Key facts
- India's federal cabinet approved revisions to the Agnipath recruitment scheme on November 3, 2026, Reuters reported.
- More than 18,000 recruits from the scheme's inaugural batch will receive a two-year service extension, the report said.
- CNBC TV18 reported that 25% will be retained after four years and the remaining 75% offered a two-year extension.
- Those completing the extension will be offered permanent enrollment subject to willingness and selection criteria, CNBC TV18 reported.
- Chief of Defence Staff Gen NS Raja Subramani said reservations in paramilitary forces and state governments would be withdrawn.
India's federal cabinet approved changes to the Agnipath short-tenure military recruitment scheme on November 3, 2026, allowing thousands of soldiers who would otherwise leave after four years to stay on duty, according to a report by Reuters published on November 11, 2026.
Under the revisions, more than 18,000 recruits from the inaugural batch of the scheme, known as Agnipath or "Path of Fire," will be granted a two-year service extension, the report said. The primary report was truncated and did not set out the remaining terms.
CNBC TV18 reported, citing official sources, that 25% of Agniveers will be retained under the original policy framework after their four-year tenure, while the remaining 75% will be offered a two-year extension of their Agnipath tenure. Those who accept will, at the end of the extended term, be offered permanent enrollment in the armed forces, subject to their willingness and selection criteria set by the services, the report said. Those who become regular soldiers after the additional two years will rank below the 25% selected at the end of the four-year term.
At a press conference announcing the change, Chief of Defence Staff Gen NS Raja Subramani said the government would take back reservations previously announced in state government and paramilitary forces, according to CNBC TV18. "After this, there will be no reservation whether in PMF or state governments because Indian Defence Forces are providing them all opportunity to rejoin a second engagement period of two years and after that to become regular soldiers in the Indian armed forces," Subramani said.