NEW DELHI, Broadcasting News Corporation : Amid escalating violent protests against the radical new Agnipath scheme to recruit soldiers only for four years, the government late on Thursday night announced the upper age limit for candidates will now be increased to 23 from 21 as a one-time waiver. The government also stressed the intake in the armed forces in the coming years will be around triple the current recruitment, with several avenues also being opened for those being demobilised after the four-year tenures. “Consequent to the commencement of the Agnipath scheme, the entry age for all new recruits in the armed forces was fixed 17.5 to 21 years of age,” the defence ministry said. The government decided a one-time waiver shall be granted for the proposed recruitment cycle for 2022, under which 46,000 Agniveers will be recruited, because it had not been possible to undertake recruitment rallies for the last two years “Accordingly, the upper age limit for the recruitment process for Agnipath scheme for 2022 is increased to 23 years,” the MoD said.
The slashing of intake this year to just 46,000 in the Army, IAF and Navy with an age restriction of 17.5 to 21 years, and that too for four-year tenures with no pensionary and ex-servicemen benefits, has led to protests in states like UP, Bihar, Haryana, Rajasthan, Punjab and Uttarakhand that traditionally contribute in large numbers to the 14-lakh strong armed forces. News collected from THE TIMES OF INDIA.