Candidates preparing for jobs in the Indian Army and other defense forces have started protests in various parts of the country. Candidates who have been preparing to start the defense recruitment process for two years now are upset with the major changes in the recruitment scheme brought under the Agneepath scheme.
Candidates preparing for the army recruitment exam have jammed the railway tracks. Protesters are pushing for removal of TOT against the redeployment of the army and the Agnipath project. A large number of candidates reached the railway tracks and blocked the tracks in opposition to the Agnipath scheme.
Railway tracks were jammed in Boxer while in Muzaffarpur too, a large section of college students blocked highways across the country, burning tires and chanting slogans against the new scheme that proposed the most important change in the recruitment process.
The Agnipath scheme announced on Tuesday proposes to recruit ‘Agnibir’ who will be enrolled for 4 years. On completion of four years, firemen will have the option to volunteer for the general cadre. They will be inducted into the Army, Navy and Indian Air Force. The authorities will create a separate post in the armed forces for firefighters as proposed under the scheme.
Under this scheme, youth aged 17.5 to 21 years will be recruited into three services. They will have six months of education. It will be open to both men and women.
These candidates will earn between Rs 30,000-R 40,000 per month with additional allowances.
The government said it will start a recruitment drive to recruit firefighters within 90 days and around 46,000 soldiers will be recruited under the scheme this year. This will include 40,000 in the Army, and 3,000 in the Air Force and Navy.
