Agnipath Scheme

Agnipath Scheme is a tour of duty style scheme approved by the Government of India on 14 June 2022 and implemented in the country a few months later in September 2022, for recruitment of soldiers below the rank of commissioned officers into the three services of the armed forces.

All recruits will be hired only for a four year period. Personnel recruited under this system are to be called Agniveers, which will be a new military rank.
Although the scheme bypasses the traditional service benefits allocated to personnel recruited in the armed forces, the government provides up to rupees in insurance coverage, and they are entitled to receive a lump sum cash payment, a skill certificate and support for finding future employment upon discharge from service. Spokespersons from Indian National Congress, Communist Party of India and Communist Party of India, from the opposition camp, have issued statements criticising and expressing concerns about the consequences of the new scheme. They have asked the scheme to be put on hold and that the scheme be discussed in the Parliament.
Recently, during Operation Sindoor, 3,000 Agniveers played a crucial role in defending the Indian western border from drone attacks orchestrated by Pakistan in the recent 2025 India-Pakistan conflict.

Background

Prior to the introduction of the scheme, soldiers were recruited into the armed forces on a 15+ year tenure with lifelong pension. From 2019, no recruitment in the armed forces was done for three years. The Indian Government cited COVID-19 pandemic in India for this. Meanwhile 50,000 to 60,000 soldiers continued to retire annually, leading to a personnel shortage that had begun to affect the operational capabilities of the armed forces.

Year	Soldiers
2015–16	71,804
2016–17	52,447
2017–18	50,026
2018–19	53,431
2019–20	80,572
2020–21	0
2021–22	0
2022–23	0
2023–24	13,000

In 2020 a 'Tour of duty' scheme was proposed for voluntary recruitment into the forces for civilians to enable them to join for three years of short service. The proposed scheme was on a trial basis and was planned to start with a test group of 100 officers and 1000 soldiers.
The scheme has been taken to be named after Agnipath, a Hindi poem by Harivansh Rai Bachchan and a popular 1990 film of the same name based on the poem.

Overview

The Agnipath scheme was approved by the Indian Government in June 2022 to be implemented from September 2022. The announcement was done on 14 June 2022. The scheme is for both male and female aspirants of age group 17.5 to 21 years. In the midst of widespread protests against the scheme, the Central Government raised the upper limit from 21 to 23, but only for recruitment in the year 2022. The recruitment through this scheme is to be twice a year for the Indian Army, the Indian Navy and the Indian Air Force. The posts available are below the officer cadre.
The recruits named Agniveers serve for a tenure of four years that include training for six months followed by 3.5 years deployment. After retirement from the service, they will have the opportunity to apply to continue in the armed forces. Upto 25 percent of the total strength of the retiring batch will be selected for the permanent cadre. Personnel who retire after 4 years of service will not be eligible for pension, but will receive a lump sum amount of approximately at the end of tenure. The Indian government plans to recruit 45,000 to 50,000 new personnel every year through this scheme. In September 2022, 46,000 youngsters were planned to be recruited through the scheme.

Reservation and welfare benefits

On 17 July 2022, Jammu and Kashmir's Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha announced a 10% reservation in Jammu and Kashmir Police service for those who retire after serving in the military under the Agnipath scheme.
On 12 July 2024, Central Industrial Security Force, Border Security Force and Railway Protection Force announced 10% reservation and age relaxation for former Agniveer soldiers. The reservation is also applicable within Central Armed Police Forces and Assam Rifles.
On 17 July 2024, Government of Haryana announced 10% reservation in the police force of Haryana Police, mining guards and forest guards. The state government also announced incentives for private sector for hiring agniveers. Age relaxation for government jobs in Group B and C categories was also announced along with a 5% reservation in Group C jobs. The state government has also interest benefits for businesses set up by retired military under the Agnipath scheme. The chief minister also promised priority in government departments, boards and corporation jobs.
On 26 July 2024, Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi announced 10% reservation and a 5-year age relaxation for Agniveers in the state's uniformed services.

Criticism

The scheme will not include long tenures, pensions, or other benefits that existed in the old system. Individuals aspiring to join Armed Forces were disappointed with the rules of the new scheme. The main causes of concern were the short length of service, no pension provisions for those released early, and the 17.5 to 21-year age restriction. Many of the current aspirants were rendered ineligible to serve in the Indian armed forces under these new rules.
Before the introduction of the new scheme for recruitment, Indian government did not produce any white papers. The scheme was neither debated in the parliament nor in the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence. No information about the scheme was given to the public prior to its announcement.

By political parties and activists

The Hindu in its editorial, asked the scheme to be put on hold and stated —

Opposition parties in India have asked the scheme to be put on hold and that the scheme be discussed in the Parliament.
The Congress party, criticizing the new recruitment plan 'Agnipath' in the army as unjust towards the youth, stated that if it comes to power, it will scrap this scheme and reinstate the old recruitment process. This was stated by the party's president, Mallikarjun Kharge.
The Communist Party of India CPI stated that it strongly disapproved of "the 'Agnipath' scheme that does disservice to India's national interests. Professional armed forces cannot be raised by recruiting 'soldiers on contract' for a period of four years. This scheme, to save pension money, severely compromises the quality and efficiency of our professional armed forces."
The Indian National Congress called the scheme neither in the interest of the country nor its security, and has asked for a rollback of the scheme.
Congress leader and former Finance Minister P. Chidambaram took a dig at Agnipath scheme and said, "If you wish to be trained as a driver, washerman, or barber, become an Agniveer If you wish to be trained as a chowkidar, become an Agniveer If you wish to learn to fry pakoras, become an Agniveer If you wish to become a soldier, do not apply."
Congress MP Rahul Gandhi said, "When India faces threats on two fronts, the uncalled for Agnipath Scheme reduces the operational effectiveness of our armed forces. The BJP government must stop compromising the dignity, traditions, valour, and discipline of our forces." On 27 June, he said "They used to talk of 'One Rank, One Pension, now they have come up with 'no rank, no pension'." He further said that the Chinese army is 'sitting on our land' and asserted that the army should be strengthened. "When there is a war results of this will be evident...they are weakening the army, it will harm the country and they call themselves nationalists. Just like the farm laws were repealed, the government will have to roll back the Agnipath scheme also."
Congress leader and Territorial Army Captain Sachin Pilot appealed to the central government not to show "stubbornness" and immediately withdraw the new army recruitment scheme 'Agnipath' for wider deliberation to avoid recurrence of the agriculture law episode. He said the country has been placed in a "permanent turmoil" over the past few years, and the "rejection of the Agnipath scheme", unemployment, and economic and agrarian distress have led to "fierce resentment" of the youth. Pilot said the government should stop blaming the opposition for the "genuine" grievances of the youth and avoid the blame game played by it during the agriculture law movement.
Former Chief Minister of Punjab and a veteran of Sino-Indian and Indo-Pak wars, Captain Amarinder Singh suggested the Centre to review the 'Agnipath' policy of recruitment in defence forces. "It will dilute the long existing distinct ethos of regiments," He said in a statement, while remarking, "four year service is too short for a soldier".
Haryana leader of the opposition, Bhupinder Singh Hooda stated, "It has far-reaching consequences, and these have not been fully considered while preparing this scheme. In the long run, the policy would have a detrimental impact on our national security," he alleged, "It seems the government is compromising with the security of the country with the intention of saving money on salary, pension, gratuity and halving the strength of the armed forces."
Chief Minister of West Bengal Mamata Banerjee criticised the BJP-led central government, alleging that the saffron camp was trying to create its own 'armed' cadre base through the new defence recruitment programme. Terming the scheme as an insult to the armed forces, Banerjee also wondered whether the BJP plans to hire Agniveer soldiers as "watchmen" at its party offices after their four-year service period. "The BJP is trying to create its own armed cadre base through this scheme. What will they do after four years? The party wants to give arms into the hands of the youth", she said in the assembly. She also said the BJP is trying to fool the masses ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha election by announcing such schemes.
Samajwadi Party president and former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Akhilesh Yadav called the scheme, "negligent" and potentially "fatal" for the country's future.
Rashtriya Loktantrik Party chief said that the people returning after four years of service would cause gang wars in the country.
After the media briefing by the tri-service chiefs, the Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge said, "For the first time in 75 years, service chiefs are being fronted to defend a policy decision by the government."
Cabinet Minister Tej Pratap Yadav, said "the Prime Minister diverted the attention from the "sena" to Shiv Sena." referring to the defection of a few MLA's from Shiv Sena.
Trade unions and farmers also pledge their support for nationwide protests against the Agnipath Scheme. Amarjeet Kaur, general secretary of the All India Trade Union Congress, said the Narendra Modi government's string of policy decisions over the last eight years had caused great suffering to ordinary people.
Rakesh Tikait, National President of Bharatiya Kisan Union said "Agnipath Scheme is a political issue, Army Chief should not do politics. Wherever the army has done politics, there have been coups. Don't put that wrong tradition."