Agneepath plan came out suddenly," according to former Army Chief MM Naravane

"Agneepath plan came out suddenly," according to former Army Chief MM Naravane

Agneepath plan came out suddenly," according to former Army Chief MM Naravane

In his speech, former Army Chief General MM Naravane discussed India's "Agneepath" military recruiting program, which aims to lower the age demography of the armed services by inducting people for a four-year period between 17.5 and 21. Hiring was permitted.

The Indian military has been caught off guard by the 'Agneepath' recruiting campaign, according to former Army Chief General MM Naravane.

PTI said that General Naravane has provided an account of the origins of the 'Agneepath' recruiting plan, which is regarded as India's most extreme military recruitment strategy, in his book 'Four Stars of Destiny'.

Early in 2020, upon his appointment as Army Chief, General MM Naravane met with the Prime Minister to discuss the 'Tour of Duty' plan. The plan's initial focus was on short-term soldier tenure and was intended for the Army. Later, it was broadened in its use. A few months later, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) unveiled a more comprehensive proposal that included services for all three.

A number of versions of the 'Tour of Duty' concept were discussed during the term of General MM Naravane, the 28th Army Chief, who served from December 31, 2019, until April 30, 2022.

At first, the Army believed that 25% of the recruited people should be dismissed and 75% of them may be kept on.

The government's Agneepath Recruitment Scheme, which aims to hire people temporarily in order to lower the age distribution of the three services, was introduced in June 2022. Those between the ages of 17.5 and 21 may join in the program for a period of four years, with the opportunity to keep 25% of them for an extra fifteen years.

In "Four Stars of Destiny," what does Naravane say?

As to Naravane's book released by Penguin Random House India, recruits in their first year were paid a beginning wage of only ₹20,000 (totaling all components), which he deemed "unacceptable".

Naravane said, "This was not appropriate." We were discussing a professional soldier who was supposed to give his life in defense of the nation. Surely a soldier and a daily wage worker are not the same thing?

He emphasized, "It was later increased to ₹30,000 per month according to our very strong recommendations."

General Naravane said that while the Army was "surprised by the sudden change of events, for the Navy as well as Air Force, it came like a bolt from the blue" when the strategy was reformulated.

"When I initially informed the Prime Minister about the Tour of Duty program, it resembled a military short-service option, much like the already popular Short Service Commission program for officers."

A restricted number of troops will be registered and freed after their "tour," with the option to enlist again if deemed suitable, in the same way as only a small number of SSC officers are accepted each year. There will also be a re-enlistment option. He is a writer.

The next few months were turbulent, according to Naravane, with the COVID-19 epidemic taking center stage and the Galwan war in eastern Ladakh coming in second.

But same idea was being considered by the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), but with a much wider application. He says, "In the PMO formulation, all three services would be covered, and the entire intake for the year should be based on short-service."

Now that the proposal is a tri-services matter, even if the Army continues to be the leading service, it is incumbent upon CDS General Bipin Rawat to forward it.'' "This turn of events surprised us in the Army, but it came as a sudden shock to the Navy and Air Force," he said.

Naravane says he was taken aback by these sudden changes as well and that it took him some time to convey to other commanders that his original concept was unique to the Army.

And it took them a while to get used to the reality that they were an integral component of the new plan, which the PMO had named the 'Agneepath' (Walk of Fire) scheme and which encompassed airmen, sailors, and soldiers recruited under the program. Acknowledgment as 'Agniveer' (flame fighter)" was written by him.

In the early discussions regarding "Agneepath," Naravane said that keeping the people involved should be the main priority. The Army believed that a strategy of 75% detention and 25% release was appropriate.

On the other hand, the Department of Military Affairs recommended a 50/50 split over a five-year period.\

According to Naravane, who was cited by PTI, the CDS presented this plan in November 2020 to a complete panel that included "the Prime Minister, Home, Defense as well as Finance ministers, NSA, service chiefs, PM's PS as well as secretaries of relevant departments."

In actuality, this is the time when the terms "Agneepath" and "Agneiveer" were first used. "25,000 soldiers is coming back to civilian society after each 'tour,' anticipating a yearly recruitment of 50,000 soldiers," They said.

Since one of the goals of the plan was to return disciplined laborers who would be able to contribute much more in the workplace to society, it was considered that this achieved nothing to bring about any meaningful change in the population. the morals and philosophy they would have followed while serving."

According to Naravane, the number was subsequently changed, with the decision made to keep just 25% and release 75%. The strategy was reevaluated in response to this change, and the topic of retention procedures was the next item on the agenda.

It was anticipated that it would function similarly to the SSC plan, with retention or release occurring after a five-year contract. According to him, the PMO believed that a two-stage retention method should be implemented, with 50% of the retention coming after three years and 25% coming after five, for a total of just 25% retention.

Next month, "Four Stars of Destiny" will be launched.

It was not useful. Any soldier will only be useful for around two years since basic training, deployment, and the selection procedure for soldiers to be released will all take six to eight months.

Naravane pointed out that the conversations went on for a while, emphasizing a particular difficulty the Air Force was facing. They felt that the three years that were allocated was not enough to sufficiently educate people in the technical abilities needed for jobs like regular maintenance and repairs on complex platforms like airplanes.

After four years of service, a step-up retention was eventually decided upon as a medium ground, he claims.

Due to the fact that 75% of recruits under the new model would not get a job guarantee, demonstrators demanding the removal of the 'Agneepath' program caused tumultuous demonstrations, including acts of violence, in many parts of India once it was introduced.

On Thursday, demonstrations against the new military recruiting system were observed, trains were set on fire, and railroad lines were blocked. However, after a few weeks, these demonstrations progressively decreased.

"The needless Agneepath plan lowers the operational efficacy of our military forces while India confronts challenges on two fronts. Rahul Gandhi wrote, "BJP government should stop compromising our forces' discipline, valor, dignity, as well as traditions."

Protests against the railway job recruiting procedure took place in January of this year in Bihar and the adjacent state of Uttar Pradesh, highlighting the ongoing issue of unemployment in India.