Modi govt set to revise unpopular military scheme

India’s short-term military service scheme said to have cost BJP crucial votes in the election

- Rohini Mohan

BENGALURU - A military short term service scheme that is seen to have cost Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) crucial votes in the just concluded general election is set to be revised.

Just days into its third term in government, the BJP and its coalition allies have formed a panel of secretaries from at least 10 ministries to review the controversial Agnipath scheme, which was one of its hallmark policies in the previous term.

The Agnipath scheme was introduced in 2022 after military recruitment ground to a halt for two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Its purpose was to recruit soldiers, airmen and sailors for the armed forces for a period of four years, after which up to 25 per cent of them were to be absorbed on a permanent basis if they chose to apply.

This scheme is now the only way for Indians to join the military at entry level.

As the government's key political allies have demanded a revision, the panel might increase the training period and absorb more recruits after four years, but many critics want the length of service to be extended as well.

Army aspirant Ajay Kumar, 21, from Begusarai in the northern Indian state of Bihar, is "happy the government has come around", but said the move to revise the scheme has come too late for him.

He took the Agnipath exam twice in 2023, but failed the physical test on his first attempt, and the interview the second time. Most painfully for him, he became ineligible to reapply when he turned 21 in 2024, as he was past the cut-off age for the scheme.

Agniveers or fire warriors, as the Agnipath soldiers are called are paid less salary than permanently commissioned soldiers, have a different uniform, and instead of a monthly pension after retirement, get a lump sum payment of 1.1 million rupees (S$17,820).