It is the conditioning of the Agniveer that merits attention

The government’s move to introduce a reform in defence policy, by changing the way young men and women are recruited to the Indian armed forces was a surprise. The Agnipath scheme, as it is known, was announced on June 14, 2022, and is in force with the initial batch of Agniveers, as these young men and women are called, already inducted in armed forces units after completion of their recruit training.

The scheme runs on a short-service manpower model, where 75% of the recruited soldiers will leave the service in four years. However, 25% of them will be allowed to continue. There are strong indications that the retention in service is likely to be enhanced to 50%. However, the government has still to take an official stand on this. The scheme has drawn criticism, especially from the veteran community, citing several grounds. The veterans have expressed their disapproval mainly due to the sense of belonging that they continue to nurture towards the organisation that they served in, and not for any partisan leanings. The armed forces are unique in the sense that the serving community always looks up to the veterans as a guiding light, in the true sense of regimentation.