Govt declares 10% quota for former Agniveers in BSF

NEW DELHI: The Union home ministry has announced 10% reservation in the recruitment of Border Security Force (BSF) personnel for Agniveers, relaxing the upper age limit and the need for a physical efficiency test who complete the military’s Agnipath programme.

“The upper age limit shall be relaxable up to five years for the candidates of the first batch of ex-Agniveers...Ten percent of the vacancies shall be reserved for ex-Agniveers,” said a notification dated March 6.

For the subsequent batches of ex-Agniveers, the upper age limit will be relaxable by up to three years, it added.

The ministry made the announcement following amendments to the Border Security Force (BSF) General Duty Cadre (Non Gazetted) Recruitment Rules 2015. On June 14, 2022, India announced the Agnipath scheme for short-term induction of soldiers into the three services, the Army, Navy and Indian Air Force, replacing the legacy system to lower the age profile of the armed forces, ensure a fitter military, and create a technically skilled war fighting force capable of meeting future challenges.

Cleared by the Cabinet Committee on Security, the programme seeks to recruit soldiers, including women, for only four years with a provision to retain 25% of them in the regular cadre for 15 more years after another round of screening, to enhance the operational preparedness of the armed forces, and create a skilled and dynamic workforce for employment in other sectors.

Recruits under the Agnipath scheme will be called Agniveers and they will be in the age group of 17-and-a-half and 21 years.

Amid protests against the short-term recruitment plan, the Centre later announced 10% reservation for ex-Agniveers, who have completed four years in service, in Central Armed Paramilitary Forces (CAPFs) and Assam Rifles.

This is in addition to 25% Agniveers who will be retained after another round of screening.

The CAPF comprises the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), BSF, Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and Assam Rifles. Its total strength is 1,005,779.

The BSF is the second largest paramilitary force in the country after the CRPF and comprises nearly 250,000 personnel.

According to the home ministry, there are 19,987 vacancies in the BSF, with at least 18,000 of those in the ranks of constables, head constables, assistant subinspectors and sub-inspectors.

K Durga Prasad, former chief of CRPF, who also served as additional director general in BSF, said: “Having trained former soldiers as candidates could prove to be an advantage. But some things need to be ironed out.

The transition for ex-Agniveers into the BSF and other border security forces should be smooth because the skill set they require in border security forces will be similar. They will be acquainted with the job that they learned in those four years.