Agnipath scheme: Govt extends age limit to 23 from 21 but....

New Delhi, June 17: The central government has decided to increase the upper age limit for recruitment under the "Agnipath" scheme to 23 years from 21 years for the year 2022 amid the protests against the new scheme of recruitment of soldiers into the armed services.

 

 

 

On Tuesday, the Centre had said youngsters between the of 17-and-a-half and 21 years would be inducted for the four-year tenure in the Indian Armed Forces. However, now the Defence Ministry said in a statement that the age limit for recruitment has now been raised to 23 for the 2022 batch only.

 

"Cognisant of the fact that it has not been possible to undertake the recruitment during the last two years, the government has decided that a one-time waiver shall be granted for the proposed recruitment cycle for 2022. Accordingly, the upper age limit for the recruitment process for the Agnipath scheme for 2022 is increased to 23 years," according to a statement issued by the defence ministry.

 

The historic scheme has received major backlash as there has been several misconceptions saying it will adversely impact the functioning of the armed forces. Nonetheless, the three service chiefs have also strongly backed the scheme and said it was unveiled after over two years of deliberations.