94,281 ‘Agniveer Vayu’ Aspirants Registered Till Monday: Official
Mumbai: The Indian Air Force (IAF) received 94,281 applications under the ‘Agnipath’ scheme till Monday, four days after registration started on Friday, A Bharat Bhushan Babu, Defence Ministry Spokesperson, said.
The Agnipath scheme, unveiled by Defense Minister Rajnath Singh on June 14, has a provision to enroll youth in the age group of 17-and-a-half to 21 years for four years, with the provision to retain 25% of them for 15 more years while the remaining 75% will get a one-time financial package of approximately ₹11.71 lakh.
On June 16, the government increased the upper age limit for recruitment under the scheme to 23 years for the year 2022.
“A total of 94,281 Agniveer Vayu aspirants have registered till 10:30 am (Monday). Registration closes on July 5,” tweeted A Bharat Bhushan Babu, the defence ministry spokesperson.
The June 14 announcement sparked widespread protests against the plan in several states, with opposition parties including the Congress demanding its withdrawal. Protesters torched trains, torched vehicles and damaged both private and public properties. The armed forces later said that violent protests and arson against the new recruitment scheme would not be covered.
Till Sunday, the IAF received 56,960 applications under the scheme.
“56960! That’s the total number of applications received to date from future Agniveers in response to the Agnipath recruitment application process on agnipathvayu.cdac.in. Registration closes on 5 July, 2022,” the IAF said in a tweet on Sunday.
https://twitter.com/IAF_MCC/status/1541004879845392384?s=20&t=MuIQM34sT7R1MqS7G5dcDg
The government has also announced several calming steps like giving preference to enlisted soldiers under the Agnipath scheme to soldiers covered under the Agnipath scheme when they retire in central paramilitary forces and defence public sector undertakings.
Several Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-ruled states — including Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Haryana and Karnataka — have declared that the Agniveers will be accorded priority in government jobs in their respective states.
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