Understanding the pros and cons of Agnipath scheme through numbers

While on the one side, the Agnipath scheme will reduce the burgeoning defence pensions and salaries, on the other, it will further worsen the quality of jobs on offer

After the government announced the Agnipath scheme on June 14, the nation’s youth began protesting. Many of them had spent the last two years, during which defence recruitment was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, preparing for the written test of the Defence Services. Their plans of having a long-term career in the military have been cut short to four years with this new scheme. Agnipath’s short-term contract means that at the end of four years, 25% of the 46,000 ‘Agniveers’, who will be recruited this year, will stay on for longer-term service positions. The rest, the government says, will be given preference when applying for other government jobs. However, the scheme does not offer Agniveers any gratuity and pensionary benefits, and the Rs. 48 lakh non-contributory life insurance cover is only valid during the service. With protests continuing, and the government doubling down on the scheme, it appears as though the allure and promise of stability that defence jobs once provide is gone. Instead, Agniveers will get the following:

The Defence Ministry argues that one of the benefits of the Agnipath scheme is that, over time, the average age of the armed forces personnel will be reduced to 26 years, a significant drop from the current average of 32 years. Defenders of the scheme claim that training younger people will “make these men returning to the civilian world more disciplined and employable.” 

Reducing pension burden

At present, over 70% of the defence budget is used for revenue expenditure, with over 50% specifically being used for pensions. Funding for research and development receives less than 5% and capital expenditure, meant for the modernisation of the forces, receives only about 30%. The money set aside just for pensions is actually higher than the total budgeted amount for some ministries. With pensions dominating the department’s accounts, resources aimed at improving infrastructure, technology and training cannot monetarily be the priority.

Additionally, the number of defence pensioners is on the rise. Defence pensioners form half of all Union government retirees and double the number of ex-railway employees. The number of defence pensioners has increased by around 10 lakh in the last seven years. 

Read more about the burden of pension here .

Quality of jobs