Agnipath scheme: IAF receives over 1.83 lakh applications in six days

New Delhi: The Indian Air Force (IAF) has received over 1.83 lakh applications under the Agnipath recruitment scheme within six days of the registration process, an official communication said. The registration process that began on 24 June had seen filing of 94,281 applications by Monday, and 56,960 applications till Sunday. After the scheme was unveiled on 14 June, violent protests against it rocked several states for nearly a week, and several opposition parties demanded its rollback. “So far, 1,83,634 future Agniveers have applied on the registration website …Registration closes on July 5, 2022,” the IAF said on Twitter. Under the scheme, the government had said youths between the ages of 17-and-a-half and 21 years would be inducted for a four-year-tenure, while 25 percent of them will be subsequently inducted for regular service. The government had on 16 June increased the upper age limit for recruitment under the scheme to 23 years from 21 for the year 2022, and subsequently announced a slew of placatory steps, such as a preference for Agniveers in central paramilitary forces and defence public sector undertakings upon their retirement. Many BJP-ruled states also declared the ‘Agniveers’ — as the soldiers inducted under the Agnipath scheme will be known — will be accorded priority in induction into state police forces. The armed forces have, however, made it clear those who had indulged in violent protests and arson against the new recruitment scheme will not be inducted. Read all the Latest News , Trending News , Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.