The Indian Army on Monday issued a notification for the recruitment of the first batch of soldiers under Agnipath, undeterred by nationwide protests and a Bharat Bandh opposing the scheme that allows youths to join the armed forces for only four years without pension or gratuity.

The army said online registration on the force’s recruitment website — www.joinindianarmy.nic.in — was mandatory and that the process would begin in July. Rallies, or physical tests, will also begin next month.

The army notification said the Agniveers, or the recruits, would form a distinct rank that would be different from any other existing ranks. It said the Agniveers would wear a “distinctive insignia” on their uniform during their service period.

Youths across the country erupted in protests last week against the Agnipath scheme, which has been described as a “death knell” for the armed forces by many veterans and taken to the cleaners by the Opposition.

Thousands of job aspirants, many of whom had cleared preliminary physical and medical screening tests and would now have to apply afresh under Agnipath, have decried the scheme, saying they had been cheated by the government. Many have feared law-and-order issues as most of the youths, trained in the use of weapons, will be released into a shrivelled job market every year, and some BJP leaders have painted a bleak future for these recruits as guards and washermen.

The Centre has, however, ruled out a rollback, made it clear that all future recruitments to the bottom ranks would be made through the new scheme and issued a veiled warning to protesters by saying applicants would have to give an undertaking mentioning that they were not involved in the violent agitations against Agnipath.

In its notification the army said that based on organisational requirements and policies, Agniveers, on completion of their engagement period in each batch, would be offered an opportunity to apply for enrolment in the regular cadre.

“These applications will be considered in a centralised manner by the army based on an objective criteria, including performance during their engagement period and not more than 25 per cent of each specific batch of Agniveers will be enrolled in regular cadre, post completion of their four-year engagement period,” according to the notification.

It added: “Agniveers so enrolled as regular cadre would be required to serve for a further engagement period of 15 years and will be governed by terms and conditions of service (of Junior Commissioned Officers/ Other Ranks) currently in vogue.”

The notification said the Agniveers would not have any right to be selected after completion of their four-year tenure and that their continuance would be the exclusive jurisdiction of the army.

As part of the enrolment process, each Agniveer will be required to formally accept all terms and conditions of the Agnipath scheme. For personnel below the age of 18 years, the enrolment form will be required to be signed by their parents or guardians, according to the notification.

The Agniveers will be eligible for 30 days’ leave a year, against 90 days for those in regular service. Medical leave will be granted based on medical advice.

The army said 30 per cent of the monthly salary of the Agniveers would be compulsorily deposited every month in a corpus and an equal amount would be contributed by the government.

At the end of four years, each Agniveer will receive a one-time Seva Nidhi package to be paid from this corpus. “On discharge of four years, the corpus of Rs 5.02 lakh will be matched by the government, an amount of Rs 10.04 lakh and accrued interest will be given to the Agniveers,” the notification said.

The army said the Agniveers’ salary — between Rs 30,000 and Rs 40,000 a month before the deduction — was a composite package and they would not be eligible for dearness allowance and military service pay.

Each soldier will get applicable risk and hardship, ration, dress and travel allowances as decided by the government from time to time. There shall be no entitlement towards gratuity or pension benefits for the Agniveers. They will be provided a non-contributory life insurance cover of Rs 48 lakh for the duration of their engagement period and they will not be eligible for Armed Group Insurance Fund schemes.

The notification said that for general duty, applicants would need to have cleared Class X with at least 45 per cent marks in aggregate and 33 per cent in each subject. For the technical cadre of Agniveers, including for the aviation wing, the aspirants will need to have passed Class XII with physics, chemistry, maths and English, having got 50 per cent marks in aggregate and 40 per cent in each subject.

For those applying for the positions of clerk or storekeeper (technical), clearing Class XII with 60 per cent marks in aggregate and 50 per cent in each subject is mandatory. For this cadre, 50 per cent marks in English and maths/ accounts/ bookkeeping are mandatory.

According to the notification, bonus marks of 20 will be given in the common entrance examination to some categories of applicants such as sons of servicemen, ex-serviceman, war widows and widows of ex-serviceman.

“A” and “B” certificate holders from the NCC would also get some bonus marks.

The army said Agniveers would not be able to leave the service on their own before the completion of their term. “However, in the most exceptional cases, personnel enrolled under this scheme may be released, if sanctioned by the competent authority,” it said.

Against the backdrop of the protests sweeping the country, the Narendra Modi government had on Thursday announced a one-time waiver for this year, relaxing the upper age limit to 23 years from 21. The lower age limit is 17.5 years.

Trains cancelled

Over 500 trains were cancelled on Monday in the wake of the Bharat Bandh. Last week, the railways had suffered loss of properties worth crores due to arson and violence by protesters.

Additional reporting by PTI