Marred with controversies
Amid numerous pros and cons of the Agnipath scheme, there is a need to chalk out an acceptable path, as change is inevitable
July 24 is the ‘star’ exam date for selecting Agniveers for the Indian Air force under the Agnipath scheme. Will the Agnipath scheme, as stated by the government, produce young officers who will take international security challenges head-on, or, by saving on pension bills to foot the welfare schemes, the present dispensation will ensure it remains in the seat of power? It also remains to be seen if the scheme will make India a militarised society. The questions are at galore and change is always resisted.
Indian defence forces, known for their josh, jazba, naam, nishan and izzat, are set to undergo transformational shift — making forces advanced and tech savvy, improving the youth profile by bringing down the average age of officers from 32 years to 26 years, and saving finances by curtailing the ballooning pension bills which consume around 50 per cent of the defence budget.
General JJ Singh, former COAS (chief of army staff), informs, “Introduction of Agnipath scheme is a welcome change for the Indian defence forces, and as seen, the change in the system attracts resistance. The government has shown its readiness to improve the working of the forces and is doing a commendable job by recruiting youngsters.”
Old guards of the Indian army who may also associate themselves with the army of British India have, however, cast reservations against the shift in paradigm for the selection process. Vice Chief of Indian Army, Lt Gen Shantonu Choudhry (retired), proffers, “As an old timer soldier, the Agnipath scheme is not attractive and there are serious doubts, like that around motivation and leadership qualities in all those who will be selected under this scheme.”
On the other hand, former director general, Assam Rifles,
Lt Gen Ranbir Singh, argued, “In one of the shlokas of Bhagwat Gita, it is said that “change is one cannot stop, evolution cannot be stopped and evolution is for better, good and equality.” He added, “The defence forces are a voluntary organisation and not a welfare organisation, whosoever gets selected goes as per (his/her) own will, and when lays life for the nation becomes a martyr.”
Major General Rajiv Edwards (retired) opines, “Four years period is a short time to train a jawan. The first year goes into basic training and fitness at the allotted centre. The Major argued that “the jawan will not be competent enough to perform or fight in CI ops in north-east or J&K operations.” He further questioned, “During the service, we also tell jawans that after completing 32 years of age, you might get absorbed in one of the CAPFs, but it seldom happens, then how come the government assurance of 10 per cent of job promises in CAPFs for Agniveers will be fructified?”
Talking on the competence of the to-be recruits, Singh clarified, “Agniveers will be selected after a tough competition where lakhs of aspirants would have applied, and post-selection they will be imparted the same type of training as to other jawans, the army will just not bring down their training parameters. Under the new training schedule, these recruits will be trained in Information Technology to make them tech savvy, as the future battlefields will be different from conventional warfare.”
Indian Navy retired Commander, Jalaj Kakkar, says, “Agnipath scheme might have some shortcomings, the same shall be improved with the due course of time, but a section of political parties and a caucus of coaching institutes creating ruckus on roads or rail is a bad show of nationalism.”
Emphasising on the need for change, Singh said, “No government in the world can now give endless permanent jobs, the time has come to innovate and bringin new sustainable changes in employment. Also, the political parties which are opposing the scheme may give their suggestions to further improve the scheme.”
Being a member of crew served weapon system, Choudhary remarked, “One of my serious doubts is that in regiments of armoured core, core of signals, engineers, air defence and mechanised infantry; six months will not be enough to impart knowledge and practice.” He sarcastically pointed out, “Yes, for basic infantry, this time may be enough but not for the above. Maybe digging trenches is alright but not beyond.”
Populist reform measures like OROP have also made things difficult for the exchequer as pension bills exceed that of military hardware. Adds Singh, “The government has to do a holistic brainstorming on the present pension budget, as the civilians employed under the ministry of defence draw pension from the defence accounts and their pensions are quite sizeable when compared to combined defence forces’ yearly pension amount.”
Casting still sharper reservations, Edwards noted, “Once the person is inducted and is a junior, there are colloquial terms used in the regiments, similarly, for these four-year recruits, these words too shall be used and (new recruits) may not be taken seriously by the seniors, emboldening the apartheid system.”
The Indian army is a 250-year-old institution and no hit and trial method in a jiffy shall be tried here. Choudhry clearly stated, “The war on the battlefield is ‘distant’, now, and in times to come weapons will be used based on technology, including IT and cyber ware, and I think the navy and air force may also face the same problems. There should be no knee jerk reaction”
An Agniveer coming out as a ‘sailor’ from the Indian Navy has great future prospects to be absorbed in the merchant navy or equivalent. Adds Kakkar, “The government has well planned the scheme, after four years, each Agniveer will get an income-tax-free Rs 11.71 lakh as ‘Seva Nidhi Package’. The monthly salary of an Agniveer in the first year of employment shall be Rs 30,000 though the in-hand amount will be Rs 21,000 while the rest Rs 9,000 will go to a corpus with an equal contribution from the government. Consequently, the monthly salary in the second, third and fourth year will be Rs 33,000, Rs 36,500 and Rs 40,000.”
Financial expert and a chartered accountant, V Bansal, avers, “Currently, the defence budget is less than three per cent of the national GDP, and if it is increased even to three per cent then the resentment amongst political parties shall be put to rest. Fiscal year 2022-2023 defence budget is pegged at Rs 5,25,166 crore, which includes Rs 1,19,696 crore for defence pensions, whereas allocation for revenue expenditure is Rs 2,33,000 crore. However, the revenue expenditure takes account of expenses on payment of salaries and maintenance of establishments.” Agniveers will be awarded with skill certificates, credits for pursuing higher education, a better financial package as well as sufficient skills for getting absorbed in their future endeavours.
Populist reform measures like OROP have also made things difficult for the state exchequer as pension bills exceed that of military hardware