Rajnath Singh on Agnipath scheme: will review if any shortcomings emerge

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday said that the government will keep reviewing the Agnipath military recruitment scheme annually and if any shortcomings and challenges emerge, then it will address them appropriately.

The defence minister said the scheme was finalised after around two years of extensive deliberations among key stakeholders and described the new model as "transformative".

The scheme, announced on June 14, seeks to recruit youths between the age bracket of 17-and-half years to 21 for only four years with a provision to retain 25 per cent of them for 15 more years. For 2022, the upper age limit has been extended to 23 years.

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Several parts of India witnessed violent protests against the scheme with the agitators demanding its rollback as the new model does not provide a job guarantee to 75 per cent of the recruits.