10% Reservation In Defence Ministry For Agniveers: Rajnath Singh

Union minister of defence, Rajnath Singh on Saturday gave his approval to 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 along with all 16 of the defence public sector undertakings, reported ANI.

The announcement comes amid nationwide protests that ensued the launch of the Agnipath scheme by the Centre which is a new recruitment procedure for the defence forces. Reports stated that the protests turned violent in several parts of the country.

The defence ministry’s office tweeted, “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.”

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The necessary amendments to the relevant recruitment rules will be undertaken to implement these provisions, the office further informed.

It added, “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 Ministry of home affairs (MHA) announced earlier in the day 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.

The MHA further announced three years of age relaxation, beyond the upper age limit to Agniveers for recruitment in CAPFs and Assam Rifles.

The age relaxation will be for five years beyond the upper age limit for the first batch of Agniveers.

It may be noted that the Union cabinet approved a recruitment scheme for Indian youths to serve in the three services of the Armed Forces called Agnipath on June 14. The youth selected under this scheme will be known as Agniveers.

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