New Delhi, Jul 11 (IANS): The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has decided to provide 10 per cent reservation for constable vacancies within Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) for ex-Agniveers. This decision was made on Thursday, with the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), Border Security Force (BSF), Railway Protection Force (RPF), Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) all implementing this reservation. Some forces will also offer short-duration training to ex-Agniveers before deploying them in border areas.
In a series of tweets, the Home Minister’s Office said: "The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) decides to reserve 10 per cent vacancies for recruitment in CAPFs and Assam Rifles for Agniveers, completing four years under the Agnipath Scheme announced by the Government of India, led by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi”.
"The MHA also decides to give 3 years age relaxation beyond the prescribed upper age limit to Agniveers for recruitment in CAPFs & Assam Rifles. Further, for the first batch of Agniveer, the age relaxation will be for 5 years beyond the prescribed upper age limit."
Director General of CISF, Nina Singh on Thursday announced that the organisation has finalized arrangements for recruiting ex-Agniveers. Ten per cent of constable positions have been reserved specifically for them. Ex-Agniveers will receive a relaxation in the Physical Efficiency Test, along with age concessions - five years for the initial batch and three years thereafter, as detailed by the DG.
She emphasised that CISF is committed to ensuring that ex-Agniveers derive maximum benefit from these provisions. The recruitment of ex-Agniveers is expected to bring capable, dedicated, and disciplined personnel into CISF, thereby enhancing operational efficiency. It also offers ex-Agniveers an opportunity to serve within CISF.
The BSF has also implemented similar provisions for ex-Agniveers, announced Director General Nitin Agrawal. He highlighted that ex-Agniveers have dedicated four years of their lives to service, demonstrating training and discipline. After receiving short training, BSF will deploy them along the borders.
He said: "We are eagerly waiting to recruit them. They will get 10 per cent reservation in the recruitment, and also age relaxation. For the first batch, the age relaxation is of five years while for subsequent batches, the age relaxation is of three years."
SSB DG Daljit Singh Chaudhary said, There is a quota fixed for Ex-Agniveers in SSB. We have amended the recruitment rules accordingly. The first batch will be given an age relaxation of five years. And, there will be no Physical Efficiency Test for them."
RPF's DGP Manoj Yadava said, "For any recruitment in RPF, there will be a reservation of ten per cent for Ex-Agniveers. They will also get relaxation in age. The first batch will get five years of relaxation while it will be three years afterwards. There will also be no Physical Efficiency Test for them. We welcome Ex-Agniveers in RPF as it will further enhance the capabilities of the force."
CRPF DG Anish Dayal Singh said that all arrangements have been made to recruit ex-Agniveers in CRPF. The recruitment rules have been accordingly amended. A reservation of ten per cent has been made for Ex-Agniveers. They will also get relaxation in age. The first batch will get five years of relaxation while it will be three years afterwards.
There will also be no Physical Efficiency Test for them. This is a welcome step for the force to recruit Ex-Agniveers as they are Army trained and have already served in the three services. They will bring dedication and discipline from day one, he added.