Amid stir, MHA announces 10% reservation for Agniveers in CAPF, Assam Rifles

New Delhi: The Home Ministry Saturday announced to reserve 10 per cent vacancies for recruitment in the Central Armed Police Forces and Assam Rifles for Agniveers, the Home Minister’s Office said. The announcement comes amid widespread protests against the recently unveiled ‘Agnipath’ scheme for recruitment of soldiers in the armed forces on a short-term contractual basis. The soldiers recruited under this scheme will be called ‘Agniveers’. **Read: Agnipath protests Day 3: Children stranded in a school bus, ambulance attacked, and more** “The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) decides to reserve 10% vacancies for recruitment in CAPFs and Assam Rifles for Agniveers,” the Home Minister’s Office said in a tweet.

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**Also read: GhoseSpot | The game of protests: Time for Narendra Modi and his core team to do some serious ‘chintan’** **Agnipath scheme: A path-breaking, futuristic initiative that should be welcomed** **Agnipath scheme: Checkmate the false narrative as it’s a game-changer for India and the defence forces** **Agnipath scheme has its reasons, but government should have initiated it as a pilot project** **How's the josh? Why Centre's new Agnipath recruitment programme for soldiers is considered revolutionary** **Education ministry to recognise in-service training received by 'Agniveers' as credits for graduation**

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The MHA also announced age relaxation for ‘Agniveers’ for recruitment in the CAPFs and Assam Rifles. In its second tweet, the Home Minister’s Office said, “The MHA also decides to give 3 years age relaxation beyond the prescribed upper age limit to Agniveers for recruitment in CAPFs & Assam Rifles. Further, for the first batch of Agniveer, the age relaxation will be for 5 years beyond the prescribed upper age limit.” The Ministry also announced a 3-year age relaxation above the upper age limit for the recruitment of ‘Agniveers’ in the two forces. The first batch of ‘Agniveers’ will get an age relaxation of five years beyond the upper age limit, the ministry tweeted on Saturday. While many have lauded the government for its recruitment model in which the youth aged 17-and-a-half years to 21 will be recruited for a period of four years on a contractual basis, there are others who see flaws in this programme. For many who are against the Agnipath scheme, their main grouse is that only up to 25 per cent of the Agniveers, the soldiers recruited through this model, will be given regular commission after the four-year contract, leaving 75 per cent of those recruited without a job and without proper educational qualifications. Also read: Agnipath scheme has its reasons, but government should have initiated it as a pilot project However, the Centre has clarified that will not be the case, as the  retiring Agniveers  will be given preference in government jobs and will be absorbed into the private sector. Additionally, the government also stated that a special three-year skill based bachelor degree programme has been launched. A number of opposition political parties and a significant number of military experts have also slammed the scheme, saying it will adversely impact the functioning of the armed forces. The new scheme for the recruitment of soldiers in Indian Army, Indian Navy and Indian Air Force was projected by the government as a major overhaul of the decades-old selection process to enhance the youthful profile of the three services. After the scheme was rolled out, the Army said it would ensure an enhanced youthful profile of the force and result in a “reduction in the average age from 32 to 26 years over a period of time”. The three service chiefs have also strongly backed the scheme and said it was unveiled after over two years of deliberations. With inputs from agencies Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News , India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.