, aspirants between 17-and-a-half and 21 years of age were eligible for recruitment.
Air Chief Marshal V.R. Chaudhari said Friday that raising the upper age limit to 23 “would permit a larger section of youth to enroll as Agniveers”.
Navy chief Admiral R. Hari Kumar said he didn’t anticipate protests like this. “We worked on the Agnipath scheme for almost a year and a half. It’s the single-biggest human resources management transformation in the Indian military. Protests are happening due to misinformation and misunderstanding of the scheme,” he said.
“This is a great opportunity for the youth to serve the country,” Kumar added.
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