Former Agniveers will now get a 10% reservation in the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) job vacancies, the Union Home Ministry made the announcement after a week it notified a similar quote for them in BSF.
The upper age limit shall be relaxable up to five years for candidates of the first batch of former Agniveers and up to three years for candidates of other batches, the ministry said, adding that ex-Agniveers will also be exempted from the physical efficiency test, PTI reported.
In June last year, the Central government unveiled the ambitious Agnipath scheme for the recruitment of youths aged between 17-and-a-half and 21 in the Army, the Navy, and the Air Force, largely on a four-year short-term contractual basis. Those recruited under the scheme are known as Agniveers. After the completion of the four-year tenure, 25% of the recruits from each batch will be offered regular service.
At that time, the home ministry had announced that 10% vacancies in central paramilitary forces and Assam Rifles shall be reserved for demobilized 75% of Agniveers.
It had also announced that the upper age limit was also relaxed for the first batch of ex-Agniveers by up to five years and for the subsequent batches for three years. In addition, the ex-Agniveers would be exempted from the physical proficiency test. The specified age limit for recruitment to paramilitary forces is 18-23 years.
Since then, the government has been making changes to the Agnipath recruitment scheme. On February 16, the Indian Army brought in changes not only in the eligibility criteria for Agniveers but also included pre-skilled youth, and ITI/Polytechnics graduates in the technical category.
The notification stated that special impetus will be given to those with vocational training and to skilled candidates.
