The Navy’s Chief of Personnel, Vice-Admiral Dinesh K. Tripathi has clearified that the Naval force has already started working on the process and the advertisement would reach the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting byJune 25 and the process would start within one month.
In a press meet the Navy Chief also told that by November 21 the first batch of Agniveers will report at the INS training centre Chilika.
In his key note he said that the Agniveers will be gender neutral. Of the 3,000 Agniveers to be inducted by the Navy this year, there will be some women. The numbers will be based on the number of ships that the women can be accommodated and the facilities in training establishments too.
Vice Admiral Tripathi noted that The Navy already has women officers serving on aircraft and onboard warship. And The Navy is looking at recruiting up to 600 women Agniveers depending on the modalities they would be posted on warships as well, it has been learnt.
On the Occasion Lt. Gen. C.B. Ponnappa, Adjutant General of Army said that for the Army, the terms and conditions and eligibility criteria have already been put up on the Army website. On July 1, there will be notification from all recruitment offices.
He informed that the first rallies will start in first week on August to November. In two batches induction will be done into training centres .
The Army which plans to induct 40,000 Agniveers in the first batch will recruit around 25,000 Agniveers in first batch by first half of December and remaining in the second batch by first half of February 2023.For this, 83 rallies planned across the country covering all States, he added.
Officials also explained that the intake of Agniveers would be progressively increased in the next few years. Intake of recruits under Agnipath will increase from 46,000 annually in the first 4 years, to 90,000 in the 5th year to from the 6th year.
On June 14, the Government announced the scheme for recruitment of soldiers into the armed forces for four years doing away with the current process and the age bracket for new recruits was fixed at 17 1/4 to 21 years of age and there after increasing it by 23years of age later .
All recruitment in the forces for soldiers, sailors and airmen will now be through this route. Agniveers on completion of four years will get an opportunity to join regular cadre and upto 25% would be selected through another recruitment process.
In the last few days several Ministries and Government departments announced measures to accommodate Agniveers in various avenues post the four stint, amid violent protests by youth across the country against the new scheme.
