There’s a change coming. The country’s defence establishment is putting the final touches on a new recruitment scheme for the Armed Forces.
Known as the Agnipath entry scheme or the ‘Tour of Duty’, this new recruitment scheme has been ideated to fill in the gap of the jawans in the Armed Forces and curb the ballooning salary and pension costs, which impacts military modernisation.
The Print has reported that the Indian Army will be the first to try out the concept, which involves recruiting soldiers, which will be called Agniveers, for a fixed period of three years.
Here’s all we know about this new recruitment scheme — from the birth of the project, to its benefits, and what defence experts have to say about it.
‘Tour of Duty’
The idea of hiring jawans on a three-year contract was first floated in 2020. The idea was the brainchild of late Chief of Defence Staff, General Bipin Rawat, who was looking at reducing the burgeoning pension bill as well as revenue expenditure in terms of salaries and other costs.
As per latest proposals, this idea will only be restricted to jawans and not be extended to the officer-level, as there is the Short Service Commission.
For those who are unaware, the Short Service Commission is limited to the officer cadre of the Indian Army. It started during World War II when the British realised that they needed far more officers then those who could be commissioned from either Sandhurst or the JSW (Joint Services Wing).
These officers came on a contract for five-10 years and could be later converted to a permanent commission. This was done till the end of World War II.
Subsequently, in 1962 during the Indo-China War, Emergency Commission was reopened and based on the increasing requirement of the officers, Officers Training School (OTS) in Chennai was opened, which granted short-service commissions to five-10 years.
This form of commission is still prevalent and make a large chunk of the commissioned officers. As of today, those opting for the short service commission are recruited on a contract for five years, which can be extended or be converted to permanent commission, in select cases.
According to an Economic Times report published in 2020, the Indian Army spends over Rs 6 crore to train an officer under the Short Service Commission. As of today, he doesn’t receive any pension after service and till very recently were not granted medical facilities.
Basely roughly on the Short Service Commission plan, the ‘Tour of Duty’ will recruit jawans for a term of three years.
Officials have cited the Kargil War of 1999 for the basis of the three-year period. An officer had told The Print then, “In the Kargil conflict, officers and jawans with less than three years of service had shown an exemplary performance.”
Citing the benefits of the Tour of Duty scheme, an official had said that the cost of a jawan, with his training and other expenses, would come down to Rs 80-85 lakh, which would help in releasing funds for military modernisation.
News18, citing sources, said that the present draft of the scheme states that all soldiers in the Indian Army would eventually be recruited under the Tour of Duty model. Around 25 per cent of them would serve in the Army for three years and 25 per cent troops would serve for five years.
It has also been proposed that 50 per cent of soldiers who would be released at the end of three and five years be included in the National Pension Scheme and be given certain medical benefits, applicable to Armed Forces veterans, for a fixed period, as per the News18 report.
Plugging shortages
The defence establishment is hoping that the Tour of Duty scheme will help in resolving the issue of lack of manpower in the Indian Army.
This is significant in the current climate where the nation is facing a serious threat from China as well as Pakistan at the borders.
In December 2021, the Centre had said in Rajya Sabha that the Armed Forces faced a shortage of 9,362 officers and 1,13,193 personnel.
Giving a breakdown, Minister of State (Defence) Ajay Bhatt had said in a written replay that in the Indian Army, 7,476 posts of officers and 97,177 posts of junior commissioned officers and other ranks were vacant.
Similarly, in the Indian Air Force, a total 621 officers and 4,850 junior commissioned officers and other ranks were vacant. In the Indian Navy, 1,265 officers and 11,166 junior commissioned officers and other ranks' posts had not been filled.
The shortages have become even more prominent as neither the Army, Navy, nor Air Force has held any recruitment rallies in the past two years during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Reactions to the scheme
Many have hailed this recruitment scheme. An officer speaking to Swarajya Magazine had said, “A young man would ‘retire’ as a ToD jawan at the age of around 26 years or even less, and would be a very attractive and prime recruit for the government sector and corporates. Such a young man would enjoy a huge advantage over others.”
A senior officer at the NCC Directorate of West Bengal and Sikkim had echoed similar sentiment, saying, “The Army is held in very high esteem by youngsters and while many do not want a career in the force, they would be happy to serve a short stint in the army for the thrill, adventure and pride involved in serving in uniform.”
Anand Mahindra, the Chairman of the Mahindra Group, had also given a thumbs-up to the scheme. He had then said, “I definitely think military training will be an added advantage for Tour of Duty Graduates as they enter the workplace. In fact, considering the rigid standards of selection and training in the Indian Army, the Mahindra Group will be happy to consider their candidature.”
However, not everyone is happy about the ‘ToD’ scheme. Lt Gen Raj Kadyan (retired), a former deputy chief of army staff, has flagged certain issues with the new scheme. In a column published by The Wire, he wrote that as it would be a three year employment, along with training, the training imparted to those through this scheme wouldn’t be as rigid.
News18 also flagged another issue with the scheme — that the vacancies created by those retiring through ToD at the end of three and five years would also start adding up.
With inputs from agencies
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