Passing out parade of Agniveers held at Shillong

Shillong (Meghalaya) [India]: The Assam Regimental Centre on Saturday held a Passing out Parade of the first batch of Agniveers at Shillong, informed Public Relations Officer, Defence Guwahati.

According to an official statement, 44 Agniveers passed out at the ceremony conducted at the Parsons Parade Ground, Happy Valley.

Brigadier Dinesh Chandra Singh Kanyal, Sena Medal recipient and Commandant, Assam Regimental Centre, reviewed the parade and complimented the passing out batch for their immaculate standards while exhorting them to strive for perfection and be steadfast in their pursuit of excellence, the PRO added.

The ceremonial passing out parade marks the completion of the training schedule for recruits at the training centre.

“These Agniveers will be serving in Assam Regiment Units at various locations spread across the country,” the statement read.

The passing out parade was attended by the proud parents of the Agniveers, who said they felt honoured and privileged to send their sons to serve in the Indian Army.

The Agniveer Scheme was announced in June 2022 for recruitment in the armed forces. The scheme is meant only for recruiting soldiers and not officers in the forces. The soldiers recruited under this Agneepath scheme are known as Agniveers.

Under the scheme, the three services are recruiting youths between the age bracket of 17-and-half years and 21 years for four years with a provision to retain 25 per cent of them for 15 more years.

For 2022, the upper age limit was extended to 23 years.