Ex-Agniveers to get priority in CAPFs and Assam Rifles: Amit Shah

'Agniveers' who have completed four years of service under the newly announced 'Agnipath' scheme will be given priority in the recruitments for the Central Armed Police Forces and Assam Rifles, union home minister Amit Shah said on Wednesday.

A "detailed planning" work has been started in the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) following the decision to launch the scheme, Shah tweeted.

Agnipath is a merit-based recruitment scheme for enrolling youth on the regular cadre of the armed forces on four-year contracts. Those recruited under this will be called 'Agniveers'.


In a series of tweets in Hindi announcing his ministry's plans for the Agniveers once they completed four years of service, Shah said "The Agnipath scheme is a visionary and welcome decision by Prime Minister Modi ji for the bright future of youth."

He said: "With this decision taken by the home ministry under the guidance of Prime Minister Modi, the youth trained by the 'Agnipath' scheme will be able to contribute to the service and security of the country. Detailed planning work has been started on this decision."

States such as Uttar Pradesh and Haryana have also announced that they would give priority to Agniveers in government jobs.

On Tuesday, defence minister Rajnath Singh said Agnipath was a transformative initiative that would provide a youthful profile to the armed forces.

The scheme provides an opportunity for youth to serve in the regular cadre of the armed forces. After four years of service, 25% of the Agniveers will be retained or re-enlisted in the regular cadre based on merit, willingness and medical fitness. They will then serve for a full term of another 15 years.

The other 75% 'Agniveers' will exit the service and get a package of '11-12 lakh at the time, partly funded by their monthly contributions, as well as skill certificates and bank loans for help in their second careers.