‘Agnipath’ Soldier Recruitment: “Operational Efficiency, Upgrading Fighting Skills Remain Central”

NEW DELHI: On #TheGist, Lt Gen A.K. Bhatt (Retd), Director General, Indian Space Association, Former DG Military Operations, Former 15 Corps Commander and Ex-Military Secretary in conversation with StratNews Global Associate Editor Amitabh P. Revi.

Lt Gen Bhatt discusses the ‘Agnipath’ recruitment scheme for the armed forces at the soldier level. 75 % of soldiers(recruited under the new model and called ‘Agniveers’) will get released after four years of service. Only up to 25 percent of the best professionals will be re-inducted for permanent service. 46,000 Agniveers will be recruited this year. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and the chiefs of the three services were present and spoke at a media briefing. Lt Gen Anil Puri, Additional Secretary, Department of Military Affairs said, “The average age is around 32 years, in time to come it will further come down to 26 years. This will happen in six-seven years. In order to transform the armed forces into youthful, tech-savvy, modern, there’s a need to harness the youth potential and make him a future-ready soldier”.

After the announcement, the Ministry of Defence said “operational efficiency and upgrading fighting skills will remain the central goal of the armed forces. The scheme will preserve what is working well and ensure that we don’t fix what is not broken and suggestions of ex-servicemen, retired officers and experts will be taken to ensure a smooth implementation”.