New Delhi: As the government desperately tries to assuage protestors and list the benefits of the ‘transformational’ new recruitment scheme for armed forces, Aginpath, Navy chief Admiral R Hari Kumar has backed it and said he didn’t anticipate protests like this.
Amid widespread violent protests by Army aspirants, the Navy Chief today called it “the single biggest human resources management transformation in the Indian military”.
Admiral Kumar said he worked on the Agnipath scheme for almost a year and a half.
He said the scheme is beneficial for the country and for the youth because it opens up more opportunities. “I think the protests are happening due to misinformation and misunderstanding of the scheme,” he added.
Where earlier one person used to get the opportunity to serve in the armed forces, now maybe four people will get it, he said.
Addressing the issue of a shorter duration of service, he said that too has “many benefits” as the Agniveers will get to decide whether they want to pursue the armed forces as a career or take on another job.
A 19-year-old was killed in Telangana’s Secunderabad and several others were injured in several states as angry mobs set trains on fire and clashed with police over the new military recruitment policy. The government has defended the scheme, calling it “transformative”.
