Important Facts For Prelims
Tour of Duty Scheme
- 08 Apr 2022
- 2 min read
Why in News?
The Department of Military Affairs is moving towards finalising the “Tour of Duty (ToD)” scheme.
- Under this scheme, youngsters will be recruited as soldiers only for three years.
- This is being done in the backdrop of the urgent need to curb the ballooning salary and pension bills that are adversely impacting military modernization.
What is the “Tour of Duty (ToD)” scheme?
- Background: The scheme was being pushed by the late Chief Of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat.
- About: It involves recruiting soldiers, which will be called Agniveers, for a fixed period of three years.
- It will be a voluntary engagement.
- It is also known as the Agnipath entry scheme.
- It is for youths who “do not want to make defence services their permanent vocation, but still want to experience the thrill and adventure of military professionalism”.
- Benefits to Soldiers: The soldiers would be given a payout along with priority in recruitment to certain government jobs, including the central armed police forces.
- An effort is also on to nudge corporate India into hiring such ex-ToD recruits for specific lines of work in the private sector on a priority basis.
- Benefits to Government: Tour of Duty’, will help not only resolve the issue of shortages of personnel but also reduce the burden of pay rises and pensions.
- As per the original ToD proposal, the “prospective life-term saving” in the cost of engagement of a single jawan who leaves after 17 years of service with pension and other benefits, as compared to a ToD jawan will be Rs 11.5 crore.
- The cumulative money saved in pay and gratuity payouts can consequently be used for the much-needed military modernization.
