Anand Mahindra Tweets Announcing Job Offer For Agniveers 

Major Industrialist and Chairman of Mahindra Group, Anand Mahindra, has tweeted about an offer to the candidates after service. He said that the discipline and skills of Agniveers (those serving under the Agnipath Scheme) would make them "eminently employable".

“Saddened by the violence around the #Agnipath program. When the scheme was mooted last year I stated- & I repeat-the discipline & skills Agniveers gain will make them eminently employable. The Mahindra Group welcomes the opportunity to recruit such trained, capable young people,” tweeted Anand Mahindra on June 20, 2022.

Agnipath is a newly launched recruitment scheme by Central Government. This scheme is said to be a contractual basis recruitment scheme to hire soldiers for a period of four years.

Candidates will be given all the benefits as regular soldiers but their service tenure would be of four years. Also, 25 per cent of these Agniveers will be selected as permanent employees. Benefits like income tax exemptions and retirement bonuses will be provided to the candidate after the cessation of their service. These soldiers will also be offered a contributory severance package besides non-contributory death and disability compensation. They will not be eligible for a pension or gratuity.

The aspiring candidates came to the roads protesting against the scheme as the defence ministry announced that the Agnipath scheme would be the only way to recruit soldiers, sailors, and airmen from now. The age limit for eligibility for this scheme will be from 17.5 to 23 years. 

The salary package of Agniveers is decided to be kept between INR 4.76 lakh in the first year to INR 6.92 lakh by the fourth year. The Ministry of Education, after the launch of this scheme, announced to offer bachelor’s degree programme (three years) to enlistees. This step of the Education Ministery will make ‘Agniveers’ employable once out of service. 

Seeing the country suffering from the protest, the Ministry of Home Affairs announced its decision to reserve 10 per cent of vacancies in the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) and the Assam Rifles to Agniveers. The Defence Minister also approved a proposal to earmark 10 per cent of vacancies in Coast Guard, defence civilian jobs and in the defence Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) for Agniveers if they meet the eligibility criteria. 

Anand Mahindra used his Twitter handle to say that his business group would love to have the opportunity to recruit people trained under the scheme. Replying to a user about the positions on which Mahindra will hire Agniveers, he said, "Large potential for employment of Agniveers in the Corporate Sector. With leadership, teamwork and physical training, Agniveers provide market-ready professional solutions to industry, covering the full spectrum from operations to administration and supply chain management."

Various critics have argued that the scheme is launched just to reduce the expenses done on the forces and will reduce the operational efficiency and fighting capability of the forces. Veterans have argued that the four-year term may make soldiers risk-averse and protesters have cited uncertainty on what they would do after the tenure ends.

Despite the protests, the centre has ruled out any plan to roll back the scheme.