Agnipath Scheme Protest: Student bodies call for bandh in Bihar, RJD extends support

Protestors agitating at Bihar's Hajijpur railway station against 'Agnipath', a recruitment scheme introduced by the Central government for Indian youth to serve in the Armed Forces, were detained on Friday, said the police."The situation at the moment is alright. Hooligans have been chased away. Some of them have been detained for questioning," said SP Hajipur, Maneesh.

Several variations of the Agnipath scheme, or the "Tour of Duty" model", exist in other countries. The government said that while formulating the recruitment structure, the model of countries like Israel, US, China, France, Russia, UK and Germany was studied. The features were then modified and adapted as per the needs and requirements of the Indian armed forces. In US, most personnel enrol for four years, which is followed by a four-year reserve duty period. Soldiers can also opt for full service and are eligible for pensions and benefits after serving for 20 years. In China, recruitment is done on a conscription model (compulsory enrollment) with 4.5 lakh conscripts inducted for training each year. Conscripts must serve for two years. Israel also follows a conscription system. Russia follows a hybrid model of conscription and contractual service. Conscripts are given a year of training followed by a year of service and then put on reserve. Recruitment is done from these conscripts. Soldiers are given preferential admission to colleges and have the option of undertaking education at military institutions. France recruits soldiers on a contractual basis under several models - from one-year renewable contracts to five-year contracts.

The government said that those wishing to be entrepreneurs after their service as Agniveers will get a financial package and bank loan scheme. Those wishing to study further will be given a 12th class equivalent certificate and a bridging course for further studies, and those who want salaried jobs will be given priority in Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) and state police. It added that several avenues are also being opened up for them in other sectors.