Cabinet overhauls Agnipath scheme, gives Agniveers 2-year service extension

The Union cabinet has decided to give Agniveers an option to continue in service for two more years beyond their four-year tenure and apply for absorption into the armed forces at the end of this extended period, chief of defence staff General NS Raja Subramani announced on Wednesday.

The move comes weeks before the three services were to start releasing 75% of Agniveers from their first batch in phased manner starting mid-November. Over 18,300 Agniveers were to exit the armed forces by December 31 after completing their four-year term.

What CDS said on extension of Agniveers' service

“In four years, we assessed them and received very positive feedback about their performance. Initially, only 25% were to be retained. Now, the remaining 75% Agniveers will get a two-year engagement period offer,” CDS Subramani said at a media briefing. Their remuneration during this extended period would be higher than their existing emoluments.

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Once they complete the two-year engagement period, all willing Aginveers will be enrolled in the armed forces, subject to ‘objective selection criteria’, he said.

Under the initial provisions of the Agnipath scheme, only 25% of Agniveer soldiers were to be retained for regular service for another 15 years.

Defence minister Rajnath Singh thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the decision, referring to the extended duration of service as a “two-year ‘Second Tour of Duty’“.

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“This would also provide enrollment of all willing Agniveers as regular soldiers after the tenure of 4/6 years, who meet the selection criteria. This decision is a continuation of long-term structural reforms of our defence forces, aimed at creating a younger, fitter, technologically equipped and future-ready military. It is not merely a recruitment policy; it is a way forward to prepare India’s military for the changing character of warfare,” the defence minister said.

Agnipath recruitment scheme

The Agnipath recruitment model in the armed forces was introduced in June 2022 and became a political flashpoint because it cut the tenure of personnel below officer rank and offered them fewer service benefits.

The 18,300 soldiers, who were to be released this year, account for three-fourths of the 24,400 recruits inducted into the army, air force and navy in the first round of recruitment. The first batch comprised around 19,000 Agniveers in the army, 2,850 in the IAF and 2,550 in the navy, according to official data.