Govt announces slew of post-retirement employment possibilities for 'Agniveers'

New Delhi: The Centre on Wednesday announced a raft of post-retirement employment possibilities for 'Agniveer' like priority in recruitment to the central armed police forces (CAPF) and Assam rifles but that failed to assuage the concerns of the opposition Congress which warned the "transformative" 'Agnipath' scheme will reduce the operational effectiveness of the armed forces.

The government had unveiled the scheme on Tuesday that will overhaul the decades-old selection process to bring in fitter and younger troops to tackle future security challenges facing the nation.

Around 46,000 soldiers will be recruited this year between the ages of 17 and a half years and 21 years into the Army, Navy and the Air Force.

Home Minister Amit Shah's office on Wednesday tweeted 'Agnipath' is a visionary and welcome decision by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a bright future of the country's youth.

"In this context, today the Ministry of Home Affairs has decided to give priority to Agniveers who have completed four years under this scheme in the recruitment of CAPFs and Assam Rifles," the HMO India tweeted.

A belligerent Congress, however, attacked the government, with party leader Rahul Gandhi warning 'Agnipath' will reduce the operational effectiveness of the armed forces whose dignity and valour must not be compromised.

"When India faces threats on two fronts, the uncalled for Agnipath scheme reduces the operational effectiveness of our armed forces. The BJP government must stop compromising the dignity, traditions, valour and discipline of our forces," Rahul Gandhi said on Twitter.

Mindful of the concerns over the future career prospects of Agniveers', the Ministry of Education (MoE) has decided to launch a special three-year skill-based bachelor degree programme for them.

The Army, Navy and Air Force will sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with IGNOU for implementation of the scheme.

"The degree programme will recognise in-service training received by Agniveers as credits for graduation and will open up opportunities for them to pursue civilian careers of their choice. Under the programme, 50 per cent of the credits required for a graduate degree will come from skill training -- both technical and non-technical, received by the Agniveers," the MoE official said.

The remaining 50 per cent credits will come from a basket of courses that cover a wide variety of subjects like languages, Economics, History, Political Science, Public Administration, Sociology, Mathematics, Education, Commerce, Tourism, Vocational Studies, Agriculture, 'Jyotish' and ability enhancement courses on Environmental Studies and English Communication Skills.

The programme is aligned with the norms of University Grants Commission (UGC), the National Credit Framework and National Skill Qualification Framework (NSQF) as mandated under the new National Education Policy (NEP). The framework of the programme has been duly recognised by the regulatory bodies — All India Council for Technical Education, National Council for Vocational Education and Training and UGC.

"It also has provisions for multiple exit points —undergraduate certificate on successful completion of first year courses, undergraduate diploma on successful completion of first and second year courses and degree on completion of all the courses in three-year timeframe," the official said.

The degree will be awarded by IGNOU as per UGC nomenclature — BA, BCom — and will be recognised both in India and abroad for employment and education, he said.

"The Indian Army will recruit 25,000 'Agniveers' in the next 180 days and the process for recruitment of the remaining 15,000 will begin a month after that," Vice Chief of Army Staff Lt General B S Raju told.