The controversy surrounding the Agnipath scheme intensified on Thursday following criticism from former navy chief Admiral KB Singh, who expressed concern that the recruitment model could potentially “degrade the combat effectiveness” of the military.
Singh’s remarks carry weight due to his involvement in early discussions on the Agnipath proposal. He retired from his position in November 2021, months before the government announced the scheme in June 2022.
The government maintains that the Agnipath scheme aims to rejuvenate the armed forces by introducing a transformational shift towards a younger, tech-savvy force. However, critics argue that its primary objective is to reduce pension bills.
Soldiers recruited through the legacy system typically serve in the armed forces for approximately 20 years, retiring in their late 30s with pension and other entitlements. In contrast, Agniveers, released after four years, do not receive benefits like pensions, medical care, and access to canteen facilities that ex-servicemen are entitled to. They receive non-contributory insurance cover worth Rs 48 lakh for the duration of their service in the Indian Army.
“Agree Sir. The only motivation driving the Agnipath is reducing the pension bill. The fact that this scheme will degrade combat effectiveness is known to all who understand national security,” Singh wrote on X, in response to a post by another former navy chief, Admiral Arun Prakash.
In a tweet earlier this week, Prakash said that the Agnipath scheme had imposed huge operational handicaps on combat units, which are forced to accept barely trained recruits, fit only for sentry duties.
“Economics take a back seat to national security. The sole litmus test for ANY change or reform in the military must be: “does it enhance or degrade combat effectiveness,” Prakash wrote on X while sharing an edit piece he wrote in The Indian Express.
Maj Gen (Retd) Kuldip Sindhu, who seemed to agree with him, said it reminded him of paraphrased speeches of two eminent US Senators: “If we can’t afford to suitably equip and pay our military, DON’T send them to war” & “Don’t tell me we haven’t the money to treat our men or provide them a dignified life when they return home battered, bruised & maimed”!”
Colonel Rohit Chaudhary (retd), who heads the Congress’ ex-servicemen wing, said the Agniveer scheme was discriminatory.
“We should not have two kinds of soldiers and martyrs in this country. This scheme discriminates against soldiers in service as well as in martyrdom,” he said at a press conference.
General Manoj Mukund Naravane (retd) had earlier created a stir with his claim that the Agnipath scheme caught the army by surprise, and was a bolt out of the blue for the air force and the navy. Naravane’s take on the scheme figured in the excerpts of his yet-to-be released autobiography “Four Stars of Destiny”.
