As Centre feels the heat on Agnipath scheme, it fielded the chiefs of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) and Border Security Force (BSF) to reiterate the government’s commitment to reserve 10% vacancies in Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) for Agniveers.
The first batch of Agniveers will be eligible for recruitment in CAPFs such as CISF, BSF, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) and Assam Rifles in 2026.
After violent protests erupted in some States as the scheme was announced on June 14, 2022, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) announced that 10% of all vacancies in the CAPFs will be reserved for the armed forces recruits who have completed four years of service under the Agnipath scheme.
On Thursday, Nina Singh, Director-General of CISF and Nitin Agrawal, D-G, BSF appeared on public broadcaster Doordarshan to reiterate the reservation policy.
Ms. Singh said, “The CISF has made all arrangements to absorb the Agniveers. They will be an asset to the organisation as they have received training. They will be exempted from physical eligibility test.”
Similarly, Mr. Agrawal stated, “Since they are trained and disciplined and worked for four years, they will be aligned with BSF’s work culture. After a short conversion training, they will be deployed at the borders. The first batch will get an age relaxation for five years and the subsequent batches will get a relaxation of three years.”
The Agnipath scheme was one of the major issues in the recent general election and the BJP’s National Democratic Alliance (NDA) partners - the Janata Dal (United) and Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) - have called for a discussion on it. The government is reviewing and discussing the scheme.
Agniveers are recruited for four years. On completion of the period, up to 25% would be selected into the regular ranks of the three services - Army, Navy and Air Force - on a permanent basis. The age bracket for new recruits was fixed at 17-and-a-half years to 21 years and till 2026, the overall intake has been capped at 1.75 lakh.
