Agnipath Scheme
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History
Forces taken by surprise: then army chief
Dec 19, 2023: The Times of India
Agnipath scheme took forces by surprise, says Naravane in book
New Delhi : The armed forces were taken by surprise by the government’s formulation of the Agnipath scheme for short-term recruitment of soldiers, airmen and sailors, and argued for a greater number of personnel to be retained in service after the four-year tenure and for Agniveers to be paid better, as per former Army Chief Gen M M Naravane.
According to a PTI report quoting his forthcoming memoir ‘Four Stars of Destiny’, Naravane sounded out the PM in early 2020 about a ‘Tour of Duty’ proposal, under which “a limited number” of jawans could be enrolled for ashort term, on the lines of short-service commission for some officers. TNN
Agnipath plan took all three forces by surprise: Naravane
After some time, the PMO came up with a formulation that not only should the entire intake of military personnel in a year be on a short-service basis, but that it would apply to the IAF and the Navy as well, as per PTI quoting from an advance copy of the book published by Penguin Random House India.
“We in the army were taken by surprise by this turn of events, but for the Navy and Air Force, it came like a bolt from the blue,” Gen Naravane writes. He says it took him some time to explain to the IAF and Navy chiefs that his proposal had only been army-centric and that he was equally surprised by these developments.
“Having become a tri-service matter, it now fell on Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat to take the proposal forward, albeit with the Army remaining the lead service,” he adds.
Gen Naravane, who was the Army chief from December 31, 2019 to April 30, 2022, notes that various models of the scheme were deliberated upon, with the army’s initial argument being that 75% of the jawans to be recruited should be retained, while 25% could be released from service. Eventually, when Agnipath was rolled out in June 2022 as a “transformative scheme” to lower the age profile of the armed forces, it was held that only 25% of around 46,000 soldiers, airmen and sailors to be selected in a year would serve for another 15 years after the first four years.
Gen Naravane also recalls in the book that the first year’s starting salary for the inductees was Rs 20,000 per month (all-inclusive). “This was just not acceptable. Here, we were talking about a trained soldier who was expected to lay down his life for the country. Surely a soldier could not be compared with a daily-wage labourer? Based on our very strong recommendations, this was later raised to Rs 30,000 per month,” he says.
Answering questions on why he was not appointed the Chief of Defence Staff after Gen Rawat’s untimely death , Gen Naravane writes, “I never questioned the wisdom of the government when it made me the army chief, so why should I do so now?”
Benefits given to Agniveers vis-à-vis regular soldiers
As in 2023
Amrita Nayak Dutta, Oct 26, 2023: The Indian Express
What is the Agnipath scheme?
The Agnipath scheme was introduced last year to take in recruits for the Army, Navy, and Indian Air Force (IAF) on four-year contracts, including six months of training.
At the end of four years, up to 25% of recruits can apply to join the services on a regular basis, subject to merit and organisational requirements.
The scheme was announced as the armed forces looked to restart the recruitment of soldiers, sailors, and airmen after the Covid-19 pandemic led to the suspension of recruitment for around two years. At present, all sailors, airmen, and soldiers, except the technical cadre of the medical branch, are recruited to the services under the scheme.
The scheme had also opened doors for recruitment of women as Agniveers to the IAF and Navy. The Army started the process of recruiting women soldiers into its Corps of Military Police in 2019.
Why was the Agnipath scheme brought?
The government had said the scheme aimed to ensure a “youthful profile” for the armed forces by bringing down the average age of serving soldiers.
It said the scheme would help transform the armed forces into a “tech-savvy and modern fighting force”, and would ensure the availability of disciplined and skilled youth from a range of backgrounds in civil society after their retirement at the end of four years.
However, a major consideration was understood to have been the burgeoning defence pension bills of the Government of India. Over the next couple of years, the scheme will bring down the overall defence pension bill.
So what benefits are Agniveers entitled to?
The remuneration of an Agniveer is Rs 30,000-Rs 40,000 per month, and they are entitled to risk and hardship allowances.
The scheme also has a Seva Nidhi contributory package, under which the Agniveers contribute 30% of their monthly emoluments, and the government contributes the same amount. On completion of four years, they will receive around Rs 11.71 lakh (with interest) from the package, and this will be exempt from income tax.
In case of death on duty, they will receive more than Rs 1 crore, including the Seva Nidhi package and full pay for the period they could not serve.
In the instance of a disability, they can receive up to Rs 44 lakh depending on the extent of disability suffered, which is attributed to or aggravated by military service.
And how do these benefits compare with those due to a regular soldier?
The biggest difference between a soldier employed on regular service and an Agniveer serving for four years is that the former will draw a pension post-retirement, while an Agniveer will not. The 25% of Agniveers who would eventually be absorbed into the forces after four years will, however, be eligible for pension after retirement.
In case of a battle casualty, the family of a regular soldier gets a liberalised family pension which is equal to the last pay drawn, for life. There is no income tax on this amount. The family of an Agniveer is eligible only for a non-contributory insurance sum amounting to Rs 48 lakh.
A regular soldier gets gratuity for 15 days per year for every year of service, and has an insurance cover of Rs 50 lakh. Soldiers on regular service also get a children’s education allowance up to graduation. None of these are available to Agniveers.
The starting salary of a regular soldier, combined with military service pay and dearness allowance, comes to around Rs 40,000, whereas the starting salary of an Agniveer is Rs 30,000.
In case of suffering a disability during service, an Agniveer gets an ex gratia amount that depends on the percentage of disability suffered, pay for the remaining part of the four-year service tenure (if they go out of service), and monetary benefits under the Seva Nidhi scheme.
A regular soldier who suffers a disability gets pension, ex gratia, as well as impairment relief as per entitlement.
What did the Agnipath scheme offer to Operator Akshay Laxman Gawte and his next of kin?
The Army has said that the “emoluments authorised to a deceased Battle Casualty” will comprise the non-contributory insurance sum of Rs 48 lakh, and Seva Nidhi contributed by the Agniveer with equal contribution by the government, along with the interest.
As per the provisions of the scheme, he will also get the ex-gratia amount of Rs 44 Lakh, and “pay of balance tenure from date of death, till completion of four years (more than Rs13 lakh, in the instant case)”.
A contribution of Rs 8 lakh from the Armed Forces Battle Casualty Fund, and an immediate financial assistance of Rs 30,000 too, would be provided to his family from the Army Wives’ Welfare Association.
