Q. What is the Agnipath scheme?
A. It is a pan-India short-term service youth recruitment scheme for the armed forces. Recruits, known as Agniveers, will serve in varied terrains — desert, mountain, land, sea, or air.

Q. Who will be eligible to apply for recruitment under the Agnipath scheme?
A. The age range to be eligible for the scheme is 17.5-21 years.

Q. Can women apply under the Agnipath scheme?
A. In future, women will be progressively inducted into armed forces.

Q. What is the service tenure granted under the scheme?
A. Under the Agnipath scheme, Agniveers will be employed for four years and rigorous military training will be imparted to them.

Q. How much salary will Agniveers get?
A. The starting annual package will be Rs 4.76 lakh, which can be increased to 6.92 lakh by the end of service. There will be allowances and non-contributory insurance cover as well.

Q. Can Agniveers opt for permanent service in the armed forces?
A. All Agniveers, after four years, will be offered an opportunity to voluntarily apply for enrolment in the permanent cadre. These applications will be considered based on merit and performance during service. As much as 25% of applications will be accepted.

Q. How can I apply for Agnipath scheme recruitment?
A. The vacancies and joining process will be made available on the armed forces’ respective websites:
joinindianarmy.nic.in
joinindiannavy.gov.in
careerindianairforce.cdac.in

Q. What will the training involve?
A. Training for Agniveers would be on a par with that of the regular armed forces cadres and would involve rigorous military exercises. The training standards would be clearly defined and monitored by the highest authorities in the Armed Forces.

Q. When can I apply?
A. The scheme was announced on Tuesday and the opening of applications is likely to start soon.