New Delhi:
Protests have erupted in India following central government’s announced of ‘Agnipath’ scheme. Agnipath isa new scheme introduced by the Modi government in which Jawans now can work for four years and there will be no pension after completion of their services.
As per the latest reports from Bihar, Army aspirants are burning tyres and raising slogans against centre’s move in Muzaffarpur. Protestors have halted trains in Bihar’s Buxer and a National Highway is also have been jammed Begusarai.
Echoing aispirants demands, BJP MP Varun Gandhi also has sought public opinion on the scheme. He posted a tweet asking youth ‘what questions do they have in mind’. He also put a detailed salary structure which is to be paid under the scheme.
What is “Agnipath” scheme?
Agnipath scheme allows patriotic and motivated youth to serve in the Armed Forces for a period of four years. Soldiers who are recruited under this scheme will be known as Agniveers.
The AGNIPATH Scheme has been designed to enable a youthful profile of the Armed Forces and provide a fresh lease of ‘Josh’ and ‘Jazba’ whilst at the same time bring about a transformational shift towards a more tech-savvy Armed Forces – which is indeed the need of the hour, the defence ministry highlighted.
It is envisaged that the average age profile of the Indian Armed forces would come down by about 4-5 years with the implementation of this scheme. The selection will be the exclusive jurisdiction of the Armed Forces. A total of 46,000 Agniveers will be recruited this year.
Key features of “Agnipath” scheme
* Opportunity to serve the nation as Agniveers through enrolment in Armed forces
* Pan India merit based recruitment
* Four years tenure
* Attractive monthly emoluments and handsome “Seva Nidhi” package
* Based on merit and organisation requirement, 25 per cent of Agniveers will be enrolled in regular cadre of the Armed Forces.
Benefits and salary
Agniveers will be given an attractive customised monthly package along with Risk and Hardship allowances as applicable in the three services. On completion of the engagement period of four years, Agniveers will be paid a one-time ‘SevaNidhi’ package which shall comprise their contribution including accrued interest thereon and matching contribution from the Government equal to the accumulated amount of their contribution including interest.
In the first year, Agniveers will get Rs 30,000 per month but they will receive only Rs 21,000 as 30 per cent of their remuneration or Rs 9,000 will be their contribution to Agniveer Corpus Fund and the government will contribute the same amount to the corpus fund.
Agniveers will receive Rs 33,000 in the second year, Rs 36,500 in the third year and Rs 40,000 in the fourth year. They will get Rs 11.71 lakh as Seva Nidhi Package after four years.
The ‘Seva Nidhi’ will be exempt from Income Tax. There shall be no entitlement to gratuity and pensionary benefits. Agniveers will be provided non-contributory Life Insurance Cover of Rs 48 lakh for the duration of their engagement period in the Indian Armed Forces.
During this period of service to the nation, the Agniveers will be imparted with various military skills and experience, discipline, physical fitness, leadership qualities, courage and patriotism.
The skills gained by each Agniveer will be recognised in a certificate to form part of his unique resume.
The individuals, selected for enrolment in the Armed Forces as regular cadre, would be required to serve for a further engagement period of minimum 15 years and would be governed by the existing terms and conditions of service of Junior Commissioned Officers/Other Ranks in Indian Army and their equivalent in Indian Navy and Indian Air Force and that of Non Combatant enrolled in the Indian Air Force, as amended from time to time.
Enrolment will be undertaken through an online centralised system for all three services with specialised rallies and campus interviews from recognised technical institutes such as Industrial Training Institutes and National Skills Qualifications Framework, among others.
]]>
, International, ,