#NewsBytesExplainer: Why age relaxation in Agnipath scheme might be problematic?
What's the story
The Centre on Friday announced a one-time relaxation of the upper age limit for the Agnipath military recruitment scheme entrants this year, raising it from 21 to 23 years. It was probably done to allay fears and quell public outrage over the short-term recruitment scheme for the armed forces. However, this one-time waiver might cause several complications. Here, we explain why.
Context
Why does this story matter?
Although the Agnipath scheme has not entered the implementation phase, officials claimed it will pave the way for massive recruitment in the defense forces. Recruitment in the Indian Army and other armed forces has been blocked for nearly two years, putting aspirants into a distressing situation. However, the new scheme is facing sharp criticism from certain quarters following apprehensions over job security.
Available posts
Defense aspirants to compete for 46,000 posts, lowest since 2015
As per the official data, 46,000 Agniveers would be recruited this year. So, the number of soldiers recruited in the first year of the Agnipath scheme would be the lowest since 2015. Therefore, age relaxation means more people competing for the 46,000 posts—especially when there was no recruitment in the last two years and the government is yet to announce any increase in posts.
Army
Army alone recruited 80,572 soldiers in 2019-20
According to the Defence Ministry's recruitment data, the Army's recruitment of troops below the rank of Officers through recruitment rallies peaked at 80,572 in 2019-2020. No recruiting has taken place since then, it said in the data presented before the Parliament recently. Notably, the Army employed more than 50,000 soldiers every year between 2015 and 2020, according to the ministry.
Data
What does the comparative data since 2015 say?
The Army recruited 71,804 personnel in 2015-2016, but just 52,447 in 2016-2017. It recruited even fewer people in 2017-2018: 50,026. In 2018-2019, this number increased to 53,431 recruits. The Army recruited the most people in 2019-2020, with 80,572 people signing up during rallies. These figures only apply to the Army, but the 46,000 Agniveers—to be recruited this year—will serve in all three services.
Details
'Every year, around 50,000 Agniveers will be recruited'
According to The Indian Express, the total number of Agniveers inducted into the three services throughout the first four years of the Agnipath initiative would be slightly more than two lakh: 202,900 Agniveers, of which around 175,000 will be for the Army. It added that this equates to around 50,000 Agniveers recruited every year for all three services over the next four years.
States
Eight states account for 60% of Army recruits
The official data also shows that just eight states account for more than 60% of all recruitment in the Army since 2015. Since 2015, 186,795 people have been recruited into the Army from Punjab, Haryana, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand. Total recruitment in the Army in this period was 308,280.
Anger
Anger over Agnipath may be brewing more in villages
Villagers are expected to be more outraged by the new recruitment policy, as Army recruiting statistics reveal that more than three-quarters of the recruits come from villages, as per an analysis by The Indian Express. Recruits from villages made up 78.32% of the Army's overall intake in 2018-2019, and this figure was 77.20% in 2019-2020, it added.
Pandemic
Why did Defence Ministry halt the recruitment earlier?
The Ministry of Defence notified the Parliament that recruitment rallies had been halted since July 2021 owing to the COVID-19 epidemic. It said the Army held 47 rallies around the country in 2020-2021. However, the process was not finished due to the pandemic, it said, adding that the rallies did not result in any recruiting that year (2021) either.