Agnipath Scheme Golden Opportunity For Youth To Serve Nation: Rajnath Singh

Mumbai: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday said the ‘Agnipath’ scheme is a golden opportunity for the youth to join the defence forces and serve the nation.

On June 14, the Union Cabinet approved a recruitment scheme for Indian youth to serve in the armed forces, in which those selected under the scheme would be known as Agniveers. ‘Agnipath’ allows patriotic and motivated youth to serve in the armed forces for a period of four years. Also Read: Trains Set On Fire In Bihar, Uttar Pradesh Amid Protests Against Agnipath Scheme

In an exclusive conversation with ANI, Rajnath Singh said, “‘Agnipath’ scheme of the central government gives a golden opportunity to the youth of the country to join the defence system and serve the country. ‘I am Agniveer’ with being their unique identity with freshness.” Also Read: Countrywide Stir Needed To Stall ‘Agnipath’ Scheme: Rakesh Tikait

“Due to the delay of two years in the recruitment process in the army, many youths did not get a chance to join the army. This is a fact. So keeping in mind the future of the youth and showing sensitivity towards them, with the approval of the Prime Minister, the government has decided that this time the age limit for the recruitment of Agniveers should be increased from 21 to 23 years,” he said.

“This one-time relaxation has been given by the government. This will automatically increase the eligibility of many youth to become Agniveer. The recruitment process is going to start in a few days. I appeal to all the youth to prepare for joining the army and take full advantage of it,” he said.

Notably, Singh is in Jammu and Kashmir on a two-day visit to the Union Territory from tomorrow. The ‘Agnipath’ scheme was recently launched by the government in an effort to bring about a change in the recruitment process of the armed forces.

With the new military recruitment scheme facing opposition, the Center has decided to bring in changes in the upper age limit for the recruitment of Agnivera. The Center announced on June 16, 2022, that the upper age limit of Agniveer for recruitment through the ‘Agnipath’ scheme has been increased from 21 years to 23 years, giving one-time relaxation.

The Ministry of Defence, in its statement on Tuesday, said that 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’ while bringing about a transformational shift towards a more tech-savvy Armed Forces – which is indeed the need of the hour.

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