Agnipath Scheme Changed: Two-Year Extension and a Route to Regular Service for Agniveers
On 4 November 2026, the Union Cabinet approved an extra two-year engagement period for Agniveers under the Agnipath scheme. The government calls it a two-year "Second Tour of Duty".
It applies to the 75% of Agniveers who are not picked for regular service after their first four years. Earlier, all of them had to leave the armed forces at that point.
After the extra two years, every Agniveer who is willing and meets the selection criteria will get a chance to be enrolled as a regular soldier. So entry into regular service is now possible after four years or after six years.
The existing route continues: up to 25% of each batch is still selected for regular service on merit after four years.
The extension comes with higher pay, an enhanced Seva Nidhi (the lump-sum exit package) and seniority benefits. Exact amounts have not been announced.
The Ministry of Defence said the decision followed a review of the scheme's first four years and the armed forces' positive feedback on Agniveers' skills, fitness and technical ability. It came weeks before about 18,000 first-batch Agniveers were due to leave by 31 December 2026.
Agnipath Scheme: Structure and Rationale
The Agnipath scheme is the system India has used since 2022 to recruit soldiers, sailors and airmen below officer rank into the Army, Navy and Air Force. Young people join for a fixed term of four years and are called Agniveers. At the end of four years, up to 25% are selected to continue as regular, permanent soldiers. The scheme was designed to keep the forces younger and to control the rising cost of pensions.
The original scheme sent three out of four Agniveers home after four years, which was its most criticised feature. The Cabinet's decision adds a second two-year tour and opens a path to regular service for all willing and eligible Agniveers. This keeps trained young soldiers in service longer while still keeping the force younger than under the old system.
One Rank One Pension (OROP)
One Rank One Pension (OROP) is a rule for paying pensions to retired members of the armed forces. It says that two people who retired at the same rank, after the same length of service, should get the same pension, no matter in which year they retired. Without it, someone who retired long ago gets far less than someone who retired recently, because pensions are calculated on the pay at the time of retirement. OROP is one of the main reasons India's defence pension bill is so large, which is part of the reason the Agnipath scheme was designed.
Every soldier who becomes a regular, permanent member of the forces will eventually draw a pension, and under OROP that pension keeps rising with each five-year revision. Opening regular enrolment to more Agniveers therefore has long-term effects on the defence pension bill, which the government must balance against the need to keep trained soldiers.
- Cabinet decision: 4 November 2026
- Extension: 2 years (Second Tour of Duty) for the 75% of Agniveers not retained after 4 years
- Regular enrolment possible after 4 or 6 years of service, for willing and eligible Agniveers
- Merit-based retention after 4 years: up to 25% (unchanged)
- Agnipath announced: 14 June 2022; entry age 17.5 to 21 years
- First batch: about 24,400 recruits; about 18,300 due to exit by 31 December 2026
- Seva Nidhi: about ₹10.04 lakh corpus (about ₹11.71 lakh with interest)
- OROP: notified 7 November 2015, effective 1 July 2014; upheld by the Supreme Court on 16 March 2022