New Delhi: The defence ministry announced on Saturday that the Indian Army has contracts in place with 11 banks to offer financial services to Agniveers after their enlistment.
The "Agnipath" proposal, which the government unveiled in June, calls for the three services to hire youths between the ages of 17 and a half and 21 for only four years, with the option of keeping 25% of them for an additional 15 years.
For 2022, the upper age limit has been extended to 23 years. The three services are currently undertaking the recruitment process under the new scheme. The first batch of Agniveers will be joining Army training Centres by January next year.
"The Indian Army has signed a historic MoU with 11 Banks viz State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, Bank of Baroda, IDBI Bank, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, Yes Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, IDFC First Bank and Bandhan Bank for providing banking facilities to Agniveers on enrollment," the defence ministry said
The Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) were signed on Friday.
"The features and benefits offered under Agniveer salary package are similar to the defence salary package," it said in a statement.
With PTI inputs