[Agnipath Scheme] Agniveers Will Develop Sense Of Pride After Serving Nation, Have Financial Stability After Exiting Armed Forces: Centre To Delhi HC

Seeking dismissal of the petitions challenging its Agnipath recruitment scheme, the Centre has informed Delhi High Court that defending India's territory, which faces external and internal threats, requires an agile, youthful and technologically sound armed forces."The character of future wars/military engagement, in the opinion of military experts, is likely to be ambiguous, uncertain, short, swift, lethal, intense, precise, non-linear, unrestricted, unpredictable and hybrid. These challenges would be exacerbated by the inherent nature of terrain along our borders which ranges from the Rann swampy marshes, jungles, deserts, riverine, hills, high altitude, mountains and glaciated regions, as well as isolated island territories. Defending such territory from external and internal threats requires an agile, youthful and technologically adept Armed Forces," the government told the court in a written reply.The Centre has told the court that on analysis of the existing structure of the below 'officer' rank divisions of the armed forces, it was found that the average age of the Indian Armed Forces personnel was 32 years. This was in stark contrast with the global position of armies which showed that the average age of Armed Forces across the world was 26 years, according to the government"It was witnessed that this average was on a higher side due to the fact that recruit Jawan, sailor or airman who gets enrolled in the Armed Forces at approximately 17 ½ years of age was serving a minimum period ranging between 15 to 20 years [ depending on whether he is in Indian Army ( 17 years), Indian Navy (15 years) or Indian Air Force (20 Years)]. This retention policy for jawan, sailor or airman which ranged between 15 to 20 years was in a way a reason for increase in the average age of the armed forces," the government has said.The Centre has further said the Agnipath scheme has been initiated to have "have a blend of young jawans, sailors or airmen between the age of 18-25 years as Agniveers, supervised by experienced regular cadre personnel (below officer rank selected from experienced agniveers) having the age of 26 yrs. (Sepoy) to 52 yrs (Subedar), working under the Commanding Officers [CO's] within the age bracket of 37 to 40 years."The Centre has also submitted that the men and women serving in the armed forces need to be physically fit, mentally alert and should possess high risk-taking abilities. Agnipath scheme was promulgated to re-structure the 'intake & retention' processes in the three Services, the government has said."With new military technologies emerging at a rapid pace, the time-tested conventional formations of the armed forces were losing their edge. This made structural changes in the overall organisation of the Indian armed forces a matter of necessity," the Centre has argued before the court. The response has been filed in a batch of pleas challenging its Agnipath Scheme and seeking resumption and enrolment as per previous recruitment scheme in defence services."The Nation's land and maritime borders face both traditional and nontraditional threats. Concurrently, our internal threats manifest in different dimensions including an on-going proxy war on the western front starting from the region of J&K. On the eastern front the organizations inimical to the nation's interest TAR are ambushing insurgencies. The Left-Wing Extremism in addition needs a strict vigil as it keeps on resurrecting intermittently," the affidavit reads.The Centre has said further that the objective of the scheme is to have a young combat force which is physically and mentally capable of taking the new challenges anticipated by experts.Based on detailed deliberations over an extended period of time with all stakeholders, the Centre said, a model comprising a well experienced permanent cadre with niche operational and technical skills "supported by a youthful and a well-equipped support cadre comprising dynamic rank and file" was envisaged."The process to alter the 'intake & retention' policy in the three forces has a genesis in various studies and deliberations which have been conducted in the past and have been ongoing since a very long time," the government has told the court.On the aspect of 4 years duration of Agniveer recruits service, the Centre has said that the said duration of training has been optimised to meet the organisational requirement.Stating that the training will incorporate modern training methods and use of technology and simulators, the Centre has said:"Thereafter, the concept of on job training (OJT) on reaching units/ places of deployment will ensure continuity in training apart from field exercises and training camps at formation level. In order to optimally utilise the services of Agniveers and ensure availability for maximum duration, specialised training will be undertaken only after enrolment in the regular cadre."The government has also said that adequate incentive has been provided to existing...

[Agnipath Scheme] Agniveers Will Develop Sense Of Pride After Serving Nation, Have Financial Stability After Exiting Armed Forces: Centre To Delhi HC

Nupur Thapliyal

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