Amid Agnipath Row, Govt Tells Rajya Sabha Armed Forces Have Shortage Of 1.35 Lakh Personnel
Agnipath Scheme Row: The Army has maximum vacancies at 1,16,464, Minister of State for Defence Ajay Bhatt told Rajya Sabha.
The Centre informed the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday that the Army, Indian Air Force and Navy have a shortage of 1,35,784 personnel. The Army has maximum vacancies at 1,16,464, as per government data. In a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Defence Ajay Bhatt said the average annual recruitment in Army, Navy and Air Force was 60,000, 5,332 and 5,723 respectively.
The disclosure of the numbers come at a time when the Centre's Agnipath scheme, a short-term recruitment scheme for a period of four years, has seen massive protests across the nation. Under the scheme, the three services are planning to recruit 46,000 soldiers this year.
The minister also evaded a direct reply when asked whether the average recruitment figure was more than the proposed annual intake of 'Agniveers' and, if so, how the shortage of manpower in the armed forces would be met.
MoS Bhatt said the matter was sub-judice in the Supreme Court.
READ | Why Is There So Much Anger Against Agnipath Scheme, Especially In North India? Numbers Tell The Story
Asked whether it was a fact that the Indian Army had not recruited any person in the last two years, Bhatt said "no".
Most of the protesters against the Agnipath scheme had attributed the anger to the fact that the Army had stopped recruitment for the past two years and the new model does not provide job guarantee to 75 per cent of the recruits.
On the total shortage of manpower in all three armed forces, including both officer and non-officer rank personnel, Bhatt said the shortage in the Army was 1,16,464 as on January 1. On January 1, 2020, the shortage in the Army was 64,482.
The shortage in the Navy as against the authorised strength was 13,597 as on May 31. In the Indian Air Force, the shortage was 5,723 as on July 1, the minister informed the Rajya Sabha.
He said the three services had started recruitment under the Agnipath scheme. The youths who will be recruited under the new scheme will be called 'Agniveers'.
116 Complaints Of Human Rights Violations Against Army, IAF Since 2017: Govt
The government informed the Rajya Sabha that 116 complaints of alleged human rights violations by the Indian Army and the Indian Air Force were received since 2017. There were 108 complaints received against the Army while the number in the IAF was eight. There was no case of human rights violation reported against the Indian Navy during the period from 2017 to 2022.
(With inputs from PTI)
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