Agnipath Scheme | Pay Allowance, Eligibility and Other Details of Agnipath Scheme

Agnipath Schemes Launched for Recruitment of Youth in the Armed Forces

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The Union Cabinet approved an attractive recruitment scheme for Indian youth to serve in the Armed Forces. The scheme is called AGNIPATH and the youth selected under this scheme will be known as Agniveers. AGNIPATH allows patriotic and motivated youth to serve in the Armed Forces for a period of four years.

Key Features of Agnipath Scheme

  • Enrolment model based on Agnipath Scheme
  • Opportunity to serve in th Armed Forces as Agniveers
  • Pan India merit based recruitment
  • Four Years tenure
  • Attractive monthly emoluments & handsome “Seva Nidhi” package
  • 100% opportunity to apply for permanent enrolment
  • Based on merit & organisational requirement, 25% Agniveers selected based on central transparent, rigorous system, after four years.

Eligibility

Age limit for applicants from 17.5 to 21 years.

Financial Package

Composite Annual Package

1st Year Package  – approx 4.76 Lacs rupees.
Upgradation upto approx 6.92 Lacs rupees in 4th year.

Allowances

Risk & Hardship and other allowances as applicable.

Seva Nidhi

30% of monthly emoluments to be contributed by individual
Equal amount matched & contributed by the Government
Corpus of approx 11.71 Lacs rupees after four years exempted from Income Tax

Death Compensation

Non-contributory life insurance cover of rupees 48 lakhs.
Additional Ex Gratia of rupees 44 Lakhs for death attributable to service.
Pay for unserved portion upto four years including ‘ Seva Nidhi’ component.

Disability Compensation

Compensation based on %disability laid down by medical authorities
One time ex-gratia of rupees 44/25/15 Lacs for 100% /75% / 50% disability, respectively.
Text of Press Release 
The Union Cabinet approved an attractive recruitment scheme for Indian youth to serve in the Armed Forces. The scheme is called AGNIPATH and the youth selected under this scheme will be known as Agniveers. AGNIPATH allows patriotic and motivated youth to serve in the Armed Forces for a period of four years.
The AGNIPATH Scheme has been designed to enable a youthful profile of the Armed Forces.  It will provide an opportunity to the youth who may be keen to don the uniform by attracting young talent from the society who are more in tune with contemporary technological trends and plough back skilled, disciplined and motivated manpower into the society.  As for the Armed Forces, it will enhance the youthful profile of the Armed Forces and provide a fresh lease of ‘Josh’ and ‘Jazba’ whilst at the same time bring about a transformational shift towards a more tech savvy Armed Forces – which is indeed the need of the hour.  It is envisaged that average age profile of Indian Armed forces would come down by about 4-5 years by implementation of this scheme.  The national stands to immensely benefit by infusion of highly inspired youth with deeper understanding of self-discipline, diligence and focus who would be adequately skilled and will be able to contribute in other sectors.  The dividends of a short military service to the nation, society and the youth of the nation are immense. This includes inculcation of patriotism, team work, enhancement of physical fitness, ingrained loyalty for the country and availability of trained personnel to boost national security in times of external threats, internal threats and natural disasters.
This is a major defence policy reform introduced by the Government to usher in a new era in the Human Resource policy of the three Services.  The policy, which comes into immediate effect, will hereafter govern the enrolment for the three services.

Benefits to the Agniveers

Agniveers will be given an attractive customised monthly package along with Risk and Hardship allowances as applicable in the three services. On completion of the engagement period of four years, Agniveers will be paid one time ‘Seva Nidhi’ package which shall comprise their contribution including accrued interest thereon and matching contribution from the Government equal to the accumulated amount of their contribution including interest as indicated below:
Year Customised Package (Monthly) In Hand (70%) Contribution to Agniveer Corpus Fund (30%) Contribution to corpus fund by GoI
All figures in Rs (Monthly Contribution)
1st Year 30000 21000 9000 9000
2nd Year 33000 23100 9900 9900
3rd Year 36500 25580 10950 10950
4th Year 40000 28000 12000 12000
Total contribution in Agniveer Corpus Fund after four years Rs 5.02 Lakh Rs 5.02 Lakh
Exit after 4 Years Rs 11.71 Lakh as Seva Nidhi Package (Including, interest accumulated on the above amount as per the applicable interest rates would also be paid)
The ‘Seva Nidhi’ will be exempt from Income Tax. There shall be no entitlement to gratuity and pensionary benefits.  Agniveers will be provided non-contributory Life Insurance Cover of Rs 48 lakhs for the duration of their engagement period in the Indian Armed Forces.
During this period of service to the nation, the Agniveers will be imparted with various military skills and experience, discipline, physical fitness, leadership  qualities, courage and patriotism.  Post this stint of four years, the Agniveers will be infused into the civil society where they can contribute immensely towards the nation building process.  The skills gained by each Agniveer will be recognised in a certificate to form part of his unique resume.  Agniveers, on completion of the four year tenure in the prime of their youth, will be mature and self-disciplined with the realization to become better version of himself/herself both professionally as also personally.  The avenues and opportunities that will open up for their progress in the civil world after Agniveer tenure would certainly be a big plus towards nation building.  Moreover, the Seva Nidhi of approximately Rs 11.71 lakhs would aid the Agniveer to pursue his/her future dreams without the financial pressure, which is normally the case for young people from the financially deprived strata of society.
The individuals, selected for enrolment in the Armed Forces as regular cadre, would be required to serve for a further engagement period of minimum 15 years and would be governed by the existing terms and conditions of service of Junior Commissioned Officers/Other Ranks in Indian Army and their equivalent in Indian Navy and Indian Air Force and that of Non Combatant enrolled in the Indian Air Force, as amended from time to time.
The scheme will lead to much more youthful and technically adept war fighting force by ensuring a fine balance between youthful and experienced personnel in the Armed Forces.

Advantages

  • A transformative reform of recruitment policy of the Armed Forces.
  • A unique opportunity to the youth to serve the country and contribute to Nation Building.
  • Armed Forces profile to be youthful and dynamic.
  • Attractive financial package for the Agniveers.
  • Opportunity for Agniveers to train in the best institutions and enhance their skills & qualifications.
  • Availability of well disciplined and skilled youth with military ethos in civil society.
  • Adequate re-employment opportunities for those returning to society and who could emerge as role models for the youth.

Terms & Conditions

Under the AGNIPATH scheme, the Agniveers will be enrolled in the Forces under respective Service Acts for a period of four years. They would form a distinct rank in the Armed Forces, different from any other existing ranks. Upon the completion of four years of service, based on organisational requirement and policies promulgated by the Armed Forces from time-to-time, Agniveers will be offered an opportunity to apply for permanent enrolment in the Armed Forces. These applications will be considered in a centralised manner based on objective criteria including performance during their four-year engagement period and up to 25% of each specific batch of Agniveers will be enrolled in regular cadre of the Armed Forces. Detailed guidelines will be issued separately.
Enrolment will be undertaken through an online centralised system for all three services with specialised rallies and campus interviews from recognised technical institutes such as Industrial Training Institutes and National Skills Qualifications Framework, among others.  Enrolment will be based on ‘All India All Class’ basis and the eligible age will be in range from 17.5 to 21 years. Agniveers will meet the medical eligibility conditions laid down for enrolment in the armed forces as applicable to respective categories/trades. The educational qualification for Agniveers will remain as in vogue for enrollment in various categories. {For example: For entry into General Duty (GD) soldier, the educational qualification is Class 10}.

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