AGNIPATH SCHEME

age age of a soldier in the armed forces from the current 32 years to 24-26 years over the next six to seven years, said Lieutenant General Anil Puri, additional secretary, Department of Military Affairs.

The Agnipath model is only for the recruitment of personnel below officer (PBOR) rank in the army, air force and navy for four years, including 10 weeks to six months of training.

“During the implementation and stabilisation of the scheme, the army’s operational capabilities and preparedness along the borders, and the ability to deal with internal security challenges will be fully maintained,” said army chief General Manoj Pande.

He said the change would bring new “vigour and confidence” in the army and make it “stronger and more capable.”

Those recruited under the new scheme will be called Agniveers, will draw an annual package of ₹4.76 lakh in the first year of service and ₹6.92 lakh in the fourth, will get a non-contributory insurance cover of ₹48 lakh, and an additional ex-gratia payment of ₹44 lakh for death attributable to service, the defence ministry said.

Soldiers who are released after four years will get ₹11.71 Lakh as Seva Nidhi severance package, including ₹5.02 lakh contributed by them during their service. The soldiers released after four years will not be entitled to pension, while those retained to serve for another 15 years will get the retirement benefit.

“A wider recruitment base will provide equal opportunities to youth from all parts of the country to join the army. Screening and selection, based on a sound, transparent, fair and robust assessment system, will ensure that the army retains the ‘best of the best’ for longer service. These personnel will form the core of the organisation,” the army chief said.

The armed forces will recruit 46,000 Agniveers - in the age group of 17 and a half and 21 years - this year, with the first recruitment rally under the new model to be held in 90 days, the ministry said.

The air force is looking to tap into this source of dynamic young people, train and expose them to the high-tech environment and hone their skills for future employment, said IAF chief Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari.

Navy chief Admiral R Hari Kumar said the navy would induct women sailors under the new scheme. “All preparations have been done, there are no difficulties. The navy is a genderneutral service,” Kumar said. Currently, only the army recruits women in the PBOR cadre and that too only in one branch – Corps of Military Police.

The government said the scheme is open to women based on service requirements.

“The dividends of a short military service to the nation, society and the youth of the nation are immense. This includes inculcation of patriotism, team work, enhancement of physical fitness, ingrained loyalty for the country and availability of trained personnel to boost national security in times of external threats, internal threats and natural disasters,” said a defence ministry statement.

Several veterans have, however, questioned the Agnipath model and argued that is disadvantages may outweigh the advantages.

“The government should have launched a pilot project to weigh the pros and cons of the scheme before announcing it. The scheme will erode the ethos of the units and the regimental system,” said military affairs expert Lieutenant General Vinod Bhatia (retd).

The army was beginning to feel the strain of a manpower crunch stemming from the Covid-induced freeze on recruitment for over two years. It is currently short of around 125,000 soldiers in the PBOR cadre, with the deficiency growing at the rate of more than 5,000 men every month. It has an authorised strength of 1.2 million soldiers.

Soldiers recruited through the legacy recruitment system serve the armed forces for 20 years before they retire in their late 30s along with a pension.

WPI INFLATION

uary at 10.40%.

The rate of price rise in vegetables was 56.36%, potato (24.83%), wheat (10.55%) and egg, meat and fish (7.78%).

In the fuel and power basket, inflation was 40.62%, while in manufactured products and oil seeds, it was 10.11% and 7.08%, respectively.

Inflation in crude petroleum and natural gas was 79.50% in May. Retail inflation in May eased to 7.04%, from 7.8% in April, but remained above the Reserve Bank’s inflation target for the fifth straight month.

To tame stubbornly high inflation, the RBI hiked its key interest rate by 40 basis points in May and 50 basis points in June.

The central bank, last week, also raised the inflation projection by 100 basis points to 6.7% for 2022-23.

Icra chief economist Aditi Nayar said a surge in inflation in the primary food articles -- particularly vegetables and eggs, meat and fish -- on account of extreme weather conditions and rising input costs, such as fodder prices, pushed up the headline inflation print. Additionally, higher inflation was witnessed in the minerals, crude petroleum and natural gas and fuel and power segments, reflecting the increasing global commodity and crude oil prices, she added.

With inflation in industrial raw materials remaining stubbornly entrenched, core inflation is likely to remain elevated above 9% over the next few months, she said, adding the weakening of the rupee and hardening of crude oil prices would transmit faster to the WPI than the CPI.