Across the country, there is a protest against the new scheme ‘Agneepath’ for recruitment in the Central Government’s army. In many states including Bihar, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, MP, Rajasthan and Haryana, student protests against the scheme have turned violent. One person has also died during this violence. However, considering the objections of the students, the central government has increased the upper age limit in Agneepath scheme from 21 to 23 years. The government says that there was no recruitment in the last two years. But even this one-time exemption can become a problem.
Recruitment data shows that 46,000 soldiers will be recruited this year under the Agneepath scheme, the lowest since 2015 for the three services. With no recruitment in two years, more candidates will come after age relaxation for the first year’s 46000 recruitments under Agneepath scheme. Whereas, the government has not yet given any indication of increasing this number for 2022 or has expressed any intention.
In March this year, according to the recruitment data tabled in Parliament by the Defense Ministry, the recruitment of soldiers (below officer ranks) for the army in the last seven years was the highest with 80,572 in 2019-2020. Since then no recruitment has been done for years. According to these figures, between 2015 and 2020, the army recruited an average of more than 50,000 soldiers every year.
Most soldiers were recruited in 2019-2020: In 2015-2016, the army recruited 71,804 soldiers from across the country, which decreased to 52,447 in 2016-217. In 2017-2018, the army recruited even fewer people, which was 50,026. After this it increased to 53,431 in 2018-2019. The biggest recruitment was in 2019-2020 when the Army recruited 80,572 through rallies.
This number is only for the Army, whereas this year 46,000 Agniveers will be recruited for the three services. Sources said a little over 2 lakh (202,900) Agniveers from the three services would be inducted in the first four years of the Agneepath scheme, of which around 175,000 would be for the Army. In this context, an average of about 50,000 Agniveers will be recruited every year for the three services over the next four years. The uproar against the new policy may be more visible in rural areas as more than three quarters of recruits come from villages, according to recruitment data for the military.