Will Agniveer quotas address job security issue? Here's what experts think

Haryana government and a number of paramilitary forces have announced job reservations for Agniveers who are released after four years of service

The job reservations for Agniveers released after four years of service recently announced by the Haryana government and a number of paramilitary forces are not likely to adequately address job security concerns surrounding the Agnipath scheme, believe experts.

"A potential Agniveer, who will serve four years in the military, often in harsh conditions just like soldiers recruited under the previous system, is not likely to find a Group-C government job or a position in the paramilitary forces worth the risk," says Major General (Rtd) Yash Mor. "Military service comes with associated risks. Potential Agniveers may decide to directly apply to these positions, such as that of a constable, forest guard or jail warden, instead of first completing four years of military service, which is far more rigorous," he adds.

"While state governments have announced reservations -- this has been due to post-electoral political prodding. To-date, no government, state or central, or major corporate house in India has had an empathetic policy to recruit ex-servicemen," says Society for Policy Studies (SPS) Director Commodore (Rtd) C Uday Bhaskar.

"Where ex-servicemen are recruited, their treatment is step-motherly. Since the current ecosystem is unable or unwilling to offer employment to those with 15 years of experience, there are doubts about whether it will accept those with just four years of service," he adds.

The Haryana government on Wednesday announced a 10 per cent reservation for Agniveers in specific jobs. Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini stated that this horizontal reservation would apply to the direct recruitment of constables, mining guards, forest guards, jail wardens, and special police officers in the state. The reservation includes a 10 per cent horizontal quota for Agniveers for these posts, along with a three-year age waiver for Group-B and -C employment and a five-year waiver for the first batch of Agniveers.

Additionally, there is a five per cent horizontal reservation for Group-C civil posts and a one per cent reservation for Group-B jobs. While industrial units offering Agniveers a salary above Rs 30,000 per month will receive a subsidy of Rs 60,000 annually from the state, Agniveers looking to start their own business would be given interest benefit on loans up to Rs 5 lakh.

The Haryana government's decision comes after the chiefs of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), Border Security Force (BSF), Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) said last week that 10 per cent posts of soldiers would be reserved for former Agniveers in their respective forces, in line with a decision by the Union Home Ministry.

At the time, a Ministry of Defence (MoD) official had told the media that no physical test would be required for recruiting former Agniveers into paramilitary forces. Instead, they would just need a physical fitness certificate. The chiefs of various paramilitary forces had added that former Agniveers would also benefit from relaxations on age.

Broadly speaking, a section of experts has raised four concerns: the Agnipath scheme has had an impact on overall recruitment numbers; there are doubts surrounding job security for those Agniveers who will be released from the forces after four years; there is a lack of parity between Agniveers and soldiers recruited under the previous system; and that the scheme will have a negative impact on the combat capability and efficiency (CCE) of the armed forces.

Maj Gen (Rtd) Mor believes that the recent job reservations and other relaxations announced for Agniveers will partially address only one -- future job security -- of these four major concerns. According to him 65,000 recruits were inducted per year only into the Army under the previous system, while about 45,000 are inducted each year for all three services under the Agnipath scheme.

The planned annual recruitment of Agniveers is roughly 46,000, with 40,000 recruits for the Army and the remaining 6,000 for the Air Force and the Navy combined. Citing sources in the security establishment, a report has revealed that almost 1.28 million youth have applied to become Agniveers in 2024, up nearly 10 per cent from 1.13 million in 2023.

According to Congress leader Deepender Singh Hooda, who has called for the Agnipath scheme's abolition in favour of permanent recruitment in the army, while about 5,500 youths in Haryana were previously recruited permanently into the Army each year, now only 900 Agniveers are being inducted, with only around 225 expected to receive permanent positions.

Commodore (Rtd) Bhaskar also believes that the recent announcements about reservations for Agniveers only addresses the secondary and tertiary concerns associated with the Agnipath scheme.

"The principal concern for any major policy change related to the military should be the degree to which it will affect CCE. While the Agnipath scheme is yet to complete the first four-year cycle, all objective assessment and unbiased feedback points to a potential dilution of the CCE in the long run," says Commodore (Rtd) Bhaskar.

He adds that each combat arm of the armed forces has its own requirements for the initial training period and the current four-year scheme will not move the needle as desired.

The government rolled out the Agnipath scheme in June 2022 for short-term induction of personnel to the armed forces. Under it, both male and female aspirants between ages 17.5 and 21 are recruited into the cadre below the officer's rank for four years, with a provision to retain 25 per cent of them for 15 more years. Those recruited under the scheme are called Agniveers.

Besides ensuring a "youthful profile" in the forces, the scheme was meant to reduce expenditure on pension and wages.

The scheme's announcement had triggered violent protests in several parts of the country, with sections of the youth opposing it.

Shortly after the recent Lok Sabha election verdict, which saw the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) falling short of the majority, the party's alliance partners also raised concerns about the scheme, which the Opposition had criticised and promised to scrap during the poll campaign.

Sources in the MoD had previously confirmed that the Agnipath scheme has undergone a review and tweaks have been suggested to address some of the concerns.