For First Time Ever, Indian Navy To Recurit Female Sailors As Agniveers

The Indian Navy has made an announcement regarding its decision to employ female sailors as female agniveers under the Agnipath recruitment scheme.

More than 80,000 female candidates applied for Senior Secondary Recruit (SSR) and Matric Recruit (MR), as per the Indian Navy officials.

The hiring process for the profiles mentioned earlier will take place within the Agnipath program.

The Indian Navy has successfully completed the registration process for their SSR (Senior Secondary Recruit) and MR (Matric Recruit) positions towards the #AgnipathRecruitmentScheme. According to an official tweet from the Indian Navy's handle, 9.55 lakh people applied to the scheme, with 82,000 of those applications being from female candidates.

Women in the force:

With an aim towards gender neutrality, the Indian Navy recently declared its plans to commence the recruitment of women sailors through the newly introduced Agnipath recruitment scheme.

This is the first instance when women will be given access to Personnel Below Officer's Ranks (PBOR) while the Army, Air Force, and Navy have all employed female officers.

During a tri-service news conference at the Ministry of Defence on Sunday, Vice Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi, Chief of Personnel, indicated that the precise number of women sailors to be recruited via the Agnipath initiative is still being determined. He also mentioned that the first batch of Agniveers will commence training in November of this year

‘Currently, there are 30 women officers serving on various Indian Navy vessels. Through the Agnipath scheme, women will also be recruited and will be given the opportunity to work on warships,’ as stated by an Indian Navy official.

He also shared that preparations are currently underway at INS Chilka in Odisha, which serves as the primary training facility for the Indian Navy, to provide accommodations for the female sailors.

‘Starting from November 21st of this year, the initial group of naval personnel known as Agniveers will be arriving at the INS Chilka training facility located in Odisha. Both male and female Agniveers are permitted to participate,’ Tripathi stated.

The Agnipath scheme, which has been termed as transformative by Union Minister Rajnath Singh, was announced on June 14 in the presence of the three service chiefs. The scheme allows for the recruitment of young individuals between the ages of 17 and a half to 21 years in the armed services for a period of four years, with the possibility of extending the retention of 25% of them for 15 years. The Centre increased the upper age limit for recruitment in last year to 23 years.

The Agnipath scheme was sanctioned by the Union Cabinet, and the individuals chosen through this program would be recognized as Agniveers.

The announcement by the government stated that 46,000 Agniveers would be recruited this year to make the armed forces younger, fitter, and more diverse, in order to confront challenges that may arise in the future. Although there have been protests against the Agnipath program in some states, the government has taken measures to alleviate concerns.

Suggested reading: Gender-Neutral Force: Navy Chief On Induction Of 341 Women Agniveers