Centre increases upper age limit of Agnipath candidates to 23 yrs

New Delhi: Days after announcing the Agnipath scheme for the defence services aspirants, the Union Government decided to increase the upper age limit for the candidates by two years, a statement issued from the Centre said.

The upper age limit for the recruitment process for the scheme has been increased to 23 years from 21 years announced earlier.

However, the Centre clarified that the extension has been a "one-time waiver" and "shall be granted for the proposed recruitment cycle for 2022".

The Centre said it is "cognizant of the fact that it has not been possible to undertake the recruitment during the last two years" as the reason behind the latest move in the scheme.

Agnipath or 'Agniveer' scheme is a process announced by the Centre for recruiting soldiers in the Army, Navy and Air force for a term of four years on contract.

According to the scheme, the entry age for all new recruits in the armed forces was fixed as 17 ½ - 21 years of age.

The scheme was announced by Defence minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday. (UNI)