The banks with which the MoUs were signed are State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, Bank of Baroda, IDBI Bank, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, Yes Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, IDFC First Bank and Bandhan Bank.
New Delhi: The Indian Army on Friday signed an MoU with 11 banks to provide banking facilities to Agniveers on enrolment. The MoUs were signed by Lt Gen V Sreehari, DG (MP & PS) and senior officials of the banks in a ceremony presided over by Lt Gen C Bansi Ponappa, the Adjutant General of Indian Army.
The banks with which the MoUs were signed are State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, Bank of Baroda, IDBI Bank, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, Yes Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, IDFC First Bank and Bandhan Bank.
In a statement, the Ministry of Defence said, “The features and benefits offered under Agniveer Salary Package are similar to the Defence Salary Package. In addition, the banks have offered soft loans to exiting Agniveers to promote and enhance their entrepreneurial skills. The first batch of Agniveers under ‘Agnipath Scheme’ will be joining Training Centres by January 2023.” The Agnipath scheme has seen widespread protests across the country, some even turned violent with agitators setting fire to railway properties, including trains.
On June 20, in view of the Bharat bandh call against the Centre’s ‘Agnipath’ recruitment scheme, more than 600 trains were cancelled all over the country. The protesters sought roll back of the scheme launched by central government for recruiting youth as agniveers in military services.
According to a rough estimate, Indian Railways has suffered loss of hundreds of crores rupees as protesters set dozens of trains on fire and have vandalised railway property since the announcement of the short term recruitment scheme.
Despite witnessing violent protests after announcement of the recruitment scheme, Indian Army has issued a notification to start registration from July.
The three services of armed force-army, air force and navy- had ruled out any possibility of rolling back the scheme. The three services have shared details and benefits of the scheme and have also announced dates to start recruitment. The government has also announced to increase upper age from 21 years to 23 years.
