First round of Agnipath recruitment registration in July, Indian Army issues notification

The Indian Army issued a notification on Monday for the first round of Agnipath recruitment. The registration will begin in July. The announcement comes at a time when protests against the short-term military scheme are turning violent across the country.

The notification says that Agnipath is now the only entry point for aspirants into the Indian Army. This exempts the technical cadres of the medical branch. Online registration is mandatory on www.joinindianarmy.nic.in from July.

For general duty, aspirants must graduate class 10 with 45% marks in aggregate and 33% in each subject. For technical cadre, including Aviation and Ammunition Examiner, aspirants need to graduate class 12 with physics, chemistry, mathematics, and English with 50% marks in aggregate and at least 40% marks in each subject.

For clerk or storekeeper (technical), class 12 in any stream is acceptable as long as one has 60% marks in aggregate and a minimum of 50% in each subject. For this cadre, 50% marks in English and maths/accounts or book-keeping are mandatory. There are two categories - 10th pass and 8th pass - for tradesmen. Aspirants must have at least 33% in each subject.

The notification further said that the Agniveer's pay is a "composite package" and "he will not be eligible for any Dearness Allowance and Military Service Pay". They "will get applicable Risk & Hardship, Ration, Dress and Travel allowances". The recruits will get life insurance cover of ₹ 48 lakh for the duration of their engagement period.

Army aspirants are disappointed that the four-year job scheme does not provide a service guarantee after four years or a pension. The Centre had said only 25% of the recruits may be chosen for the regular 15-year service in the Armed Forces and will become eligible for pension.

The scheme intends to hire around 45,000 recruits in the Army, Navy, and Air Force. All three had issued a broad schedule of enrolment on Sunday. Indian Army is the first to issue a notification. Officials have declared that those who took part in violent protests will not be accepted under the scheme.

When the scheme was first announced, the age bracket was 17.5-21. This spurred the first set of protests in Bihar on June 14. The government later relaxed the upper age limit by two years citing that the pandemic affected the chances of many aspirants. A 10% reservation to Agniveers for recruitment in Central Armed Police Forces and Assam Rifles was also announced.

However, this did not impress the protesters. A Bharat Bandh called by the disappointed youth affected several cities including Delhi. Over 500 trains were cancelled and the railways lost several properties due to riots involving arson. Congress leaders sat on a 'Satyagraha' at Jantar Mantar in Delhi in solidarity with the aspirants.