Agniveers: Defence ministry organises session with defence industry representatives

An interaction session has been organised by the government with the Indian defence industry representatives to seek opportunities for gainful employment of Agniveers after their stint with the armed forces, officials said on Thursday. The session was organised by the defence ministry on November 30, under the Corporate Recruitment Plan of the companies.

The session was chaired by Defence Secretary Giridhar Aramane.

Senior executives from major Indian defence industry houses including L&T, Adani Defence Ltd, Tata Advanced System Ltd, Ashok Leyland and others participated in the discussion, the ministry said in a statement.


The interaction was held under the aegis of Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers to "seek opportunities for gainful employment of ex-Agniveers under the Corporate Recruitment Plan of the companies," it said.

The defence secretary highlighted the endeavour of the government to "gainfully utilise the expertise of the Agniveers after their stint with the armed forces with an objective to employ highly dedicated and disciplined youth in various sectors engaged in nation building," the statement said.

The skills gained by the Agniveers during their engagement with the armed forces will help build a highly competent and professional workforce which will be readily available for fruitful and productive engagement by the industry, it said.

The senior executives of the companies conveyed their "unstinted support and commitment in the endeavour and expressed their eagerness to deploy the ex-Agniveers once the first batch completes its term with the armed forces," the ministry said.

They assured that "suitable provisions" shall be made in their recruitment policies for reservations for Agniveers based on the available skill sets, it said.

Certain suggestions were also considered regarding bridging the skills learnt by Agniveers with the requirements of the industry, the statement said.

The defence secretary, while acknowledging the encouraging response from the participants, urged the Indian defence manufacturers to act on their commitment and make policy announcements under the Corporate Recruitment plans at the earliest, the ministry said.

The Agnipath scheme, announced on June 14, provides for the recruitment of youths between the age bracket of 17-and-half years to 21 for only four years with a provision to retain 25 per cent of them for 15 more years. Later, the government extended the upper age limit to 23 years for recruitment in 2022. The youths selected under this scheme will be known as Agniveers.