Did not anticipate stir over Agnipath: Navy Chief

New Delhi, Jun 17: The Indian Navy Chief Admiral R Hari Kumar on Friday said he had not anticipated the widespread violent stir over the newly launched Agnipath scheme and added protests happening due to misinformation and misunderstanding.

"We worked on Agnipath scheme for almost a year & half...It's single biggest Human Resources Management transformation in Indian military...Protests are happening due to misinformation & misunderstanding of the scheme," Admiral R Hari Kumar told ANI.

"The Agnipath scheme is a transformational scheme. It is a made-in-India and a made-for-India scheme. No, I didn't anticipate protests like these. I want to tell those protesting that do not be violent and remain peaceful," he added.

Widespread protests erupted in Bihar, Rajasthan and some other states against the recruitment scheme, over concerns of job security and other issues.

Unveiling the scheme on Tuesday, the government had said youngsters between the ages of 17-and-a-half and 21 years would be inducted for a four-year tenure, while 25 per cent of the recruits will be retained for regular service.

The 'Agnipath' scheme opens the way for recruitment of about 45,000 soldiers into Army, Navy and Air Force in the first year but on a short-term contract of four years. After the completion of the contract, 25% of them will be retained and the rest will leave the forces.

"Cognisant of the fact that it has not been possible to undertake the recruitment during the last two years, the government has decided that a one-time waiver shall be granted for the proposed recruitment cycle for 2022," according to a statement issued by the defence ministry. "

Accordingly, the upper age limit for the recruitment process for Agnipath scheme for 2022 is increased to 23 years," the statement said.