Will Agnipath energise or demoralise the military?

On June 14, the government announced the Agnipath scheme which fundamentally transforms the process of recruitment of soldiers, sailors and airmen into the three services. Agniveers, the recruits, will be employed for four years, after which up to 25% of them will be selected for enrolment in the regular cadre, while the rest will be given a certain amount of money and be shown avenues to get back to civilian life. The scheme has generated a lot of debate, and protests against it have been violent in several parts of the country.  Here we discuss the nuances of the issue. Guests: Lieutenant General (Retd) D. S. Hooda, a former Northern Army Commander; Air Vice Marshal Manmohan Bahadur (Retd.), former additional director-general of Centre for Air Power Studies Host: Dinakar Peri  You can now find The Hindu’s podcasts on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Stitcher. Search for Parley by The Hindu. Write to us with comments and feedback at [email protected]