Sri Sri Ravi Shankar says Agnipath scheme an 'opportunity for youth' to serve country

As the protests against the Agnipath scheme of recruitment for defence services continue, spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, on Monday, backed the scheme and said that in comparison to other countries, India's new military recruitment scheme is much better.

Taking to Twitter, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar cited the example of Switzerland and Singapore and said that India's Agnipath is much better than theirs. "Across the world, even in smaller countries like Switzerland and Singapore, one to two years of military service is mandatory. In comparison, India's new military service scheme is the best," the spiritual guru said. He added that Agnipath is an opportunity for the youth who are dedicated to protecting the country.

"This is an opportunity for the youth who have come out of the spirit of sacrifice and dedicated to protect the country. Do not be deceived, think it right and do the benefit of self and nation with the facilities and training available," he said.

Registrations for 1st batch under Agnipath scheme to begin on June 24

Under the Centre's new Agnipath recruitment scheme, the registration process for the first batch of Agniveers will begin on June 24 and the online examination would be held on July 24, a top military official informed on Sunday.

Addressing a joint press conference of the tri-services, Air Marshal SK Jha said, "Registration process for the first batch of Agniveers will start from June 24. The phase-1 online examination process would start on July 24. The first batch would be enrolled by December and training would commence by December 30."

Navy Chief of Personnel, Vice Admiral Dinesh Tripathi said, "From November 21 this year, the first naval Agniveers will start reaching and training establishment INS Chilka, Odisha. Both female and male Agniveers are allowed for this."

Agnipath scheme

On June 14, the Government announced the scheme to recruit youngsters aged between 17 and a half and 21 in the Army, Navy and the Air Force, largely on a four-year short-term contractual basis. After the four-year term, 25% of the youths will be retained for regular service. The Centre has also increased the upper age limit of Agniveers to 23 years for the 2022 recruitment.

The government has assured that Agniveers who would do not wish to continue or are not retained after four years of service will have an abundance of opportunities to start a business with the huge corpus funds they receive, complete further studies or join the police or Central Armed Forces where they will get priority.