Military says Agnipath scheme here to stay; recruitment begins in August

Asserts that concessions made by MoD in the Agnipath scheme were not forced by protests and arson, but because they were already in the works

Downplaying the violent protests against the Agnipath recruitment scheme that continue to rock Uttar Pradesh, Telangana and Bihar, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) on Sunday fielded the military’s top manpower planners in a press conference to send out the message: “Agnipath is here to stay.”

Meanwhile, as many as 35 WhatsApp groups that were allegedly spreading fake news about the Agnipath military recruitment scheme were on Sunday banned by the government, officials said.

Lieutenant General Anil Puri, additional secretary in the Department of Military Affairs (DMA), who was at the forefront of conceiving and structuring the Agnipath Yojana and is now the