Kaptan
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What do you actually mean by compulsion? Like Isreal and Korea where military service is compulsory?
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Contact the PP Team
Protests break out in India over new military recruitment system
- Thread starter silentkiller187
- Start date
What do you actually mean by compulsion? Like Isreal and Korea where military service is compulsory?
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Agnipath: India strike over controversial army hiring plan
Tens of thousands of job seekers have called for a shutdown in India to protest against a new army hiring plan which has sparked violence.
Some states shut down the internet and suspended train and bus services on Monday.
Protesters are demanding the rollback of the plan to hire soldiers on a fixed four-year term, saying it would shatter their dreams of a secure job.
They have taken to the streets, blocking roads and torching trains.
Several opposition political parties have given their support to the protests. But the government has refused to cancel the plan, though it has been trying to allay the fears of protesters.
Demonstrations against the plan began in the northern states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar last week after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government announced changes to how it would recruit soldiers for the armed forces.
But they have now spread to several other states, with thousands of young men attacking train coaches, burning tyres and clashing with security forces.
At least one person died, and several others were injured in the southern state of Telangana where protesters clashed with the police on Friday.
Ahead of the shutdown on Monday, several states announced precautionary restrictions - banning large gatherings, shutting schools and even suspending internet services in some districts. In the state of Jharkhand, school exams have been postponed. And in Bihar, authorities have cancelled 350 trains in the wake of violence.
Read more: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-61836637
Tens of thousands of job seekers have called for a shutdown in India to protest against a new army hiring plan which has sparked violence.
Some states shut down the internet and suspended train and bus services on Monday.
Protesters are demanding the rollback of the plan to hire soldiers on a fixed four-year term, saying it would shatter their dreams of a secure job.
They have taken to the streets, blocking roads and torching trains.
Several opposition political parties have given their support to the protests. But the government has refused to cancel the plan, though it has been trying to allay the fears of protesters.
Demonstrations against the plan began in the northern states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar last week after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government announced changes to how it would recruit soldiers for the armed forces.
But they have now spread to several other states, with thousands of young men attacking train coaches, burning tyres and clashing with security forces.
At least one person died, and several others were injured in the southern state of Telangana where protesters clashed with the police on Friday.
Ahead of the shutdown on Monday, several states announced precautionary restrictions - banning large gatherings, shutting schools and even suspending internet services in some districts. In the state of Jharkhand, school exams have been postponed. And in Bihar, authorities have cancelled 350 trains in the wake of violence.
Read more: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-61836637
Romali_rotti
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Romali_rotti
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Yeah ok.
But BJP still going to clean up the 2024 elections, sorry Congress and Ammayi Sonya, NEVER AGAIN will you be back in power...
Any chaos in India is great for Pak. I openly support Modi is creating havoc in India, please continue. General Hamid Gul did say Modi will destroy India. Lagge raho
Please Mr Modi make more such stupid decisions.
Continue to live in your own world and misconceptions.
If Ajit Doval says that this scheme is essential to modernise the army, then I stand behind him https://newsonair.gov.in/News?title...ort-to-make-India-strong-and-secure&id=443047
Why should the tax payer foot the bill for an inefficient army that is “old” and costs a lot? I’d rather have a smaller, nimble, agile and motivated army and free up the expense to modernise - else we will be defeated by China in one day.
I salute the current admin for taking a bold decision that no govt was able to take for the last 40 years. I wish you guys had someone like Modi who takes decisions in national interest staying above politics. It will be good for the people.
daytrader
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Supreme Court agrees to hear next week pleas challenging Centre's ‘Agnipath’ scheme
Petitions to be listed upon reopening of the apex court after summer vacation
New Delhi, July 4
The Supreme Court on Monday said that it would hear next week pleas challenging the Centre's 'Agnipath' scheme for recruitment in the armed forces.
A vacation bench of Justices Indira Banerjee and JK Maheshwari said that petitions will be listed next week before an appropriate bench upon reopening of the apex court after summer vacation.
Last month, the government had announced the Agnipath scheme, under which youths between the ages of 17-and-a-half and 21 years would be inducted in the armed forces for a four-year-tenure, while 25 per cent of them will be subsequently inducted for regular service.
https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/n...as-challenging-centres-agnipath-scheme-409393
Petitions to be listed upon reopening of the apex court after summer vacation
New Delhi, July 4
The Supreme Court on Monday said that it would hear next week pleas challenging the Centre's 'Agnipath' scheme for recruitment in the armed forces.
A vacation bench of Justices Indira Banerjee and JK Maheshwari said that petitions will be listed next week before an appropriate bench upon reopening of the apex court after summer vacation.
Last month, the government had announced the Agnipath scheme, under which youths between the ages of 17-and-a-half and 21 years would be inducted in the armed forces for a four-year-tenure, while 25 per cent of them will be subsequently inducted for regular service.
https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/n...as-challenging-centres-agnipath-scheme-409393
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Prem Prakash has been trying for five years to get a job in India's armed forces, which used to provide employment for 17 years to the lucky few who passed the exams and physical tests.
But since the government announced a new recruitment system for the military aimed at making it younger and more efficient, the 22-year-old said he was no longer interested and would focus purely on getting a job in the railways – also a tough ask.
"It was my dream to be in the army because it is the best way to serve the country and also get settled at a very young age," Prakash said in his tiny rented room filled with books, a mosquito net and cot in Arrah, a town in eastern Bihar state.
"I am not going to appear for the four-years-only service. I have even stopped my physical training."
Prakash is one of hundreds of thousands of would-be military recruits disappointed by a proposal to lower the guaranteed tenure for most men in the armed forces to four years. What was a route out of poverty for many has suddenly become less attractive.
Violent protests erupted across the country last month because of the proposal. At least one person was killed and more than a dozen injured.
Under the new recruitment programme, called Agnipath, or "path of fire" in Hindi, 46,000 cadets will be recruited this year, the government has said.
The aim is to lower the average age of soldiers to 26 years from 32-33 now and slim down the country's 1.38 million-strong military, which is focused mainly on containing what India sees as potential threats from neighbours China and Pakistan.
Analysts say the move will also bring down the Indian military's burgeoning pension bill, potentially allowing the country to spend more on new weapons.
The proposals apply only to non-officer cadres of the armed forces. A much smaller number of recruits are admitted into officers' schools each year, where employment is guaranteed until at least the age of 50.
The backlash to the change underlines the challenge the government faces to provide enough jobs in a country of 1.35 billion people, where unemployment is stubbornly high.
At the same time, there is pressure to reform state institutions like the police, armed forces and railways, which are over-staffed and unwieldy.
MORE PROTESTS
Arrah is in India's poorest state of Bihar, where there are few industries and youngsters flock to various coaching centres that have sprung up to prepare them for government jobs.
While Arrah is known mainly for recruiting soldiers, other Bihar towns specialise in other state sectors.
The government said a quarter of those who qualify for the military would be kept on for another 15 years or so and enjoy benefits including a pension, while the rest would be helped to find other state employment.
Software-to-SUVs conglomerate Mahindra Group has welcomed the "opportunity to recruit such trained, capable young people" after their four years in the armed forces.
Prakash, however, has shifted focus to the railways, although COVID-19 disruptions and a bungled recruitment process mean he is still waiting to sit his tests for positions that opened in 2019.
The disruptions triggered mass protests earlier this year, when tens of thousands of students blocked rail traffic and vandalised trains in Bihar and neighbouring Uttar Pradesh state.
"People look forward to job security which they get in the public sector," said Amit Basole, an associate professor at the Azim Premji University in Bengaluru and the head of its Centre for Sustainable Employment.
To reduce the pressure on the government, "the private sector will also have to come forward and create an equal number of job opportunities", he added.
JOBLESS GROWTH?
India's unemployment peaked at 23.5% in 2020 in the first full year of COVID-19 and has remained above 7% since, according to data from Mumbai-based the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), higher than the global average.
According to the government, joblessness among those aged 15-29 years was 12.9% in the fiscal year ending March 31. The age group accounted for an estimated 27.3% of India's population as of last year, higher than 26.6% in 1991, a sign that the pressure to create more jobs has increased.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi stormed to power in 2014 promising to create millions of jobs, but the economy has not grown fast enough to accommodate some 12 million people joining the labour force each year, a number that is rising.
Modi, who faces re-election in 2024, told officials last month to ensure that 1 million people were given government employment in the next 18 months, raising hopes among Arrah residents who have toiled at coaching centres for years.
Gupteshwar Kumar, 21, his elder brother and cousins left their village for Arrah years ago to try to land government jobs and leave farming, the family's main source of income.
Kumar is now focusing on the railways and police departments in Bihar and neighbouring West Bengal because the age of entry is higher than for the army and employment duration much longer.
Another 21-year-old, Ravi Ranjan Kumar, said he desperately needed a job, as his father's pay as a private security guard near New Delhi was barely enough.
"Despite getting de-motivated by the Agnipath scheme, I will be appearing for it because I need a job," he said.
Express Tribune
But since the government announced a new recruitment system for the military aimed at making it younger and more efficient, the 22-year-old said he was no longer interested and would focus purely on getting a job in the railways – also a tough ask.
"It was my dream to be in the army because it is the best way to serve the country and also get settled at a very young age," Prakash said in his tiny rented room filled with books, a mosquito net and cot in Arrah, a town in eastern Bihar state.
"I am not going to appear for the four-years-only service. I have even stopped my physical training."
Prakash is one of hundreds of thousands of would-be military recruits disappointed by a proposal to lower the guaranteed tenure for most men in the armed forces to four years. What was a route out of poverty for many has suddenly become less attractive.
Violent protests erupted across the country last month because of the proposal. At least one person was killed and more than a dozen injured.
Under the new recruitment programme, called Agnipath, or "path of fire" in Hindi, 46,000 cadets will be recruited this year, the government has said.
The aim is to lower the average age of soldiers to 26 years from 32-33 now and slim down the country's 1.38 million-strong military, which is focused mainly on containing what India sees as potential threats from neighbours China and Pakistan.
Analysts say the move will also bring down the Indian military's burgeoning pension bill, potentially allowing the country to spend more on new weapons.
The proposals apply only to non-officer cadres of the armed forces. A much smaller number of recruits are admitted into officers' schools each year, where employment is guaranteed until at least the age of 50.
The backlash to the change underlines the challenge the government faces to provide enough jobs in a country of 1.35 billion people, where unemployment is stubbornly high.
At the same time, there is pressure to reform state institutions like the police, armed forces and railways, which are over-staffed and unwieldy.
MORE PROTESTS
Arrah is in India's poorest state of Bihar, where there are few industries and youngsters flock to various coaching centres that have sprung up to prepare them for government jobs.
While Arrah is known mainly for recruiting soldiers, other Bihar towns specialise in other state sectors.
The government said a quarter of those who qualify for the military would be kept on for another 15 years or so and enjoy benefits including a pension, while the rest would be helped to find other state employment.
Software-to-SUVs conglomerate Mahindra Group has welcomed the "opportunity to recruit such trained, capable young people" after their four years in the armed forces.
Prakash, however, has shifted focus to the railways, although COVID-19 disruptions and a bungled recruitment process mean he is still waiting to sit his tests for positions that opened in 2019.
The disruptions triggered mass protests earlier this year, when tens of thousands of students blocked rail traffic and vandalised trains in Bihar and neighbouring Uttar Pradesh state.
"People look forward to job security which they get in the public sector," said Amit Basole, an associate professor at the Azim Premji University in Bengaluru and the head of its Centre for Sustainable Employment.
To reduce the pressure on the government, "the private sector will also have to come forward and create an equal number of job opportunities", he added.
JOBLESS GROWTH?
India's unemployment peaked at 23.5% in 2020 in the first full year of COVID-19 and has remained above 7% since, according to data from Mumbai-based the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), higher than the global average.
According to the government, joblessness among those aged 15-29 years was 12.9% in the fiscal year ending March 31. The age group accounted for an estimated 27.3% of India's population as of last year, higher than 26.6% in 1991, a sign that the pressure to create more jobs has increased.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi stormed to power in 2014 promising to create millions of jobs, but the economy has not grown fast enough to accommodate some 12 million people joining the labour force each year, a number that is rising.
Modi, who faces re-election in 2024, told officials last month to ensure that 1 million people were given government employment in the next 18 months, raising hopes among Arrah residents who have toiled at coaching centres for years.
Gupteshwar Kumar, 21, his elder brother and cousins left their village for Arrah years ago to try to land government jobs and leave farming, the family's main source of income.
Kumar is now focusing on the railways and police departments in Bihar and neighbouring West Bengal because the age of entry is higher than for the army and employment duration much longer.
Another 21-year-old, Ravi Ranjan Kumar, said he desperately needed a job, as his father's pay as a private security guard near New Delhi was barely enough.
"Despite getting de-motivated by the Agnipath scheme, I will be appearing for it because I need a job," he said.
Express Tribune
Agnipath Scheme Voluntary, Those Having Problem Don't Join: Delhi High Court
The Delhi High Court on Monday asked the petitioners who have challenged the Centre's Agnipath scheme as to which of their rights have been violated and said it was voluntary and those having any problem should not join the armed forces under it.
The high court said the Agnipath scheme has been formed by experts in Army, Navy and Air Force and judges were not military experts.
“What is wrong in the scheme? It is not compulsory….To be frank, we are not military experts. You (petitioners) and me are not experts. It has been framed after great efforts by experts in Army, Navy and Indian Air Force.
"There is a particular policy that the government has framed. It is not compulsory, it is voluntary,” a bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad said.
The bench further said, “You have to show us that a right is taken away…. Don't join then. There is no compulsion. If you are good you will be absolved thereafter (after 4 years). Are we the persons to decide it (service in the scheme) should be made four years or five years or seven years”.
The high court was hearing a batch of pleas challenging the Centre's Agnipath scheme.
The Agnipath scheme, unveiled on June 14, lays out rules for the recruitment of youths in the armed forces.
According to these rules, those between 17-and-a-half and 21 years of age are eligible to apply and they would be inducted for a four-year tenure. The scheme allows 25 per cent of them to be granted regular service subsequently. After the scheme was unveiled, protests erupted in several states against the scheme.
Later, the government extended the upper age limit to 23 years for recruitment in 2022.
During the hearing, advocate Kumud Lata Das, representing one of the petitioners Harsh Ajay Singh, said after being recruited under the scheme, the Agniveers will have life insurance of ₹ 48 Lakh in case of contingency which is much less than the existing one.
Whatever the armed forces personnel are entitled to, these Agniveers will get them only for four years, the counsel argued, adding that if the service would have been for five years, they would have been entitled to gratuity.
The counsel contended that after four years of service, only 25 per cent of the Agniveers will be considered for being retained in the force and there is no backup plan for the rest of the 75 percent.
On the contention that this scheme has been formed in this way as it is a cost-cutting exercise of authorities, the bench asked where do the forces mention that it is a cost-cutting exercise.
“Where do they state it is a cost-cutting exercise? You want us to infer that it is a cost-cutting exercise? Unless they state so, you statement is of no consequence,” Justice Prasad said.
The bench said that a person is getting a chance to join the armed forces at the age of 17-and-a-half years, “is it not good enough”.
"Is it not a pure domain of policy? Why should we strike down the scheme as bad,” the bench asked.
Another petitioner, who was arguing in person, said he has retired from the Indian Army and now practicing as a lawyer. He said the authorities should be asked to reconsider the Agnipath scheme as the six months of training to be imparted to agniveers is not enough and it is a very short time and it is not easy to get trained.
He claimed that this way the authorities would be compromising national security and that the quality of personnel will be affected.
When Justice Prasad said “Don't join it then”, the petitioner said, “Is it an answer milord that 'don't join'”.
The judge shot back, “Yes”.
Advocate Ankur Chhibber, representing another petitioner who has filed a petition concerning the recruitment processes for the armed forces under certain previous advertisements, said in the four years of service a sense of belonging would be absent in personnel.
He said those retained, their first four years would not be counted and they would have to start afresh.
As the bench sought the Centre to clarify this, Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati submitted that she would take instructions on this aspect and inform the bench on the next date of hearing on December 14.
After concluding hearing arguments on pleas directly challenging the Agnipath Scheme, the bench will decide those petitions concerning the recruitment processes for the armed forces under certain previous advertisements.
The Centre had earlier filed its consolidated reply to several petitions against the Agnipath scheme as well as those concerning the recruitment processes for the armed forces under certain previous advertisements and has said there was no legal infirmity in it.
The government submitted that the Agnipath scheme was introduced in the exercise of its sovereign function to make national security and defence more "robust, "impenetrable" and "abreast with changing military requirements".
One of the petitions before the high court has sought a direction to the armed forces to resume the recruitment process which has been cancelled due to the introduction of the Agnipath scheme and prepare the final merit list after conducting a written examination within a stipulated time.
A petitioner has submitted he had applied for the post of a soldier (general duty) and his physical and medical examinations were conducted which he cleared successfully, and was waiting for the written examination.
However, he said, he found out on the official web site that consequent to the implementation of Agnipath, the ministry has stopped and cancelled all pending processes including the Common Entrance Examination (CEE) of Indian Army recruitment for the previous recruiting years.
Another petition, seeking that the recruitment process in the Indian Air Force as per a 2019 notification be completed without being affected by the scheme, is also pending in the high court.
Earlier, the Supreme Court had asked the high courts of Kerala, Punjab and Haryana, Patna and Uttarakhand to transfer the PILs against the Agnipath scheme pending before them to the Delhi High Court or keep it pending till a decision from the Delhi High Court is delivered, if the petitioners before it so desire.
The Centre, in its reply, has stated that defending the Indian Territory, which has a "peculiar border situation", from external and internal threats requires agile, youthful and technologically adept armed forces, and the Agnipath scheme aims to reduce the average age profile of soldiers from the present 32 years to 26 years.
Recruitment through Agnipath, the central government has added, involves a "merit-based, transparent and robust assessment process" and a fair opportunity would be provided to all willing personnel to compete for regular cadre and ultimately "nationalist, disciplined and skilled manpower would be provided to society and exited Agniveers will be an asset for the nation and society".
NDTV
The Delhi High Court on Monday asked the petitioners who have challenged the Centre's Agnipath scheme as to which of their rights have been violated and said it was voluntary and those having any problem should not join the armed forces under it.
The high court said the Agnipath scheme has been formed by experts in Army, Navy and Air Force and judges were not military experts.
“What is wrong in the scheme? It is not compulsory….To be frank, we are not military experts. You (petitioners) and me are not experts. It has been framed after great efforts by experts in Army, Navy and Indian Air Force.
"There is a particular policy that the government has framed. It is not compulsory, it is voluntary,” a bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad said.
The bench further said, “You have to show us that a right is taken away…. Don't join then. There is no compulsion. If you are good you will be absolved thereafter (after 4 years). Are we the persons to decide it (service in the scheme) should be made four years or five years or seven years”.
The high court was hearing a batch of pleas challenging the Centre's Agnipath scheme.
The Agnipath scheme, unveiled on June 14, lays out rules for the recruitment of youths in the armed forces.
According to these rules, those between 17-and-a-half and 21 years of age are eligible to apply and they would be inducted for a four-year tenure. The scheme allows 25 per cent of them to be granted regular service subsequently. After the scheme was unveiled, protests erupted in several states against the scheme.
Later, the government extended the upper age limit to 23 years for recruitment in 2022.
During the hearing, advocate Kumud Lata Das, representing one of the petitioners Harsh Ajay Singh, said after being recruited under the scheme, the Agniveers will have life insurance of ₹ 48 Lakh in case of contingency which is much less than the existing one.
Whatever the armed forces personnel are entitled to, these Agniveers will get them only for four years, the counsel argued, adding that if the service would have been for five years, they would have been entitled to gratuity.
The counsel contended that after four years of service, only 25 per cent of the Agniveers will be considered for being retained in the force and there is no backup plan for the rest of the 75 percent.
On the contention that this scheme has been formed in this way as it is a cost-cutting exercise of authorities, the bench asked where do the forces mention that it is a cost-cutting exercise.
“Where do they state it is a cost-cutting exercise? You want us to infer that it is a cost-cutting exercise? Unless they state so, you statement is of no consequence,” Justice Prasad said.
The bench said that a person is getting a chance to join the armed forces at the age of 17-and-a-half years, “is it not good enough”.
"Is it not a pure domain of policy? Why should we strike down the scheme as bad,” the bench asked.
Another petitioner, who was arguing in person, said he has retired from the Indian Army and now practicing as a lawyer. He said the authorities should be asked to reconsider the Agnipath scheme as the six months of training to be imparted to agniveers is not enough and it is a very short time and it is not easy to get trained.
He claimed that this way the authorities would be compromising national security and that the quality of personnel will be affected.
When Justice Prasad said “Don't join it then”, the petitioner said, “Is it an answer milord that 'don't join'”.
The judge shot back, “Yes”.
Advocate Ankur Chhibber, representing another petitioner who has filed a petition concerning the recruitment processes for the armed forces under certain previous advertisements, said in the four years of service a sense of belonging would be absent in personnel.
He said those retained, their first four years would not be counted and they would have to start afresh.
As the bench sought the Centre to clarify this, Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati submitted that she would take instructions on this aspect and inform the bench on the next date of hearing on December 14.
After concluding hearing arguments on pleas directly challenging the Agnipath Scheme, the bench will decide those petitions concerning the recruitment processes for the armed forces under certain previous advertisements.
The Centre had earlier filed its consolidated reply to several petitions against the Agnipath scheme as well as those concerning the recruitment processes for the armed forces under certain previous advertisements and has said there was no legal infirmity in it.
The government submitted that the Agnipath scheme was introduced in the exercise of its sovereign function to make national security and defence more "robust, "impenetrable" and "abreast with changing military requirements".
One of the petitions before the high court has sought a direction to the armed forces to resume the recruitment process which has been cancelled due to the introduction of the Agnipath scheme and prepare the final merit list after conducting a written examination within a stipulated time.
A petitioner has submitted he had applied for the post of a soldier (general duty) and his physical and medical examinations were conducted which he cleared successfully, and was waiting for the written examination.
However, he said, he found out on the official web site that consequent to the implementation of Agnipath, the ministry has stopped and cancelled all pending processes including the Common Entrance Examination (CEE) of Indian Army recruitment for the previous recruiting years.
Another petition, seeking that the recruitment process in the Indian Air Force as per a 2019 notification be completed without being affected by the scheme, is also pending in the high court.
Earlier, the Supreme Court had asked the high courts of Kerala, Punjab and Haryana, Patna and Uttarakhand to transfer the PILs against the Agnipath scheme pending before them to the Delhi High Court or keep it pending till a decision from the Delhi High Court is delivered, if the petitioners before it so desire.
The Centre, in its reply, has stated that defending the Indian Territory, which has a "peculiar border situation", from external and internal threats requires agile, youthful and technologically adept armed forces, and the Agnipath scheme aims to reduce the average age profile of soldiers from the present 32 years to 26 years.
Recruitment through Agnipath, the central government has added, involves a "merit-based, transparent and robust assessment process" and a fair opportunity would be provided to all willing personnel to compete for regular cadre and ultimately "nationalist, disciplined and skilled manpower would be provided to society and exited Agniveers will be an asset for the nation and society".
NDTV
Delhi High Court Reserves Judgement On Petitions Challenging Agnipath Scheme
The Delhi High Court today reserved its judgement on a batch of petitions challenging the Centre's Agnipath scheme for recruitment in the armed forces.
Besides the pleas directly challenging Agnipath, the high court also reserved its verdict on petitions concerning the recruitment announced under certain previous advertisements but stalled before the launch of the short-term service scheme.
During the arguments, the Centre told the high court that a decision was taken in June 2021 to put on hold all other recruitment in the armed forces and not to cancel them as the Agnipath scheme was only on the horizon and not finalised by then.
The Agnipath scheme got finalised only in June this year when it was notified in the official gazette, the Centre's counsel said.
A bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad asked the counsel for the petitioners and the Centre to file written submissions by December 23, after which the court will close for vacation.
The bench also granted time to the Centre to file an affidavit on the aspect of role, responsibility and duties of Agniveers, the soldiers who will be recruited under the Agnipath scheme.
The Agnipath scheme, unveiled on June 14, lays out rules for the recruitment of youths in the armed forces.
According to these rules, those aged between 17 years and a half and 21 years are eligible to apply and the recruitment will be for a four-year tenure. The scheme allows 25 per cent of them to be retained and granted regular service subsequently depending upon their fitness.
After protests erupted against the scheme in several states, the government extended the upper age limit to 23 years for recruitment in 2022 to calm the frayed tempers.
Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Aishwarya Bhati and Central government standing counsel Harish Vaidyanathan, representing the Centre, said the Agnipath scheme is one of the biggest policy changes in defence recruitment that was going to mark a paradigm shift in the way the armed forces recruit personnel.
Bhati said the government had taken a conscious decision to put on hold everything where recruitment had not happened.
"More than 10 lakh aspirants have taken advantage of the two-year age relaxation given by us... A lot of things we cannot say on affidavit but we have acted in bona fide manner," the ASG said.
Advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the petitioners in a plea concerning cancellation of the recruitment processes under certain previous advertisements, said the government did not stop all recruitment in June 2021 and some such exercises were held even in August 2021 and the beginning of 2022.
"Look at the plight of these people. Is it fair to tell them you have put your life on hold for over two-and-a half-years and now you are told the recruitment process has been cancelled. It would be arbitrary, unfair and hit by the doctrine of legitimate expectation to allow the government to go away like this," he argued.
The high court had on December 14 asked the Centre to offer justification for the different pay scales for 'Agniveers' and regular sepoys in the Indian Army if their job profile is same.
As the counsel for the central government responded while seeking to clarify that 'Agniveer' is a different cadre from the regular cadre of the armed forces, the high court said, "Different cadre does not answer job profile, the question is work and responsibility." Defending the Agnipath scheme, the Centre has said a large amount of study has gone into making this policy. It said the decision to implement it was not taken lightly and the Union of India was mindful and cognisant of the situation.
Earlier, the bench had asked the petitioners who have challenged the short-term recruitment scheme as to which of their rights have been violated, and said it was voluntary and those having any problem should not join the armed forces under it.
The high court had said the Agnipath scheme has been formed by experts in the Army, Navy and Air Force and judges were not military experts.
The counsel for one of the petitioners had said that after being recruited under the scheme, the Agniveers will have a life insurance cover of ₹ 48 lakh in case of contingency which is much less than the one in existence for regular soldiers.
Whatever the armed forces personnel are entitled to, these Agniveers will get them only for four years, the counsel had argued, adding had the service been for five years they would be entitled to gratuity.
The Centre had earlier submitted a consolidated reply to several petitions filed against Agnipath as well as other recruitment exercises that had begun before its launch but were halted midway, insisting there was no legal infirmity.
The government submitted the Agnipath scheme was introduced in exercise of its sovereign function to make national security and defence more "robust, impenetrable and abreast with changing military requirements".
One of the petitions before the high court has sought a direction to the armed forces to resume the recruitment exercises which were cancelled due to the introduction of the Agnipath scheme and prepare the final merit list after conducting a written examination within a stipulated time.
Earlier, the Supreme Court had asked the high courts of Kerala, Punjab and Haryana, Patna and Uttarakhand to transfer the PILs against the scheme that were pending before them to the Delhi High Court or keep them pending till a decision by the Delhi High Court is delivered, if the petitioners before it so desire.
NDTV
The Delhi High Court today reserved its judgement on a batch of petitions challenging the Centre's Agnipath scheme for recruitment in the armed forces.
Besides the pleas directly challenging Agnipath, the high court also reserved its verdict on petitions concerning the recruitment announced under certain previous advertisements but stalled before the launch of the short-term service scheme.
During the arguments, the Centre told the high court that a decision was taken in June 2021 to put on hold all other recruitment in the armed forces and not to cancel them as the Agnipath scheme was only on the horizon and not finalised by then.
The Agnipath scheme got finalised only in June this year when it was notified in the official gazette, the Centre's counsel said.
A bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad asked the counsel for the petitioners and the Centre to file written submissions by December 23, after which the court will close for vacation.
The bench also granted time to the Centre to file an affidavit on the aspect of role, responsibility and duties of Agniveers, the soldiers who will be recruited under the Agnipath scheme.
The Agnipath scheme, unveiled on June 14, lays out rules for the recruitment of youths in the armed forces.
According to these rules, those aged between 17 years and a half and 21 years are eligible to apply and the recruitment will be for a four-year tenure. The scheme allows 25 per cent of them to be retained and granted regular service subsequently depending upon their fitness.
After protests erupted against the scheme in several states, the government extended the upper age limit to 23 years for recruitment in 2022 to calm the frayed tempers.
Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Aishwarya Bhati and Central government standing counsel Harish Vaidyanathan, representing the Centre, said the Agnipath scheme is one of the biggest policy changes in defence recruitment that was going to mark a paradigm shift in the way the armed forces recruit personnel.
Bhati said the government had taken a conscious decision to put on hold everything where recruitment had not happened.
"More than 10 lakh aspirants have taken advantage of the two-year age relaxation given by us... A lot of things we cannot say on affidavit but we have acted in bona fide manner," the ASG said.
Advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the petitioners in a plea concerning cancellation of the recruitment processes under certain previous advertisements, said the government did not stop all recruitment in June 2021 and some such exercises were held even in August 2021 and the beginning of 2022.
"Look at the plight of these people. Is it fair to tell them you have put your life on hold for over two-and-a half-years and now you are told the recruitment process has been cancelled. It would be arbitrary, unfair and hit by the doctrine of legitimate expectation to allow the government to go away like this," he argued.
The high court had on December 14 asked the Centre to offer justification for the different pay scales for 'Agniveers' and regular sepoys in the Indian Army if their job profile is same.
As the counsel for the central government responded while seeking to clarify that 'Agniveer' is a different cadre from the regular cadre of the armed forces, the high court said, "Different cadre does not answer job profile, the question is work and responsibility." Defending the Agnipath scheme, the Centre has said a large amount of study has gone into making this policy. It said the decision to implement it was not taken lightly and the Union of India was mindful and cognisant of the situation.
Earlier, the bench had asked the petitioners who have challenged the short-term recruitment scheme as to which of their rights have been violated, and said it was voluntary and those having any problem should not join the armed forces under it.
The high court had said the Agnipath scheme has been formed by experts in the Army, Navy and Air Force and judges were not military experts.
The counsel for one of the petitioners had said that after being recruited under the scheme, the Agniveers will have a life insurance cover of ₹ 48 lakh in case of contingency which is much less than the one in existence for regular soldiers.
Whatever the armed forces personnel are entitled to, these Agniveers will get them only for four years, the counsel had argued, adding had the service been for five years they would be entitled to gratuity.
The Centre had earlier submitted a consolidated reply to several petitions filed against Agnipath as well as other recruitment exercises that had begun before its launch but were halted midway, insisting there was no legal infirmity.
The government submitted the Agnipath scheme was introduced in exercise of its sovereign function to make national security and defence more "robust, impenetrable and abreast with changing military requirements".
One of the petitions before the high court has sought a direction to the armed forces to resume the recruitment exercises which were cancelled due to the introduction of the Agnipath scheme and prepare the final merit list after conducting a written examination within a stipulated time.
Earlier, the Supreme Court had asked the high courts of Kerala, Punjab and Haryana, Patna and Uttarakhand to transfer the PILs against the scheme that were pending before them to the Delhi High Court or keep them pending till a decision by the Delhi High Court is delivered, if the petitioners before it so desire.
NDTV
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