New Delhi: Defense Minister Rajnath Singh said on Tuesday asked state governments and private sector players to provide opportunities to Agniveers and said it was the responsibility of the "system" to support those who "dedicate their life in the service of the nation.
Singh was virtually addressing the MoU Exchange Ceremony ‘Outreach Programme with Ministry of Education (MoE) and Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MoSDE’) in New Delhi.
During the event, Ministry of Defence (MoD), Ministry of Education (MoE), Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MoSDE) and all three Services exchanged MoUs and signed agreements with various stakeholders to facilitate continued education of Agniveers while serving in the Armed Forces and award of appropriate skill certificates in accordance with their experience.
Under these MoUs with National Institute of Open School (NIOS) and Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), suitable 12th Class certificates and Bachelor’s degree will be awarded to the Agniveers respectively.
Complimenting the Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Railways, state governments and the private sector for extending support to Agniveers in various services, the defense minister called upon the rest of the Ministries, State Governments and the corporate sector to come forward with more enthusiasm and provide new opportunities to the Agniveers as far as possible.
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He termed it as the "responsibility of the system to provide newer opportunities to the Agniveers who dedicate their life to the service of the nation". "Agnipath scheme is a game-changer for the armed forces and is going to act as a force-multiplier in making the Indian military one of the best in the world with youthful, high-tech and ultra-modern outlook," the Defense Minister said.
As reported earlier, under the Agnipath scheme, youth will be inducted into the Armed Forces initially for four years. Once the four-year service is over all of them will leave and a re-induction process will be held to take in 25 percent from them to serve as permanent cadre of the forces.
The scheme announced in June 2022 created controversy regarding the future of the youth leaving the armed forces after their four-year service. Following it, the government not only announced the package but also announced reservation for the Agniveers in jobs.
There will be 10 percent reservation for the Agniveers if they join the Indian Coast Guards, Central Armed Police Forces, Defence Public Centre Undertakings and defence civilian posts. There will be a financial package of around `11.71 lakh to be given to each of the recruits at the end of the four-year tenure from the ‘Seva Nidhi Package’, which will provide financial independence to the youths.
The Job Roles and skillset of Agniveers, while being trained and deployed with the Armed Forces, have been mapped with National Occupational Standards (NOS), in coordination with National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) and Sector Skill Councils (SSCs). Based on these qualifications, market-ready and industry-accepted, ‘Kaushal Praman Patra’ will be issued to Agniveers at the time of their exit from the Armed Forces.
To seamlessly facilitate the process, various departments of MoSDE have extensively collaborated in the Armed Forces and awarded Dual Category recognition as the Awarding Body (AB) and Assessment Agency (AA) by the National Council of Vocational Education and Training (NCVET). In addition, Directorate General of Training (DGT) under MoSDE would also facilitate award of National Trade Certificate (NTC) to Agniveers.
Rajnath Singh stated that with the signing of these MoUs, Agniveers will be able to complete their education in a timely manner and develop additional qualities and skills. "When Agniveers return to society after being equipped with all these qualities, they will contribute to nation-building," he said.
The Defense Minister added that helping ‘Agniveers’ would be a win-win situation for all as they will not only become 'Surakshaveers' for the nation by rendering their services in the Armed Forces, but also become 'Samriddhiveers' by contributing to the nation's prosperity.
