The ‘Agnipath' scheme complements the Indian Air Force's long-term vision of being a “lean and lethal” force with the best manpower and the new recruitment model will in no way reduce its operational capability, Air Chief Marshal V R Chaudhari said on Sunday.
The Chief of Air Staff said 13 teams will take care of enrolment, employment, assessment and training of recruits within the four-year engagement period.
Air Chief Marshal Chaudhari told PTI that any savings in pensions and other expenditure through the implementation of the scheme are only incidental and not the reason for initiating the reform.
“The Agnipath scheme furthers the IAF's manpower optimisation drive that has been ongoing for a decade wherein we have reviewed many human resource policies and organisational structures,” he said.
Nearly 7,50,000 candidates have registered for around 3,000 positions in the IAF under the new scheme.
The scheme complements the IAF's “long-term vision of being a lean and lethal force with the best human resource as we strongly believe that the men and women behind the machine make all the difference when it matters,” the Chief of Air Staff said.
The scheme, announced on June 14, seeks to recruit youths between the age bracket of 17-and-half years and 21 for only four years with a provision to retain 25 per cent of them for 15 more years. For 2022, the upper age limit has been extended to 23 years.
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