Grammy winner Ricky Kej pledges 'will employ 2 Agniveers', urges brands to follow suit

Music composer and 2-time Grammy award winner Ricky Kej has praised the central government's Agnipath recruitment scheme and pledged that he will give 2 jobs to Agniveers once they finish their 4 years of service. The Grammy award winner further asked all the brands to come forward and keep similar reservations for the Agniveers and claimed that an army-trained employee is an asset.

It is important to mention here that the tweet from Kej comes whilst there is a countrywide protest allegedly by students claiming that they will be jobless after 4 years if they do not get selected for permanent service in the Armed Forces, and hence demanding that the Agnipath scheme should be rolled back.

Music composer Ricky Kej said, "Agnipath scheme is awesome! I pledge to have 2 job positions with my team waiting for these young recruits once they are done with their 4 years. PM Modi, I hope more brands & establishments make similar pledges. To get an army-trained employee is an absolutely valuable asset!"

MHA announces 10% reservation in CAPFs & Assam Rifles, Defence ministry approves it

After the announcement of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Defence Ministry headed by Rajnath Singh has approved the 10% reservation scheme for Agniveers in CAPFs and Assam Rifles. The Defence Ministry, putting light on the decision, stated that a 10% reservation will be implemented in the Indian Coast Guard and defence civilian posts, and all the 16 Defence Public Sector Undertakings.

MHA further announced that the recruitment for CAPFs and Assam Rifles will see a three-year age relaxation. Notably, this is the second time the government has raised the higher age restriction. In addition, the MHA announced that the government will grant the first batch of Agniveers a 5-year upper age limit relaxation.

A day ago, the central government had increased the upper age limit for the qualification Agnipath scheme. Notably, this was a one-time waiver and the age limit was increased from 21 years to 23 years. These decisions were taken to help the students who missed 2 years of qualification due to the pandemic-COVID.

Agnipath scheme

Agnipath is a pan-India short-term service youth recruiting initiative for the Armed Forces that was developed to bring the Indian Army's average age down. Those who are inducted into the service will be known as 'Agniveers,' and will be contracted for four years, receiving rigorous military training.

The scheme is open to people between the ages of 17.5 and 21 (23 years, as a one-off exception for the year 2022). The yearly package would start at Rs 4.76 lakh, with the possibility of increasing it to Rs 6.92 lakh by the conclusion of the service.

After four years in the Army, soldiers who want to be entrepreneurs will be given a financial package and a bank loan scheme. Those who want to continue their study will be granted a certificate equal to a Class 12 certificate and a bridging course, while those who want to work will be given precedence in the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) and state police.