Girja Shankar Kaura
The Indian Air Force (IAF) has said that it had received over 1.83 lakh under the Agnipath recruitment scheme till Sunday, June 26, that is within three days of the opening of the registration process on June 24.
The announcement of the scheme had witnessed violent protests against it in several states.
“So far, 1,83,634 future Agniveers have applied on the registration website…. Registration closes on July 5, 2022,” the IAF said on Twitter.
The registration process saw 94,281 applications till June 27, and 56,960 applications till June 26.
The Centre unveiled the Agnipath scheme on June 14 for youth between the ages of 17-and-a-half and 21 years. The youth would be inducted for a four-year tenure; 25 percent of the recruits will be subsequently inducted for regular service.
The government had on June 16 raised the upper age limit for recruitment under the Agnipath scheme to 23 years from 21 for the year 2022. Subsequently, a slew of placatory steps such as preference for them in central paramilitary forces and defence public sector undertakings upon their retirement were announced.
Several BJP-ruled states also declared the ‘Agniveers’, as the soldiers will be known, will be accorded priority in induction into state police forces.
The armed forces have, however, made it clear that the youth who indulged in violent protests and arson against the new recruitment scheme will not be inducted in the programme.
