‘Agniveers’ to get preference in CAPF jobs, post 4 years of service: Union Minister Amit Shah
Paving way for the future of ‘Agniveers’ after their four-year service in the armed forces, Union Home Minister Amit Shah has announced that the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) will give priority to them in getting recruitment to Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) and Assam Rifles.
“The Agnipath scheme is a visionary step by PM Narendra Modi for the bright future of the youth of the country. In this context, the Home Ministry has decided that such Agniveers who have completed four years of service under the scheme, will get preference in recruitment in the CAPFs and the Assam Rifles,” the Office of the Home Minister of India mentioned in a tweet.
Detailed planning work has been started in the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) following the decision. “The youth trained by ‘Agnipath Yojana’ will be able to contribute to the service and security of the country even further. Detailed planning work has started on this decision,” the Office of the Home Minister further added.
The Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) include forces such as Assam Rifles (AR), Border Security Force (BSF), Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), National Security Guard (NSG) and Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB).
Unveiling the ‘Agnipath’ scheme, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday said that upon the completion of four years of Agniveers, many central ministries and state governments including Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) & corporations will give priority to them in job opportunities.”
In the coming days, you will get the announcement by various state governments and ministries regarding the priority in job opportunities for Agniveers, Rajnath Singh said.
It is a transformative initiative that would provide a youthful profile to the armed forces. Under the Agnipath scheme, Indian youngsters will be provided an opportunity to serve in the armed forces as Agniveer,” the Union Minister added.
Agniveer Skill Certificate
It is important to note that, at the end of the 4-year tenure, a detailed ‘Skill-Set Certificate’ will be provided to the Agniveers which will showcase the comprehensive skills and level of competency acquired by them during their engagement period.
Addressing the press conference, Indian Air Force (IAF) chief Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari mentioned that under the National Education Policy (NEP), credit points will be given to Agniveers for all the formal training given to them for 4 years.
With these credits points, an Agniveer can pursue higher studies along with concurrently achieving all the other aims, the Air Chief asserted.
Importantly, during 4 years, 30 percent of their salary will be set aside under a ‘Seva Nidhi’ program, and the government will contribute an equal amount every month along with providing accrued interest to Agniveers.
At the end of the four years, Agniveer will be accorded Rs 11.71 lakh as a lump sum amount, which will be tax-free. Additionally, they will also get a Rs 48 lakh life insurance cover for the four years.
Under the Agnipath scheme, aspirants between the age group of 17.5 years and 21 years will be eligible to apply and the recruitment standards will remain the same; with recruitment, rallies to be organized twice a year. It is pertinent to note that 46,000 Agniveers are likely to be recruited under the first phase of recruitment.
Once selected, the aspirants will go through training for six months and then they will be deployed for three and a half years. During this period, they will be provided an attractive monthly package of Rs 30,000 per month with up-gradation up to Rs 40,000 per month in the 4th year.