Experts sceptical of Agnipath scheme, say pilot project should have come first
India Today
Experts shared their views on the Agnipath defence recruitment scheme and said a pilot project should have come first.
The Centre on June 14 unveiled the Agnipath scheme - a new short-term recruitment policy for Indian youth to serve in the armed forces. The scheme aimed to allow youngsters aged 17.5 to 21 to be inducted into any of the three services of the military as “Agniveers” for a period of four years. However, in a one-time waiver, the Central government on Thursday increased the upper age limit for the Agnipath scheme from 21 to 23 years.
Meanwhile, violent protests were witnessed in several states against the scheme, citing that after the four-year service period only 25 per cent of the soldiers will be retained to serve a full term. The remaining 75 per cent will not be absorbed and will be relieved without pension benefits.
Read: Centre busts myths over Agnipath scheme, says future of Agniveers stable | Key Points
India Today spoke to several experts from various armed forces on the issue.
Former Director-General of Military Operations (DGMO) Lt Gen Vinod Bhatia said, “The scheme has already been rolled out and I am not discussing whether it should be done or not. There are many apprehensions and grey areas that need to be addressed. Some of them are about the ethos and values of the armed forces.”
Bhatia further added, “I do feel that we should go slow and think over the apprehensions and treat this as a pilot project - first review the whole process and then go ahead with it.”
Stating several reasons for the shortcomings in the project, Bhatia said, “For one recruit we have hundreds of aspirants. Now what we are trying to do is that these aspirants who want to join the armed forces will go to other agencies for better jobs. They will go to paramilitary forces, they will look for police jobs and hence, we will not get the best soldiers in the first place. Secondly, when the recruits come, why should they come for four years and what will they do in that period? Why would they take a risk?”
