Patriotism is in the blood of every Indian since the time our country was under the oppression of the invaders. Our country has seen several battles over the past decades and has come out of it with sheer strength, discipline and resilience. No words are enough to define the contribution of India’s Armed Forces towards the nation and her citizens.
Together the Indian Army, Air Force and Navy have had India’s sons and daughters guarding our borders from trespassers and enemies, so that we can sleep well at night. So that we can lead a life of comfort, leisure and security. Business Outreach Magazine will come forward with the Agneepath Scheme explained in a concise manner for the clear understanding of our readers. The Union Government gave its approval on a transformative model on June14th, 2022 and named it the ‘Agneepath Yojna’. The Defense Minister of India, Sri Rajnath Singh along with the Chief’s of the Indian Army, Air Force and Navy introduced the scheme in a joint press conference and expresses optimism towards the success of the project.
What is Agnipath Scheme?
The Indian Government introduced the project with the aim to attract the youth of the Nation with an opportunity to serve in one of the three Armed Forces of India, which is the Navy, Army and Air Force. The selected individuals should be between the age 17.5 years to 23 years old who will devote themselves for a period of four years. The tenure being short will help the Indian Government to save funds from the military funds of the country. This contract-based initiative will allow the government to also save on the costs on pension and salaries of military personnels.
The Defense Minister of India, Sri Rajnath Singh said, “ The Cabinet Committee on Security has taken a historic decision to approve the transformative scheme of ‘Agnipath’. This will make the armed forces modern and well-equipped. Under this Indian youth as ‘Agniveer’ would be granted an opportunity to get inducted into the Armed services”.
The Agnipath Scheme will be making funds accessible for acquiring more weapons to fortify our arms catalogs of the Indian Armed Forces. India’s Defense Minister, Sri Rajnath Singh, has portrayed the project as ‘historic’ and is certain that our sons and daughters in the defense forces will be more well-equipped with the necessary resources. This opportunity for the ‘Agniveers’ will surely bring forward the love and motivation they have for Mother India by protecting Her on the ground, air and water.
The Benefits of Getting Recruited under the Agnipath Scheme
The four year contractual employment will offer a salary of Rs. 30,000 in the first year, Rs. 33,000 in the second year, Rs. 36,500 in the third year and Rs. 40,000 in the final year. Agniveers will get 70% of their salary in hand and 30% will be contributed to the Seva Nidhi fund of the Government. For example, out of Rs. 30,000 in the first year, the in-hand salary will be Rs. 21,000 and Rs. 9,000 will be contributed to Seva Nidhi. The Indian Government will then add a similar amount of Rs. 9,000 to the corpus fund under the Seva Nidhi structure. In the second year, the in-hand salary will be Rs. 23,100 and Rs. 9,900 will be contributed to the Seva Nidhi package and the Indian Government will add a similar amount of Rs. 9,900 along with it.
In the third year, the in-hand salary will be Rs. 25,580 and Rs. 10,920 will be forwarded to Seva Nidhi with the additional amount of Rs. 10,920 from the Indian Government. In the final year, the in-hand salary will be Rs. 28,000 and Rs. 12,000 will be added to Seva Nidhi with the additional Rs. 12,000 by the Indian Government.
At the end of tenure, the total amount stands about Rs. 10.04 lakhs which will include an interest, thus bringing the amount up to Rs. 11.71 lakh, which is exempted from tax. This entire amount will be handed to our Agniveers for their service in the four years.
The young soldiers will be provided with a life insurance package of Rs. 48 lakh which requires no premium from our Agniveers. An additional Ex Gratia amount of Rs. 44 lakh will be provided for any deaths caused during the service.
In case of disability of the soldiers, compensation of Rs. 44 lakh will be given for 100% disability, Rs. 25 lakhs for 75% disability and Rs 15 lakh for 50% disability respectively. On successful completion of the service, the soldiers will also be provided a skilled certificate to validate their dedication and service for the Armed Forces.
Number of Positions under the Yojna
About 40,000 to 50,000 soldiers will be recruited under the scheme every year. They will be given a 6 months training and after that will serve for the next three and a half years. Approximately 25% of the soldiers will be given the opportunity to work for the Armed Forces after their tenure under the permanent commission. Although these individuals will not be provided any benefits after retirement. Twice every year, the recruitments will be taking place and this entire process will help the Indian Government save from the Defense Pension structure.
On an Ending Note
India is the country with the third largest budget towards its military. Based on GDP, it is the sixth largest country when it comes to spending on the military. The Military Budget for the financial year 2022-2023 is about Rs. 5,25,166 crore. Out of which Rs. 1,19,696 crore is for the pension packages and Rs. 2,33,000 crore is for military revenue expenditure. The government seeks to save funds from expenditure of the military which is spent on maintaining military establishments, salaries and pensions. The whole point of the Agneepath scheme of work is to make the country financially efficient and to have a rational perspective for using the taxpayers money. More money saved, more goes into building on sustainable assets for the country. India will definitely gain more traction by the introduction of this Yojna, which will allow more fresh young bloods to get themselves recruited to serve their Nation.
