Agnipath review aimed at addressing youth discontent ahead of key polls

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Newly inducted Agniveer Army soldiers take part Passing Out Parade at an army base on the outskirts of Srinagar, Saturday, 30, May 2026. Over 538 Agniveers from Jammu and Kashmir completed their training with a Passing Out Parade at the JAK LI Regimental Centre. File | Photo Credit: Imran Nissar

The two-year extension for Agniveers, with the option of being retained thereafter in the armed forces, is the outcome of a review of the Agnipath scheme announced by the National Democratic Alliance government after the 2024 Lok Sabha election, in which the BJP lost its parliamentary majority and suffered losses in States where armed forces recruitment was high.

Soon after the results of the election came in, with the BJP at 240 seats and dependent on its allies to form the government, one of the first things demanded by the Janata Dal (United), the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), and the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) was a review of the Agnipath scheme, which then started in June/July, 2024. NDA allies had gone on record asking for a review in 2024, and cited ground-level resentment among youngsters aspiring to join the armed forces. Arguments that the reforms in recruitment for short-term service were for producing a younger and fitter military, and for reducing the pension burden on the exchequer, did not fly politically.

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