Centre plans to line up next job for Agniveers before four-year term ends

The Agnipath scheme has been debated for the past few years, with every Agniveer asking what would happen to their job after four years. The central government has now taken a major decision on the matter. It is preparing a new system under which an Agniveer's next job will be fixed before their four-year term ends, so they do not have to run from place to place looking for work. According to sources in the Ministry of Defence, a new resettlement scheme is being prepared for this.

The first batch recruited under the Agnipath scheme is due to complete its term in January 2027. This batch was recruited on 1 January 2023 and includes more than 19,000 Agniveers. This is why the government is now in a hurry.

As earlier decided, 25 percent of Agniveers will be retained permanently in the Army, but the process for this has now changed. Earlier, everyone completed the full four years and left, after which 25 percent were taken back. Now this will not happen. Instead, an examination and evaluation of their work will be done before the four years are completed. A merit list will be prepared on this basis, and it will be decided in advance who will be among the 25 percent. This means there will be no gap in their service, and they will become regular soldiers directly.

The real question concerns the remaining 75 percent. The government has also made a plan for those who will not be retained permanently in the Army. They will be given priority in other government jobs. For this, the Ministry of Home Affairs is building a special portal through which they will be recruited. The aim is that they should have an offer letter for another job in hand before leaving the Army.

The government has also set aside reservations for Agniveers in several places. There is 50 percent reservation for the posts of constable and rifleman in the BSF, CRPF, CISF, ITBP and Assam Rifles, and they will not have to sit for the written examination or the physical test, from which they have been exempted. Reservation has also been given in the Railways, with 10 percent for Level 1 posts and 5 percent for posts from Level 2 onward. Besides this, Agniveers are being given priority in several central and state government departments as well.

The rule of the Agnipath scheme is straightforward: four years of service in the Army, of which 25 percent will be retained permanently and 75 percent will leave. This new scheme has been brought in so that they do not have to struggle for a job after leaving. The government is guaranteeing that after four years of serving the nation, an Agniveer will already have a path to another job ready by the time they step out. This decision will ease some of the anxiety among Agniveers and their families, who will no longer have to worry about being unemployed after four years.