The Navy will recruit 3,000 out of the total 46,000 'Agniveers' to be recruited this year under the Agnipath scheme unveiled by the central government, Vice Admiral Ajendra Bahadur Singh, Commander-in-Chief of the Western Naval Command said on Wednesday. Talking to reporters, Singh said the number of recruits will increase based on the sanctioned strength of the Navy. "The scheme is new and we have to adapt ourselves to it. The Navy is going to recruit 3,000 (personnel) in the first year, the Air Force will recruit 3,500, while the Army will recruit 40,000. That's the number for the first year. "As the service requirement is there, the number will keep on increasing," Singh said, noting that the sanctioned strength will not come down.
Singh said the scheme is a great opportunity for the youth as the skill set and exposure they get will be "life-changing and add value to their careers". With the new scheme, there will be no loss of training as being perceived, he said.
"Sailors do a basic training and then go for a specialised training. Whosoever is re-enrolled has already done four years in the Navy. He/she will get the same technical training. So there will be no loss of training as such (as) what is being perceived," Singh added. The government on Tuesday unveiled the 'Agnipath' scheme for the recruitment of soldiers in the Army, Navy, and the Air Force on a short-term contractual basis for four years to ensure a youthful profile of the armed forces. The youths recruited under the scheme will be known as 'Agniveers'. After completion of the four-year tenure, 25 per cent of the recruits from each specific batch would be offered regular service.
Under the scheme, around 46,000 soldiers will be recruited this year between the ages of 17 and a half years and 21 years into the three services, the defence ministry said. After completion of the four-year tenure of the recruits, the scheme provides for retaining 25 per cent of each specific batch for regular service, based on organisational requirements and policies promulgated by the armed forces from time to time.
The monthly salary of an 'Agniveer' in the first year of employment would be Rs 30,000 and the in-hand amount would be Rs 21,000 as Rs 9,000 would go to a corpus and the government will make an equal contribution per month. Subsequently, the monthly salary in the second, third and fourth year will be Rs 33,000, Rs 36,500, and Rs 40,000 respectively. Each 'Agniveer' will get an amount of Rs 11.71 lakh as the 'Seva Nidhi Package' and it will be exempted from the income tax.
The scheme is also expected to cut the ballooning salary and pensions bills of the armed forces as there will be no entitlement to gratuity and pensionary benefits.
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