The Indian Army has signed memorandums of understanding with 11 Indian banks for providing banking facilities to Agniveers on enrolment under the Agnipath scheme. The MoUs were signed by Lieutenant General V Sreehari, director general (Manpower Planning and Personnel Services) and the senior officials of banks in a ceremony presided over by Lt General C Bansi Ponappa, the Adjutant General of Indian Army, the Ministry of Defence said in a statement.
The benefits offered under the Agniveer Salary package are similar to the defence salary package, the ministry said. The banks have also offered soft loans to the exiting Agniveers to promote and boost their entrepreneurial skills.
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The 11 banks offering banking facilities to the ‘Agniveers’ are:
1. State Bank of India
2. Punjab National Bank
3. Bank of Baroda
4. IDBI Bank
5. ICICI Bank
6. HDFC Bank
7. Axis Bank
8. Yes Bank
9. Kotak Mahindra Bank
10. IDFC First Bank
11. Bandhan Bank
The Narendra Modi government on June 14 had announced the new Agnipath scheme for recruitment to army, navy and air force. The armed forces said the move was aimed at lowering the age of forces and ensure a fitter military strength to fight future challenges. The first batch of Agniveers under “Agnipath Scheme” will be joining Training Centres by January 2023.
The Agnipath scheme had triggered violent protests across many states of the country. However, the government had ruled out any rollback of the scheme and said the defence reforms were long pending in the forces.
