Move to modernise, transform armed forces: Chief of Naval Staff on Agnipath scheme
India Today
Soon after the Centre unveiled the new recruitment scheme for the armed forces on Tuesday, violent protests erupted across the nation over its criteria. In a conversation with India Today, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral R Hari Kumar has cleared the air regarding all apprehensions.
Soon after the Centre unveiled the new recruitment scheme for the armed forces on Tuesday, violent protests erupted across the nation. Army job seekers are concerned over the criteria of the new model put in place. In a conversation with India Today, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral R Hari Kumar cleared the air about the apprehensions related to the scheme.
“Almost two years of planning has gone into this. We have examined recruitment models of other countries too. Our aim was to reduce the age profile from 32 to around 25 and modernise the forces,” the Chief of Naval Staff said.
Most youths are worried that they will be rendered jobless after completing four years as an 'agniveer' under the scheme.
On this, Kumar said, “You need to consider the benefits of the scheme. An engineer will get exposed to a lot of tangible and intangible skills. Most importantly, warfare has changed over the past few decades with the inclusion of technology. Younger soldiers will be able to adapt fast.”
The top officer said the armed forces are not an employment generation scheme. “You join because of patriotism and eagerness to serve the nation,” he said.
On job security, he said, “The idea is to increase the representation of the armed forces. We want to recruit from all parts of the country. The scheme will allow us to recruit more soldiers.”
