A close encounter with Agniveer

Almost every day some video or a short message on whats app/ Instagram/Tik Tok, pops up on social media where every one gives ‘free gyan’ on almost anything under the sun! Best part of this discourse is that a person looks to be an expert on every field and says it with full confidence. His opinion to be taken as Gospel truth and there are several cheer leaders in a group who agree with him and say ‘sir tussi great ho’ or words to that effect. Point taken- done and dusted. A person will give his opinion from climate change to homeopathy, LGBTQ, world economy, recession, which car is the best, geopolitics, Gaza war, Ayurved, Yoga, to opinion on open heart or even Spine surgery. ‘Kehne main,Mere baap ka kya jataa hai’ is the attituded. But one doesn’t realise how much such muck or crap is created as a digital debris on the net. Same thing becomes a garbage cosmic gyan and people even believe it. Since you get the same message from five different sources- it reinforces its impact on your mind.

It is out right bad. It does more harm than good to public perception on even serious matters. They do not release what disservice they do to their nation and their own close circle.

One such issue is ‘Agniveer scheme’ which is a scheme to take young guys from school pass outs to graduate, train them and give them a chance to serve the armed forces for a specific period. Thereafter a certain percentage is absorbed in the force. This keeps the armed forces young and is a good hybrid system. Mind you this is a very serious topic and waffling will not do, which often is the case. Political opposition did enough harm to its image and now some veterans are filling the blanks from the flanks too.

I had analysed this scheme and put my opinion in public domain in shape of a well detailed article. This was based on my knowledge of the armed forces of which I was a part for three decades and also my experience later as an educationist and an author. When you put your thoughts as an article, there is a degree of seriousness and accountability.

A chance meeting with Agniveer.

I was staying in cantonment during my holiday last month and happened to meet a young man who happened to be an Agniveer. I took this opportunity and had a detailed talk with him.

This person whom I interacted with was from Andhra Pradesh. He had passed his state board exam for class 12th privately without going to any school. Not great in academics, he was keen to do B pharma and then look for a job. He had no clear reason for his choice of pharma except that all his friends back home were for it. He had applied for Agniveer as his parents were poor and could not support him through a four-year course in pharma with no guarantee of a job upon competing the course and getting a degree.

He had finished his basic training by now and was in his second year as Agniveer. I asked him that during his earlier days what was he doing? He used to work on a daily wages basis as casual labour. His job was not defined and would get a work for the day as per the contractor’s requirement. It could be painting a wall, digging a pit or simply carrying load from one place to the other. He also said that the employer never treated them well and was often rude and demanding in his behaviour which I could understand. He would be paid INR 300 for 8 hours plus work. Oh, so you earned 9000/- per month @ 300 per day? I asked. No, we hardly got work for ten to fifteen days a month and it was just 3000 to 4500/- at max he could expect. Working conditions were not good, no food, no uniform or any safety gear. There was no saving and it was a tough back breaking job.

So, I further asked about his experience in the army as a recruit. He said he had finished his basic military training which made him smart and physically fit. There was a sense of discipline, team work punctuality, and he was proud wearing the uniform. Food was good and sumptuous and accommodation was provided. The boy was well turned out in his civilian clothes and did not look like a casual riff- raff labour working on the roadside.

He had been given some options to chose from. Out of chef, mess supervisor, housekeeping and steward he had opted for becoming a steward as he thought it will give him chance of serving and meeting/interacting with VIPs!

He had gone home for a short stint of leave and his parents were very happy seeing him bubbling with new found confidence. He was getting Rs 24000/- per month after contributing 9000 per month for corpus fund, along with food clothing and place to stay. Agniveers will be provided non-contributory life insurance cover of Rs 48 lakh for the duration of their engagement period. As the years progress, the salary increases, with the fourth-year package amounting to INR 40,000 per month.

Risk and Hardship allowances as applicable in the three services and thirty days annual leave, LTC, canteen facility and medical etc. in addition. Agniveers will be given priority in bank loan schemes if they wish to become entrepreneurs. If Agniveers wish to study further, a Class 12 equivalent certificate and a Bridging Course of choice for further studies will be given. Don’t forget most are only class 12th pass- not too great at academics.
Now he had a proper bank account and a sense of belonging- a day spent a lush green well maintained cantonment has no price tag to it.

How did his other friends back home reacted when he went on leave? I asked. He was quick to respond that they found him to be much more polished, confident and smarter than before. He himself realised and felt that he was much better than his school friends and these 18 months had transformed him into a confident person.


A former Private First Class (PFC) in the United States Army and a former Prisoner of War. On March 23, 2003, she was injured and captured.

Now fully confident to take on the world- yes, he could then do a graduation course of his liking thereafter. He also gets a tax-free lump sum of INR 12 lakhs. Cost to the government (CTG) is much like CTC cost to the company. Free boarding, lodging, (rations), uniform and other things cost money. It may not be possible to quantify this but will be a substantial sum.

He was sending back some money home to his parents and was sure he would do well in life even if had to quit after the terms of engagement. Training in the army is very expensive! It is free for Agniveer he realised and acknowledged.

Overall, he was very happy with the choice he made and was confident that he would do well in life. No more casual labour job, living with respect he was now in an elite organization and had a chip of pride on his shoulder.