Union Cabinet Approves Extra Two-Year Term For Agniveers Under Revised Armed Forces Policy

New Defence Policy

The Union Cabinet approved a plan to absorb one-quarter of soldiers recruited through the Agnipath scheme directly into regular military units based on merit. Chief of Defence Staff General N.S. Raja Subramani announced the policy update during a media briefing in New Delhi alongside Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.

Service Rules

Under the updated guidelines, the remaining seventy-five percent of personnel who finish their initial four-year term will receive an offer to serve an extra two years. Once this additional period ends, every willing soldier can join the armed forces permanently if they pass set evaluation standards. Soldiers who still do not secure a spot after completing six years will not receive any quotas or reserved seats in government jobs.

Ministerial Statements

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh stated that the policy change gives every willing candidate a clear path to become a regular soldier after four or six years. He noted that the measure forms part of broader structural reforms designed to build a younger, fitter, and technologically advanced military capable of handling modern combat.

Context

The Agnipath recruitment framework was originally established in the year 2022 to hire young adults aged seventeen and a half to twenty-three years for short-term service across all three branches of the military. Official data shows that approximately three hundred thousand such personnel currently serve in the country's defence forces.