MHA declares 10% ex-Agnives posts would be reserved for them in the BSF

The ambitious Agnipath programme will get a boost when the Union Home Ministry said 10% of open positions in the Border Security Force will be reserved for former Agniveers, with age restrictions being relaxed.

The change was made to the Border Security Force General Duty Cadre (Non-Gazetted) Recruitment Regulations, 2015, and was announced via a notice. It will take effect on March 9 and was made public on February 9.

The notice said that 10% of the openings would be earmarked for former Agnive employees.

According to the ministry, applicants from the first batch of ex-Agniveers would have their upper age restriction relaxed by up to five years, while candidates from later batches would only have their limit relaxed by three years. The announcement said that former Agniveers would likewise be excused from the physical efficiency exam.

On June 14 of last year, the Center revealed the Agnipath programme for recruiting young people in the army, navy, and air force between the ages of 17 and 21 primarily on a four-year short-term contractual basis.

Agniveers are the name for those hired under the programme. 25% of the trainees from each batch will be given regular duty when their four-year term is over.

At that time, the home ministry had declared that demobilised 75% Agnivesers would be given preference for 10% of open positions in the Assam Rifles and central paramilitary forces.

Moreover, it had said that the maximum age was being lowered for the first batch of ex-Agniveers by up to five years and for the following batches by three years. The government had also said that the ex-Agniveers would not be subject to the physical proficiency exam.

The age range for paramilitary force enlistment is 18 to 23 years.

After serving four years in the army, air force, or navy in the case of the first batch, and until 28 years in the case of subsequent batches, those who enlist in the armed forces even at the upper age limit of 21 under the Agnipath scheme are eligible to be recruited with the BSF until the age of 30.

The decision by the home ministry to integrate ex-Agnives into paramilitary forces is important since it will provide the ex-Agnives possibilities to find jobs up to retirement age.

The paramilitary forces will also profit since they will have access to a trained workforce to fill more than 70,000 positions.