Defence ministry has announced a 10% reservation for Agniveers in defence jobs
On Saturday, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh accepted a plan to set aside 10% of posts in the defence ministry for Agniveers who match the required qualifications. This comes only hours after the home ministry accepted a plan to implement a 10% quota for Agnives in the CAPF and Assam Rifles.
“The 10 per cent reservation will be implemented in the Indian Coast Guard and defence civilian posts, and all the 16 Defence Public Sector Undertakings,” the ministry said in a statement.
“Necessary amendments to relevant recruitment rules will be undertaken to implement these provisions. Defence Public Sector Undertakings will be advised to make similar amendments to their respective recruitment rules. Necessary age relaxation provision will also be made,” the ministry said in a tweet.
This comes as eight states, including Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Haryana, and Telangana, have seen violent demonstrations. The Centre is on fire, and today’s meeting with the Army, Navy, and Air Force leaders has been called.
As a one-time concession, the government has already raised the maximum age restriction for recruitment under the Agnipath initiative to 23 years from 21 years for the year 2022.
Under the Agnipath plan, aspirants aged 17 and a half to 21 years would be admitted for a four-year term, with 25% of them being later recruited for regular service. They will be known as Agniveers.
The protesters are calling for the short-term recruiting policy to be scrapped because they are unhappy with the duration of service, the lack of pension and gratuity arrangements for those released early, and the age limit of 17.5 to 21 years, which has rendered many of them ineligible.
