Agniveers will be 'very useful' for ITBP DG

New Delhi, Jul 26 (PTI) Agniveers will prove to be "very useful" for the ITBP, which guards the Line of Actual Control between India and China, its top officer said on Friday.
    All preparations have been made for the recruitment of these "well-trained and disciplined" soldiers, who will join the border force from the Army, Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) Director General (DG) Rahul Rasgotra said in a video message posted by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on its X handle.
    As it is known, he said, the ITBP and Army personnel guard the India-China front and hence "these well-trained and disciplined Agniveers will prove to be very useful for the force".
    The DG said the force "believes that the joining of Agniveers will provide a new energy to the ITBP and the force will benefit from them".
    The required amendment in the recruitment rules of the ITBP for inducting Agniveers has been issued by the MHA and they will be eligible for age and physical efficiency test relaxation, Rasgotra said.
    The statement comes at a time when there is fresh spotlight on the Agnipath recruitment scheme for short-term induction of personnel in the Army, Navy and the Air Force.
    The government introduced the Agnipath recruitment scheme in 2022 with an aim to bring down the age profile of the three services.
    The scheme provides for recruiting as Agniveers youngsters between the age group of 17-and-a-half and 21 for a block period of four years with a provision to retain 25 per cent of them for another 15 years.
    Several opposition parties, including the Congress, have been targeting the government over the scheme, raising questions about what would happen to the remaining 75 per cent of Agniveers after the end of their four-year tenure.
    The about 90,000 personnel ITBP is primarily tasked with guarding the 3,488-kilometre-long Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China, apart from rendering a variety of internal security duties.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)