Agnipath scheme explained: Why Centre raised age limit from 21 to 23

The Central government on Thursday night increased the age limit for recruitment in the armed forces through the Agnipath scheme to 23 years from 21.

The late night decision came amid widespread protests by armed forces aspirants. The government had said on Tuesday that aspirants between the ages of 17.5 and 21 would be recruited for four years under the Agnipath scheme and only 25 per cent recruits would be offered a full 15-year service.

What is Agnipath scheme?

The government has been battling with the ballooning salary and pension bills. With the scheme, it wants to free up funds for the much-needed modernisation of the armed forces. The government wants to reduce the average age profile of soldiers in the forces. By absorbing only the best recruits for the full 15 years of service, the government also intends to enhance the efficiency of the forces. The 75 percent recruits, who will be asked to leave after four years, will be helped by the government to start a new career or get further education. Apart from the salaries, the government will also add funds to a common corpus which will provide around Rs 11-12 lakh at the time of exit. During the four year period, the government will also provide them insurance cover for death and injury.

Why are aspirants protesting?

The fact that those who would be asked to leave at the end of four years of service won’t get pension, didn’t go down well with armed forces aspirants.Earlier, all recruits would get the chance to serve for 15 years. They were also entitled to pension. The government had also increased the minimum age limit from 16.5 years to 17.5 years, thus reducing their odds of recruitment in the armed forces.

Why did the Central government increase the age limit for the Agnipath scheme?

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the armed forces froze recruitment for around two years. This significantly reduced the chances of aspirants to realise their dream of joining the armed forces. The government took cognizance of the concerns of the aspirants and decided to increase the age limit to make up for the time lost. However, this is a one-time benefit and from next year, the upper age limit will revert to 21.

The defence ministry issued a statement on the decision. It said, “Cognisant of the fact that it has not been possible to undertake the recruitment during the last two years, the government has decided that a one-time waiver shall be granted for the proposed recruitment cycle for 2022. Accordingly, the upper age limit for the recruitment process for Agnipath scheme for 2022 is increased to 23 years”.