'Agnipath' is a bold move, but it has its own challenges

The new recruitment policy, in likelihood, will not reduce the ability to meet the operational challenges but the government must facilitate strong career prospects after the Agnipath service as there are reports of unrest among youth about the short duration tenure

The government unveiled a radical scheme for recruitment of young men and women into the three-armed forces called 'Agnipath,' which the civil and military leaders are hoping will transform the forces in coming years. The youth selected under this scheme will be known as 'Agniveers.' The new scheme allows patriotic and motivated youth to serve in the armed forces only for 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 our society who are more apt to utilising contemporary technological trends and, after a short tenure plough back skilled, disciplined, and motivated manpower into the society.

The new plan is likely to replace the existing recruitment processes for personnel lower than officer rank to enhance the youthful profile of the armed forces whilst at the same time bringing about a transformational shift towards a more tech-savvy military.

Under the Agnipath scheme, the process to recruit 46,000 soldiers, sailors, and airmen this year will begin on an 'all-India, all-class' basis within 90 days. The Agniveers will be recruited on merit, between the ages of 17.5 to 21 years and will get a monthly salary of Rs 30,000 to 40,000 with the 75 per cent of them who get demobilized after four years getting a 'Seva Nidhi', half of which will be through their own contributions. The remaining 25 per cent will be inducted into the regular cadres of the armed forces to serve another 15 years. This scheme will also be 'progressively opened' for women based on service requirements.

The government billed it as a 'transformative initiative' to usher in a more youthful profile in the over 14-lakh strong armed forces, with the average age of soldiers gradually being brought down from the existing 32 to 24-26, as well as make them modern, tech-savvy ad well-equipped to deal with the myriad challenges ahead. An important issue of critical relevance will be the absorption of released Agniveers in Central Armed Police Forces, State Police forces, other government departments and corporate India. With skilling and educational qualification up-gradation being inbuilt into the scheme, employability post-release will be enhanced. The country will also benefit from a more committed workforce in the civil walks of life. The scheme, besides reducing the age profile of the armed forces, will ensure greater commitment and professionalism from its rank and file, according to the government sources.

The scheme termed the 'Tour of Duty' (ToD) in military parlance, was envisaged in 2020 by the Department of Military Affairs (DMA) headed by the late Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat. Its objective was primarily to reduce the ballooning services pension pay-outs to effect savings in India's declining annual defence budget to finance long-postponed military modernisation. Defence salary and pension bills account for roughly half of the annual defence budget of Rs 5.2 lakh crore, leaving limited resources for military modernization and upgrading existing equipment. It is hoped that the money saved would be used to focus more on the advancement of technology and military modernisation.

There is, however, serious concern among serving and retired service officers who believe these 'tourist soldiers' will adversely impact the armed forces' organisational ethos and operational effectiveness as a fighting force. There is apprehension that around 35,000 'trained-to-kill' soldiers becoming demobilized every year could prove dangerous if they remain jobless and frustrated. "It will lead to the militarization of society…it's not a good idea," former Director-General of Military Operations (DGMO) Lt Gen Vinod Bhatia (retd) said. Indian armed forces' hallmarks are training, experience, and professional bonds. The Indian soldier fights for Naam (name) meaning the reputation of the regiment, Namak (salt) meaning loyalty, and the Nishan (sign) meaning the colours of the regiment. Military veterans feel that the young Agniveer will have lesser loyalty to his unit because he is there only for four years, and the prospect of a short tenure will make them risk-averse. They worry about tinkering with the regimented structure of the forces – the new step will change the composition of several British-era regiments that recruited soldiers from specific castes such as Jats, Rajputs and Sikhs and create an all-India, all-class system. Moreover, this new recruitment plan will strain existing training resources and produce a quality problem. With the new recruiting practices, will it be the case that the army has too long a tail of inexperienced soldiers, as Lt Gen PR Shankar, who served as Director-General of Artillery, described it - 'Tour of Duty: The Kindergarten Army'? He argued in the article that post-Agniveer, subunits may not have enough experienced soldiers who can be non-commissioned officers (NCOs).

Veterans argue that Indian defence needs a 'dedicated' and well-trained army to deal with palpable threats from Pakistan and China in inhospitable terrain. The six months of training these recruits would be imparted was 'wholly inadequate' compared to the 2-3 years it took to suitably train jawans. Recruits' inexperience and responses would be an impediment in forward areas for the rest of their units and such a handicap would definitely increase pressure on the more experienced soldiers to 'minding' these novices in 'hot situations', they apprehend. To sum up, reforms and changes according to the need of the time are important, particularly in an era where combat has changed from being personnel-intensive to being driven by technology and tactical weapons. The new recruitment policy, in likelihood, will not reduce the ability to meet the operational challenges but the government must facilitate strong career prospects after the Agnipath service as there are reports of unrest among youth about the short duration tenure.

(Author is a journalist who writes on defence, strategic affairs and technology)