The Union government has informed the Bombay High Court that Agniveers are not "similarly situated" as regular soldiers and hence, cannot claim parity in pensionary benefits for their next of kin in the event of death in action.
On Thursday, December 4, 2025, 711 Agniveers from Jammu and Kashmir was formally inducted into the Indian Army at the Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry Regimental Centre in Srinagar.
Gandhi said the defence minister had "lied" to the family of martyr Ajay Singh, the armed forces and the youth of the country, and must apologise to them.
Addressing an election rally in Madhya Pradesh's Shahdol, Gandhi claimed the 'Agniveer Yojana' was conceptualised by the prime minister but the Army doesn't want this scheme.
The total amount will be Rs 1.65 crore approximately, it said in the "clarification" that came after Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi shared on X a video purportedly of Kumar's father, who stated he had not received any money.
The reservation would include a 10 per cent horizontal quota for Agniveers in the posts of constable, mining guard, forest guard, jail warden, and special police officers.
On Tuesday, December 3, 2024 Agniveers from the third batch of the Agnipath scheme participated in a passing-out parade at the Danapur Bihar Regimental Centre in Patna.
Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini announced that the state will provide 20 percent reservation for Agniveers in the recruitment of state police. The move aims to secure the future of Agniveers by providing them with jobs after their service period in the armed forces. This builds upon a previous announcement by the state government to provide a 10 percent reservation for Agniveers in various government positions. The state government is also offering various other benefits for Agniveers, including financial assistance, job training, and priority in obtaining gun licenses.
Mann, who visited the Amritpal Singh's house in Kotli Kalan village in Mansa district on Monday, handed over a cheque of Rs 1 crore as compensation to his family, according to an official statement.
However, the Army, in a statement, said since Singh's cause of death was a self-inflicted gunshot injury, no guard of honour or military funeral was provided, in accordance with the existing policy.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday met Kirti Chakra recipient Captain Anshuman Singh's mother, who later spoke against the Agnipath scheme and urged the government not to divide the Army into two categories.
States like Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Gujarat, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh had on Friday announced similar incentives.
Such public domain discussions affect their morale and dedication -- and that, if anything, will definitely affect combat-effectiveness, asserts Vice Admiral Biswajit Dasgupta (retd).
A provision has been made for relaxation in the upper age limit and exemption from the Physical Efficiency Test in the recruitment to the post of constable (general duty) and rifleman in the CAPFs and Assam Rifles for ex-Agniveers, Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai said in response to a written question.
Agniveer Akshay Gawate, native of Pimpalgaon Sarai in Maharashtra's Buldhana district, died in the line of duty in Siachen on October 21, 2023.
The former Congress chief accused Modi of 'diverting public attention' through various means.
Those who join the armed forces even at the upper age limit of 21 years under the Agnipath scheme can be recruited by the CISF till the age of 30 after four years of service in the Army, the Air Force or the Navy in the case of the first batch and till 28 years for the subsequent batches.
The Army, stated that "in view of conflicting messages on social media regarding financial assistance to the Next of Kin of the deceased, it was important to clarify that emoluments due to the Next of Kin were governed by the relevant terms and conditions of service of the soldier".
An Agniveer women recruitment rally was organised at the Jammu and Kashmir Rifles Regimental Centre in Jabalpur on Monday, November 21, 2022.
'Is the Agniveer scheme or their post-retirement re-employment in paramilitary forces or in the state governments the BJP's answer to the crying need on the job front?' 'Or, even Finance Minister Sitharaman's one-year internship scheme in the public and private sector, is it a permanent solution, either?', asks N Sathiya Moorthy.
Former Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh accused his successor, Narendra Modi, of lowering the dignity of public discourse and the gravity of the office of the prime minister by giving "hateful speeches" during the 2024 Lok Sabha election campaign. In an appeal to voters of Punjab ahead of the seventh phase of Lok Sabha polls, Singh asserted that only the Congress can ensure a growth-oriented progressive future where democracy and the Constitution will be safeguarded.
The woman, hailing from Kerala, was undergoing training at the INS Hamla in Malwani area in the western suburb of Malad, an official said.
In a fillip to the ambitious Agnipath scheme, the Union home ministry has announced 10 per cent reservation for former Agniveers in vacancies in the Border Security Force (BSF) with relaxations in the upper age limit.
"If any dispute ends by apologising to the Bishnoi community, then what is wrong in it? If a mistake has been made knowingly or unknowingly, then what does Salman Khan lose in apologising?" the farmer leader asked.
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Prashant Kishor's Jan Suraaj Party on Wednesday named former vice chief of army staff, Lieutenant General Krishna Singh, as its candidate for the bypoll to Tarari assembly seat in Bihar.
"If the job profile is same, then how you justify different pay? A lot will depend on the job profile. Get instructions on this and put it on an affidavit," a bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad told Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati who was representing the Centre.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday released its manifesto for the October 5 Haryana assembly polls, promising a monthly assistance of Rs 2,100 for women, two lakh government jobs for the youth and guaranteed government job for Agniveers hailing from the state.
The Army has said that Agniveer Amritpal Singh committed suicide by shooting himself while on sentry duty and that military honours were not extended to his funeral as deaths arising out of self-inflicted injuries are not given such honours.
Department of financial services secretary Sanjay Malhotra held a meeting with heads of PSBs, insurance companies and financial institutions for identifying ways to support Agniveers on completion of their tenure of duty.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday defended the Agnipath scheme underlining that the future of youths joining as Agniveers would not be impacted, even as he said the government was 'open' to bring any change in it 'if required'.
The Delhi high court on Friday imposed Rs 25,000 costs on Bharatiya Janata Party leader Shazia Ilmi for 'wilfully suppressing' complete facts in her plea alleging defamation and violation of her privacy during a show hosted by journalist Rajdeep Sardesai.
The MHA also announced age relaxation for 'Agniveers' for recruitment in the CAPFs and Assam Rifles.
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The govt said those who complete 4 years of service under the scheme would be given priority in the recruitment process.
'Till a few years ago, girls wouldn't take an autorickshaw alone. Now, things have improved.'
KC Tyagi also spoke on special status for Bihar, which has been a demand of the party and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.
Agniveers once enrolled into the Indian Air Force, will be governed under the Air Force Act 1950, for a period of four years.
The Madhya Pradesh Congress demanded an apology from the BJP for "insulting" the defence forces.
Going by this Budget's estimate of government spending of Rs 48.2 trillion, the government has allocated a significantly lower percentage to defence -- 12.9 per cent.
