What are the key changes made by Govt for Agnipath scheme? New reforms, major decisions & more

Agnipath Scheme: Amidst the protests and violence over the Agnipath scheme in the country for the last five days, information about the service conditions for the recruitment of Agniveers has been shared by the Indian Army. 

According to the army, this scheme has been implemented to reduce the average age of the armies. The Air Force has shared detailed information related to recruitment. It states that the candidate will have to give an affidavit of not being involved in violence and arson before the appointment.

Despite the opposition to the Agneepath scheme, the three armed forces of the country have made it clear that it will not be withdrawn under any circumstances. Not only this, miscreants will not be admitted to it. IAF also shared the details of the recruitment. It has been told that Agniveers will get 30 days to leave annually. Allowances will also be available under the rule. Some organizations have reportedly called for a Bharat Bandh on Monday (June 20) amid protests against the Centre's 'Agneepath' military recruitment scheme. Such messages are viral on social media. 

Given this, an order has been issued to close all the schools and colleges in Jharkhand on Monday. In Bihar, the government has issued an alert and instructed the officials to be prepared. At the same time, the Kerala Police has issued an order to keep a heavy police force deployed to arrest anyone who causes damage to public property or is involved in violence.

There will be no recruitment of miscreants:
Representatives of the Army, Army, Navy and Air Force, while putting forth the detailed program of recruitment under Agnipath on Sunday, clarified that it is necessary to implement it to reduce the average age of the three forces. Lt Gen Anil Puri, Additional Secretary, Department of Military Affairs in the Defense Ministry said, "Youth who have indulged in violence and arson will not get a chance in recruitment as police verification is necessary before the appointment." There is no place for indiscipline in the army.

Anyone who wants to be a part of the army will have to give an affidavit that he has not been a part of any such activity. He said the scheme is a step taken under the pending reforms for a long time. It was also recommended by the Kargil Review Committee. 

The government studied the recruitment process and duration of many countries before implementing them. Apart from Puri, the Adjutant General of the Army, Lt. General Bansi Ponnappa, Navy Chief of Recruiting Vice Admiral Dinesh Tripathi and Air Marshal SK Jha, in charge of Air Force Recruiting, cleared doubts about the plan.

The army will recruit 40 thousand in two batches, Lieutenant General Ponnappa said that the army will issue the draft notification of recruitment on June 20 and its subsidiaries will issue separate notifications on this basis from July 1. This will be followed by recruitment rallies across the country in August, September and October. 

Based on this recruitment, the first batch of 25 thousand jawans will be sent for training in the first and second week of December. The training of the second batch will be held from February 23 next year. For the recruitment of 40 thousand jawans, there will be 83 recruitment rallies at different centres across the country.

In future, there will be a recruitment of up to 1.25 lakh, the government is starting with the recruitment of 46 thousand jawans to analyze the scheme. In the next 4-5 years, this number will reach 50-60 thousand annually and then 90 thousand to one lakh. In future, our capacity to recruit Agniveers will reach up to 1.25 Lakhs. Lieutenant General Anil Puri, Ministry of Defense. 

Navy: First Agniveer will go for training on November 21
Vice Admiral Tripathi said that the broad guidelines for recruitment in the Navy will be issued on June 25 and the first Agniveer will join the training program on November 21. There will be no discrimination based on gender in this recruitment.

Air Force: Registration from June 24 to December 30, 1st batch
Air Marshal Jha said that the registration process for the recruitment will start on June 24 and the online examination phase will start on July 24. The training of the first batch is expected to start by December 30.

The three service chiefs met the Defense Minister again
The chiefs of the three services met Defense Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday. After that, a joint press conference of the armed forces was organized and full details of the recruitment process were shared.

Ban on 35 WhatsApp groups spreading fake news
The government banned 35 WhatsApp groups for spreading fake news on the scheme. The government has taken this step after a few days of violent protests against this scheme across the country. There is no information about any action on these WhatsApp groups or their admins.

SO's vehicle broke, and nine were arrested in two districts In Bhadohi, the police lathi-charged the protesters. Nine people have been arrested in two districts.

Agniveers will not be allowed to leave service before four years. This can be done only in rare cases with the permission of the competent authority. The IAF on Sunday shared detailed information about the Agnipath scheme. Issuing a 29-point note, the Air Force described Agnipath as the new human resource management plan for the armed forces, saying that the Agniveers joining the scheme would be governed by the Air Force Act, 1950.

On these points, information about recruitment qualification, salary package, medical facility, canteen store facility, disability compensation, leave, training etc. has been given. Candidates below the age of 18 years will have to get the signature of the parent or guardian as per the rules applicable on the recruitment form. The note said that after completing four years of service, all Agniveers would be allowed to apply for regular service.

The skills acquired during the service will be included as a certificate in the resume of each Agniveer. The applications for regular recruitment will be considered by the Centralized Board through a transparent process and based on their performance, a maximum of 25 per cent of the Agniveers of the respective batch will get an opportunity for regular service in the Air Force. However, Agniveers will not have any right to be selected in the armed forces after completion of service and 25% of the selection will depend on the jurisdiction of the government.

Agniveers can be deployed on any duty after recruitment as per the requirement of the force. Agniveer shall be entitled to respect and award under the extant rules. Agniveers have to bear a distinct mark in the service period to recognize and excite the zeal of the youth.

30 Leave per year: The leave of Agniveers will depend on the requirement of the organization. However, 30 days of leave will be granted to them annually. Apart from this, health leave will be subject to medical advice. 

Allowances will be available under applicable rules: In addition to the pay fixed during deployment, risk, ration, travel and uniform allowance will be given as per the applicable rules.

Role of coaching institutes in protests: Lt Gen Anil Puri claimed that some coaching institutes apart from enemy forces were behind the protests against the scheme. He said, 70 per cent of the youth who want to be recruited prepare in these coaching institutes. They pay fees to institutions by taking loans and the institutions assure them of recruitment. These institutions have an important role to play in bringing these youths on the streets.

Gujarat: Police have detained 14 youths protesting against the scheme in Ahmedabad. Arrested for depositing without permission.

483 trains cancelled: The opposition to the Agnipath scheme seemed to stop on Sunday, but the Railways cancelled the operation of 483 trains. The 29 cancelled trains connect Kolkata and various parts of Bengal with North India.

PM gave false hope of job:
Rahu,l He tweeted, that 16 crore jobs were to be given in eight years, but youth-only got the knowledge of 'frying pakodas'. 

BJP's national spokesperson Sambit Patra said Priyanka has said that her goal is to topple the government. It is clear from this that he is not concerned about the armed forces and youth of the country. This is sad.

The role of foreign forces is also coming to the fore behind the attack on the Ludhiana station under the guise of protests against the central government's Agnipath scheme. Foreign connections to the attack have been revealed in the police investigation. Police have scanned the WhatsApp chats of mobile phones of 6 youths involved in the attack. In this, the entire planning of the attack on Ludhiana station has been exposed.

The police have received international numbers from WhatsApp groups, which have nothing to do with the army's recruitment scheme. Despite this, these numbers were playing an active role in the WhatsApp group protesting against the recruitment scheme and instigating the youth for nuisance. 

These numbers are being thoroughly scrutinized. The investigation has revealed that the attack was carried out in a well-planned manner.