Rajnath Singh approves proposal to reserve 10 pc vacancies in Defence Ministry for Agniveers

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday approved a proposal to reserve 10 per cent of the job vacancies in the Ministry of Defence for 'Agniveers' meeting requisite eligibility criteria.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday approved a proposal to reserve 10 per cent of the job vacancies in the Ministry of Defence for 'Agniveers' meeting requisite eligibility criteria. According to the Office of the Defence Minister, the reservation will be implemented in the Indian Coast Guard and defence civilian posts, and all the 16 Defence Public Sector Undertakings.

The announcement of the Ministry comes amid the protests that broke out following the launch of the Agnipath Scheme by the Centre which is a new recruitment procedure for the Defence Forces. Notably, the protests have turned violent in many parts of the country. "Raksha Mantri @rajnathsingh has approved a proposal to reserve 10 per cent of the job vacancies in Ministry of Defence for 'Agniveers' meeting requisite eligibility criteria. The 10 per cent reservation will be implemented in the Indian Coast Guard and defence civilian posts, and all the 16 Defence Public Sector Undertakings. This reservation would be in addition to existing reservation for ex-servicemen," the Office tweeted.

The Office of the Defence Minister further informed that necessary amendments to relevant recruitment rules will be undertaken to implement these provisions. "Defence Public Sector Undertakings will be advised to make similar amendments to their respective recruitment rules. Necessary age relaxation provision will also be made," the Office tweeted.

Earlier today, the Ministry of Home Affairs announced that 'Agniveers' will be absorbed into the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) and Assam Rifles at the end of their four-year term in the army. MHA also announced three years of age relaxation, beyond the upper age limit to Agniveers for recruitment in CAPFs and Assam Rifles.

For the first batch of Agniveers, age relaxation will be for 5 years beyond the upper age limit. The Union Cabinet on June 14 approved a recruitment scheme for Indian youth to serve in the three services of the Armed Forces called Agnipath and the youth selected under this scheme will be known as Agniveers.

According to the latest announcement by the Ministry, the upper age limit for the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) - inclusive of Border Security Force (BSF), Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), National Security Guard (NSG) and Special Protection Group (SPG) - will stand at 26 years. Meanwhile, the first batch of Agniveers will avail a further relaxation of 5 years beyond the upper age limit of 23, taking it to 28 years. (ANI)

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