Agnipath reforms: Why Agniveers need longer service, higher retention and better career prospects

One prominent measure, touted as a major transformative effort in the armed forces, was introduction of the Agniveer scheme in 2022, ostensibly for the three services to improve their age profile. Since its inception, the scheme was beset with differing views regarding duration of service, pay structure and other issues. In the last 2 yrs, GoI took stock, and is now reportedly listening to the views of not only the three services but also of state governments and veterans. So, here goes one.

The Agniveer scheme as part of the Agnipath programme was launched for young Indians of both genders aged 17.5-21 yrs for a 4-yr service tenure in the three services. They were to have a salary of ₹30,000 a month, rising to ₹40,000 in their last year of service. Adequate medical and insurance provision arrangements were also ensured.

On completion of 4 yrs of service, they would receive a tax-free Seva Nidhi package of ₹11.71 lakh. 25% of Agniveers (likely to be raised to 50%) would be back in the armed forces, and be entitled to the same scales of pay and allowances and other terms of service as regular members in the army.


As of now, after their 4 yrs of service as Agniveers, several states and central organisations provide prioritised horizontal reservations (10-20%) for Agniveers in state police forces and paramilitary units like CRPF, BSF and CISF. Disaster management forces, forest and firefighting departments in several states also have earmarked job quotas for former Agniveers.

One of the reasons considered by many analysts for GoI having taken this step is to reduce the burgeoning defence revenue bill. No matter the veracity of this point of view, there are many other ways to trim budgets, including drastically reducing the many civilian appointments in the defence ministry.

GoI could consider appointing a high-powered committee to go into the entire gamut of measures to reduce defence expenditure. Adequate capital and revenue expenditure for security imperatives has to be ensured in these challenging times. So, cutting down on recruitment of soldiers will just not be prudent. According to some media reports, Indian Army is over a lakh soldiers-deficient.

An important reason to eliminate the ceiling of a 4-yr limit tenure for soldiers is that this period does not give adequate time for them to master their soldierly skills. This problem gets further accentuated when it comes to handling technical arms, with hi-tech weaponry skills often taking years to master.

Fighting prowess of the forces is also greatly dependent on the morale, motivation and the unit spirit of its soldiers. This spirit takes many years to cultivate and imbibe before it becomes a battle-winning factor. So, time is needed for any young recruit to become a highly motivated and skilful soldier for his or her unit.

GoI should modify the scheme suitably to give Agniveers at least 8 yrs in active service, and retention be upped to 50-75% from the present 25%.