Agniveers who were due to leave can now serve two more years, Cabinet decides

The Union Cabinet on 4 November approved a change to the Agnipath scheme: Agniveers who are not picked for regular service after four years will be offered two more years in uniform instead of having to leave.

The decision covers the 75 per cent of each batch who were earlier set to exit. The other 25 per cent will continue to move into regular service on merit, as they do now. It comes weeks before the first batch completes its four-year term. The Week put the number due to leave at around 18,000, and The Federal at more than 18,000.

What changes

The extension is voluntary. An Agniveer can take it up "subject to their willingness," ThePrint reported, which would bring the total time in service to six years. The second engagement will carry higher pay, a larger Seva Nidhi package and seniority benefits, according to the government.

There is also a new route at the end. After the extended period, Agniveers who want to stay can be enrolled as regular soldiers, subject to selection criteria. ThePrint said those criteria will include physical fitness, adaptability and discipline.

Chief of Defence Staff General N.S. Raja Subramani, who explained the decision to reporters, said "all those who are willing will be enrolled." The Federal's wording was more cautious, saying more candidates may be inducted. How many of those who complete six years will actually be absorbed is not yet clear from the published details.

The government's reasons

The Defence Ministry said in a statement that the three services had assessed the scheme over its first four years and found that Agniveers "had demonstrated high levels of skills, motivation, physical fitness and technological adaptability."

General Subramani said the review had been under way for some time. "We have been discussing this for the past three to four months," he said, describing the scheme as something that "was not set in stone." He also said, "The Agnipath scheme has not been discontinued," and that its first four years will continue in their current form.

Why it matters

The scheme was launched on 14 June 2022. Under it, 25 per cent of a batch moved to regular service and the rest were to leave after four years with a Seva Nidhi package. Critics argued that the package did not address long-term job security, and The Federal noted the widespread backlash the scheme drew. The 25 per cent figure stays in place at the four-year mark; the new decision adds a second decision point at six years.

What is still unclear

The reports we read did not give a start date, an application process or the exact pay figures. They also carried no reaction from opposition parties at the time of publishing. We will update this story when the Defence Ministry publishes the detailed terms.