Overview
- Senior officials say the Chief of Defence Staff will soon announce an option for selected Agniveers to extend service by two years, turning some four-year contracts into six-year stints.
- The choice to take the extension will be voluntary for individual Agniveers and services will set selection rules based on performance and operational needs.
- If implemented, units would include three groups: those completing the base four years, those given the two-year extension, and the roughly 25% already eligible for permanent absorption.
- The first 2022 intake numbers about 24,400 recruits across the three services, with roughly 18,300 slated to leave after four years unless retained under this proposal.
- Officials expect a formal decision before November 21, 2026, and say eligible Agniveers who complete six years could be considered for regularisation, which would alter the current Agnipath exit and absorption rules.