News Highlights
Government set to roll out a Tour of Duty ( ToD) in the Indian Army.
About Tour of Duty
- The tour of Duty(ToD) Scheme involves hiring youth in the armed forces for a short span of 3-5 years
- This is being in the backdrop of the urgent need to curb the Ballooning salary and pension bills that are adversely impacting military modernisation.
Key features of the Tour of Duty scheme
- This recruitment model would allow young people to volunteer to serve for a three to five year term.
- It is also known as Agnipath entry scheme
- It will be a purely voluntary commitment.
- It is aimed at young people who “do not want to make a career out of the military but nevertheless want to experience the excitement and adventure of military professionalism.”
- But entry at the officer level under the ToD scheme is not on the cards as of now
Benefits under the scheme
- Benefits to Soldiers
- The soldiers would be given a payout along with priority in recruitment to certain government jobs, including the central armed police forces.
- Benefits for Government
- Reduced pay and gratuity distributions provide significant financial benefits to the organisation.
- As per the original ToD proposal, the “prospective life-term saving” in the cost of engagement of a single jawan who leaves after 17 years of service with pension and other benefits, as compared to a ToD jawan will be Rs 11.5 crore.
- The money saved in pay and gratuity payouts can then be used for much-needed military modernization.
News Source: The Hindu