Agnipath Scheme Age Limit: Govt increases upper age limit of Agniveers to 23 years, recruitment to begin soon

Agnipath Scheme Army Age Limit: Agnipath Scheme was recently launched by the Government of India in an effort to bring a change in the recruitment process of the Indian Armed Forces. As Agnipath Scheme faces backlash with protests taking place all over the country, the Government of India has decided to increase the upper age limit of Agniveers to 23 years. Earlier, it was between 17 to 21 years.

The increase in the upper age limit of Agniveers, who will be recruited under Agnipath Scheme, was announced by the Ministry of Defence who said that the one-time waiver in the upper age limit has been granted as no recruitments have taken place in the last two years. As per the experts, the decision to increase the upper age limit of Agniveers has also come at the backdrop of Agnipath-related protests that have been taking place in several parts of the country.

The Government has decided that a one-time waiver shall be granted for the proposed recruitment cycle for 2022.

​Accordingly, the upper age limit for the recruitment process for Agnipath scheme for 2022 is increased to 23 years.

— PIB India (@PIB_India) June 16, 2022

Agnipath Acheme Age Limit: Upper Age limit increased to 23 years

As per the official statement, “The Government of India has decided that a one-time waiver shall be granted for the proposed recruitment cycle of 2022. Accordingly, the upper age limit for the recruitment process for Agnipath Scheme for 2022 is increased to 23 years.”

Agnipath Scheme: Why is Agnipath Scheme protested?

The violent protests all over the country are taking place over the ‘Agnipath Scheme’ with thousands of youth hitting the streets demanding a rollback of the of ‘contractualisation’ of jobs in the Indian Army.

The protests against Agnipath Scheme turned violent in Bihar with hundreds of aspirants disrupting rail and road traffic while the police fired tears and gas shells to disperse them. As per the protestors, under the Agnipath Scheme, only up to 25 percent of the recruits or Agniveers could get the regular commission in the services and the rest will be jobless thereafter.

Agnipath Scheme 2022

Agnipath Scheme which was announced by the Government of India for the recruitment to the Armed Forces aims at adding 46,000 soldiers to the Indian Army, Indian Air Force, and Indian Navy. At the launch of the Agnipath Scheme, the entry age for all the recruits or Agniveers was fixed as 17.5 to 21 years. However, this one time the waiver to extend the upper age limit of Agniveers till 23 years has been announced.

Agnipath Scheme Criticism

Ever since the launch of the Agnipath Scheme, the criticism has completed divided the various sections of the population.

While some have appreciated the Agnipath Scheme, others have questioned the future of Agniveers after the set tenure of four years ends. In many places such as Bihar, Rajasthan, Gurugram, etc. massive protests have also erupted as people objected to the limited term of employment via the Agnipath Recruitment Scheme.

For more details on Agnipath Scheme 2022- Click Here