Contending that the Indian Air Force receiving 7.5 lakh applications under the Agnipath scheme was not indicative of its popularity, senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Thursday said the "right conclusion" to be drawn from it is that the unemployment situation ⭕is so extreme that desperate youths are willing to take any job.
The Indian Air Force (IAF) on Tuesday said it has received 7.5 lakh𒊎 applications under the short-term military recruitment scheme Agnipath. The registration process under the scheme began on June 24 and ended on Tuesday.
"Fact: 7,50,000 applicants for 3000 posts in IAF under the Agniveer scheme. Wrong conclusion: the Agniveer scheme is popular among the youth. Right conclusion: the unemploy🤡ment situation is so extreme that desperate youth are willing to take any job," Chidambaram said in a tweet.
After the🔯 scheme was unveiled on June 14, violent protests against it🌊 rocked several states for nearly a week and various opposition parties demanded its withdrawal.
Under the Agnipath scheme, those aged between 17-and-a-hal𝕴f and 21 years will be inducted into the armed forces for a four-year tenure and 25 per cent of them will be inducted for regular service subsequently.
The government had, on June 16, increased the upper-age limit for recruitment under the scheme to 23 years from 21 for the year 2022𒀰 and subsequently, announced a slew of placatory steps such as a preference for "Agniveers" in central paramilitary forces and defence public sector undertakings on their retirement.
(With PTI inputs)
