The Agnipath scheme is a revolutionary step for recruiting youth who want to serve the armed forces for a tenure of 4 years.
The GOI plans to recruit 46000 Agni veers annually between the ages of 17.5 to 21 years to serve the Armed forces.
All recruitments of non-officers will be through the Agnipath scheme & we will keep 25% of them for the next 15 years.
Through the scheme, the Government wishes to reduce the average soldier age from 32 to 24-26 & slash the ballooning salary & pension bills.
After 4 years, the government will demobilize 35000 of the recruited 46000 Agni veers with skill certificates & a seva nidhi package of Rs 11.71 lakhs.
They will prefer these discharged soldiers for jobs in government departments because of their service in the armed forces.
By allowing youth to serve the armed forces & earn the skills it empowers them for jobs in private & PSU’s.
Many youngsters cannot get selected in the defense forces because of heightened competition & get demoralized.
Through Agnipath they can serve the motherland & once disbanded can earn the package & certificate for future prospects.
Every year, the army conducts recruitment drives where thousands take part, but only a few succeed because of limited seats. This is because each year only limited personnel retire, leaving very few vacancies for the new applicants .
The armed forces are modernizing with the induction of high-tech weapons because they are crucial for winning the war. The government exhausts half its defense budget in giving salaries & pensions because over 14 lakhs personnel serve the armed forces.
The Agnipath scheme fallout of current war
The government wants to induct tech savvy youth because the Ukraine Russia war has highlighted the importance of advanced weapons.
We will fight future wars with technology because modern weapons have neutralized large armies like Russia.
The Russian debacle in the ongoing war has underlined the importance of high-tech weapons because they are crucial for winning the war.
Hostile neighbors China & Pakistan surround us & we should prepare for a two front war because they can attack us jointly.
This demands massive investment in technology because China is way ahead of us in weapons.
By reducing manpower costs, the government plans to buy hi tech weapons because we can manufacture them through technology transfer.
DRDO & OFB are competent in indigenous production because, after technology transfer, we can manufacture them locally.
The discharged Agni veers are better positioned for corporate jobs because forces train them to lead a disciplined life.
Admin jobs prefer personnel from armed forces because forces train them professionally.
These Agni veers can improve their job prospects by doing a professional course because they already have a skill certificate from the Army.
Security companies can employ these discharged personnel because their army background renders them suitable for the job.
The American Stinger & Javelin missiles have proved to be a nightmare for the Russians, causing heavy causalities because they are suitable for modern warfare.
Technology will win future wars because it is crucial for building deterrence.
Drones & UAV’s for tactical edge
The destruction of Russian hardware proves the superiority of the US weapons who manufacture better armaments through R & D.
To safeguard the nation’s security, we should equip the forces with advanced weapons because we have an aggressive neighborhood.
India cannot be a soft state threatened by China because safeguarding national security through better weapons is vital.
India is the largest arms importer in the world because of lack of technology. The government initialized the Ordinance Factory Board (OFB) for indigenously developing weapons for the armed forces.
The Agnipath scheme will modernize defense forces because, by curtailing costs, we can allocate funds for modernization.
For using these armaments, we require competent personnel because drones win modern wars & not the foot soldier.
Drones & UAV’s win battles, attacking enemy artillery with precision guided cameras, reducing the need for large infantry.
The GOI has started MTech in defense technology because it fosters research in modern armaments.
India’s biggest expense is arms procurement because we lack research on modern weapons development.
HEIs should create a research infrastructure because our competent youth can produce weapons at competitive prices.
The government has announced a drone policy and some companies are manufacturing them for various purposes. We should decentralize drone research so that India develops technology which we can exploit commercially.
