Army worried over fall in induction

NEW DELHI: The Department of Military Affairs (DMA) is “actively” taking stock of the feedbacks on serving Agniveers from the services to analyse the effects of their induction with an aim to make the commensurate changes suitable for the Army, Air Force and the Navy.

Sources said the personnel department heads — air officer in-charge personnel, chief of personnel (Navy) and adjutant general (Army) are working on it. While the personnel in the DMA took stock of the things in the beginning of this week, said another source, such feedback is received regularly.

The Army is worried about the continuous decrease in the induction which is going to be maximum by the end of this decade, said another source. “Unless we take steps now, the shortfall will take around another decade to match up to the sanctioned strength of personnel,” he said.

This is significant in keeping the dense/continuous deployment of the personnel along Eastern Ladakh since the skirmishes and the consequent standoffs began in May 2020.

This newspaper reported the operational problems faced by the Units due to the scarcity in the number of personnel which already exists among the officers and those below officer ranks. It was in July 2023 that TNIE first reported of the concerns after the induction of the Agniveers began in 2022.

Even Rajnath Singh in March this year said that the Government was “Open for change” in the scheme.

This newspaper in July 2023 reported that the ambitious Agnipath scheme might see some changes as the armed forces were mulling ways to obviate problems that may arise in the future. The problems, among many, include the decline in the numbers of personnel at the soldier’s levels due to the restricted number of recruitments planned up till 2026.