UPSC Darpan

Internal SecurityGS35 October 2026

Services send Agnipath improvement proposals to DMA as the first Agniveer batch nears the end of its four-year term

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The news

New Delhi. The Army, Navy and Air Force have each sent recommendations on improving the Agnipath scheme to the Department of Military Affairs (DMA), a senior Ministry of Defence official confirmed to The Hindu. A report including them has gone to the “competent authority”. The first batch of Agniveers, enrolled in 2023 according to the paper, completes its contractual tenure later this year. Under the scheme, introduced in June 2022, men and women aged 17.5 to 21 are recruited for four years, including six months of training. Up to 25% of each batch can then be retained in the regular cadre, based on organisational requirement and performance. The other 75% leave with a tax-free Seva Nidhi package built from monthly contributions by the Agniveer, matched by the government, and no pension or gratuity. The review seeks to balance a younger force against operational experience and continuity. The paper does not say what the Services propose.

The chain in one line: Services seek a younger force → Agnipath with four-year terms in June 2022 → first batch enrolled in 2023 → tenure ends later this year → proposals go to DMA and a report to the competent authority

Static syllabus linkage

  1. The DMA is the part of the Defence Ministry run by the military. The Department of Military Affairs was created in December 2019 along with the post of Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), who heads it as its Secretary. It sits inside the Ministry of Defence, which has four other departments: Defence, Defence Production, Defence Research and Development, and Ex-Servicemen Welfare. It deals with the three Services, which is why their Agnipath proposals go to it.
  2. Defence is a Union subject, so only Parliament and the Centre shape the forces. Article 246 divides legislative powers, and the Union List places defence in the Centre’s hands: Entry 1 covers the defence of India and Entry 2 the naval, military and air forces and any other armed forces of the Union. Article 53(2) vests the supreme command of the armed forces in the President, to be exercised according to law.

Why UPSC loves this

  1. GS3 asks about internal security and the role of the forces. The GS3 line is “Various Security forces and agencies and their mandate”, and GS2 covers “Government policies and interventions”. Agnipath is a ready case study of defence reform and its trade-offs.

Prelims nuggets

  • The Department of Military Affairs was created in December 2019 and is headed by the Chief of Defence Staff, who is its Secretary.
  • Defence of India and the armed forces of the Union are Entries 1 and 2 of the Union List.
  • Article 53(2) vests the supreme command of the Defence Forces in the President.
  • Agnipath recruits are called Agniveers and serve four years, including six months of training.

Analysis

  1. The trade-off is between age and experience, and it is a real one. A soldier who leaves after four years is cheaper over a lifetime and younger on the border, but the Services must keep training new recruits instead of building skill in one person over many years. The tension is sharpest in technical branches, where a trained hand takes time to become useful.
  2. A 25% retention rate makes every batch a competition. When three out of four must leave, an Agniveer’s incentive is to be chosen, not to cooperate. A unit built on trust may weaken if comrades are also rivals for a limited number of permanent places.
  3. Lens — Independence and accountability: the Services judge a scheme they were told to run. The proposals go from the Services to the DMA and then to the competent authority, all within government. That is expert review, but not independent: nobody outside has seen the data. A thoughtful officer would accept the Services’ view on operations yet ask for outside evidence on what happens to those who leave, and for it to reach Parliament’s Standing Committee on Defence.

Possible Mains question

Examine the case for and against short-tenure recruitment in the armed forces, with reference to the Agnipath scheme. (15 marks, 250 words)

Model approach

  1. Directive — Examine. Weigh the arguments on both sides and give a reasoned judgement.
  2. Introduction — a younger force at a price. Agnipath recruits for four years, keeps up to 25% and pays the rest a Seva Nidhi package.
  3. Body — the case for is youth and a lower long-term pension burden. A younger age profile, fitness for frontline roles and money freed for equipment.
  4. Body — the case against is lost experience, weak cohesion and an uncertain exit. Short training, rivalry for permanent places, no pension for 75%, and resettling young veterans.
  5. Value addition and diagram. Draw a funnel: intake, 25% retained, 75% exit with Seva Nidhi.
  6. Conclusion — review with evidence, not defence of a design. Publish outcome data and let an independent body test whether the experience gap is acceptable.

Administrator's brainstorm

As District Magistrate, how would you prepare for the return of the first Agniveers who are not retained?

I would ask the district sainik welfare officer for the number of local Agniveers and their release dates, and list their skills. I would bring together the skill mission, the industries centre, banks and the police recruitment office so each offers training, a loan or a job. A single help desk would spare them going from office to office. I would measure success by how many are in work or training six months later.