The Ministry of Home Affairs has increased the quota for ex-Agniveers for constable recruitment in the Border Security Force (BSF) from 10 per cent to 50 per cent, according to a gazette notification.
The increase has been made by amending the BSF, General Duty Cadre (Non-Gazetted) Recruitment Rules, 2015. The first batch of ex-Agniveers will also get upper age-limit relaxation of up to five years, while the rest of the former Agniveers will get three years relaxation. The ex-Agniveers shall also be exempted from physical standard test and physical efficiency test, said the notification issued on Friday.
By direct recruitment (including fifty per cent), vacancies shall be reserved for ex-Agniveers in every recruitment year, ten per cent for ex-servicemen, and up to three per cent for Combatised Constable (tradesmen) in absorption of annual vacancy, the notification said.
In the first phase, the recruitment shall be conducted by the nodal force for 50 per cent vacancies earmarked for ex-Agniveers, and in second phase recruitment shall be conducted by the Staff Selection Commission for candidates other than ex-Agniveers for the remaining forty-seven per cent vacancies (including ten per cent ex-servicemen), along with the unfilled vacancies of ex-Agniveers in a specific category in the first stage, it said.
The Centre had amended the Government of India (Allocation of Business) Rules, 1961, by the gazette notification in June this year, inserting a new point in the second schedule under the Department of States of the Home Ministry, “coordinating activities for further progression of ex-Agniveers” who exit after completing four years in the armed forces. With this amendment, the work relating to coordinating activities for further progression of ex-Agniveer has been assigned to the MHA, sources said.
After rolling out the Agnipath recruitment scheme in June 2022, the government had already reserved 10 per cent of jobs for ex-Agniveers in all future appointments of constables in the Central Armed Police Forces like the CRPF, BSF, CIS and the SSB.
