Shipping Ministry Announces 6 Service Opportunities For Agniveers

June 18, 2022

New Delhi: On Saturday, the Ministry of Ports, Shipping, and Waterways (MoPSW) announced six service options for Agniveers to seamlessly transition into various Merchant Navy professions after serving in the Indian Navy.

An official statement claims that the program will give Agniveers the training, experience, and credentials they need to join the lucrative merchant navy anywhere in the world. The statement comes in the midst of intense opposition to the recently disclosed “Agnipath” initiative, which calls for the short-term contractual enlistment of troops into the armed services. The soldiers hired under this plan will be referred to as Agniveers.

The statement claims that these programs for Agniveers include transitions from Indian Navy ratings to certified ratings in the Merchant Navy, from Indian Navy electrical ratings to certified electro-technical ratings in the Merchant Navy, and from Indian Navy ratings to certified class IV-NCV CoC holders in the Merchant Navy.

Additionally, it will involve the change from Indian Navy electrical ratings to Merchant Navy qualified electro technical officers and the shift from Indian Navy kitchen to Merchant Navy certified cook. According to the statement, some of the programs are intended for Agniveers who have a diploma in mechanical or electrical engineering or an ITI trade certificate in the electronic or electrical stream and either joined the Indian Navy with these credentials or acquired them while serving there.

For those Agniveers who desire to participate in any of the aforementioned initiatives through the Indian Navy, it was said that the MoPSW will issue the Indian National Database of Seafarers (INDOS) and Continuous Discharge Certificate (CDC).

The government on Thursday night raised the maximum age for hiring under the “Agnipath” plan from 21 to 23 years old, with effect for the year 2022, in an effort to appease the demonstrators. In announcing the program on Tuesday, the government had stated that young people between the ages of 17 and a half and 21 would be hired for a four-year term, with 25% of them being hired later on for regular service.

The plan’s reduction of the military workforce’s average age and reduction of the soaring wage and pension costs are two of its main goals. The military’s recruitment process had been suspended for more than two years due to the coronavirus epidemic when the new program was announced.

Also read: Women occupy only 5% of maritime leadership roles