What this scheme offers
Traditional military recruitment committed a soldier to 15-20 years of service and the armed forces to a correspondingly large, ageing pension bill decades out — a structure that made sense when it was built but has become harder to sustain as the force's needs and India's demographics have both shifted. Agnipath replaces that with a four-year tour: recruits, called Agniveers, serve in the Army, Navy or Air Force on a fixed-term basis, with a monthly package that starts around ₹30,000 and rises to roughly ₹40,000 by the fourth year, 30% of which is set aside into a Seva Nidhi corpus matched by an equal government contribution. At the end of four years, an Agniveer receives a lump-sum exit package of about ₹11.7 lakh, largely tax-free — and up to 25% of each batch, based on performance and service requirements, gets the option to continue into regular, longer-term military service.
Who is eligible
- Indian citizens aged 17.5 to 21 years at the time of recruitment (upper limit has periodically been relaxed for specific intakes).
- Educational qualification varies by entry stream (Agniveer General Duty, Technical, Clerk, Tradesman) — typically Class 10 or 12 pass, per the specific stream's requirements.
- Physical fitness and medical standards equivalent to standard armed forces recruitment.
Documents required
- Aadhaar card
- Educational qualification certificates
- Domicile/residential proof
- Physical fitness and medical examination records (assessed during the recruitment process)
How to apply
- Register and apply online through the respective service's recruitment portal — Indian Army (joinindianarmy.nic.in), Indian Navy (joinindiannavy.gov.in), or Indian Air Force (agnipathvayu.cdac.in) — when a recruitment rally or centralised entry is announced.
- Appear for the physical fitness test, medical examination, and written/online examination as scheduled for your chosen entry stream.
- Selected candidates undergo basic military training before being inducted as Agniveers.
- During your four-year tenure, your monthly package, Seva Nidhi contributions, and service record are managed by your service branch.
- Near the end of your tenure, you'll be assessed against performance criteria for the regular-service continuation option; those not selected receive their Seva Nidhi corpus and exit package, along with certification of skills gained for civilian employment.