Indian problems, Indian solutions: Lt. Gen Anil Puri on Agnipath scheme

Addressing a press conference on Tuesday, Lt. Gen Anil Puri, Additional Secretary, Department of Military Affairs, said that no other country except has or will have a demographic dividend like India in the near future. And as such, Indian problems will need Indian solutions.

Puri said that in the coming years, India will be the only nation to have 50% of the population under the age of 25 years.

The Agnipath scheme for recruitment in Indian armed forces has been designed considering this demographic factor, said Puri.


The announcement comes a few days after Gen Puri along with other officials from the Indian armed forces released the details of the recruitment process of Agniveers under the scheme.

The government had announced the radical and far-reaching 'Agnipath' scheme last week, deploying defence minister Rajnath Singh and the three Service chiefs to deflect criticism that it will undermine the armed forces' professionalism, ethos, and fighting spirit, as well as potentially lead to the militarization of civil society.

The process of recruiting 46,000 soldiers, sailors, and airmen this year will begin on a "all-India, all-class" basis under the Agnipath scheme, which was authorised by the PM Modi-led cabinet committee on security.