Viral document claiming that the government has relaunched the Agnipath scheme as the Sainik Samman scheme with multiple changes is fake
A post accompanying a document allegedly claiming that the government has relaunched the Agnipath scheme as the Sainik Samman scheme with multiple changes is being widely shared across social media platforms (here, here, here, & here). The document further claims that amidst widespread demands for changes in the scheme, the Agnipath scheme has been changed to the Sainik Samman scheme after review. It also details alleged changes in the scheme such as an extension of the service period from four to seven years, an increase in the training period from 24 to 42 weeks, and provision of pension to the families of the deceased. In this article, let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: The Government of India has relaunched the Agnipath scheme as the Sainik Samman scheme with multiple changes.
Fact: The viral document claiming that the government has relaunched the Agnipath scheme as the Sainik Samman scheme with multiple changes is fake. The Government of India has not taken any such decision so far. On 16 June 2024, the Government’s PIB Fact Check on X (Twitter) clarified that the Government of India has made no such decision regarding the Agnipath scheme and labeled the viral document as ‘fake’. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
The Agnipath scheme was launched in 2022 to recruit youth into the Indian Armed Forces. Those recruited under the scheme are called Agniveers. Youngsters in the 17.5 to 21 years age group are inducted for a four-year period, with a provision to retain 25% of these recruits for an additional 15 years. Others will receive a financial package when their service ends. The launch of this scheme prompted several protests in the country, demanding the repeal of the Agnipath scheme and the continuation of the old recruitment process for the armed forces (here & here).
Several cases were filed against the Agnipath scheme, but all were dismissed in the respective courts. According to reports, in December 2023, the Supreme Court dismissed two pleas challenging the Delhi High Court’s February 2023 judgment, which upheld the Agnipath scheme (here, here, & here).
In February 2023, upholding the union government’s Agnipath scheme for the armed forces, the Delhi High Court dismissed petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the Agnipath scheme and seeking directions to the government to complete previous recruitment processes for the Army and Air Force, which were cancelled after the Agnipath scheme was implemented. The court in its judgement stated that it does not interfere with policy decisions concerning national security in the normal course, as it is not best placed to make such decisions. The court concluded that the scheme was implemented in the national interest to ensure that the armed forces are better equipped. It also noted that the scope of judicial review does not extend to excessively questioning government policy decisions unless they are arbitrary, discriminatory, or based on irrelevant considerations.
According to reports (here, here, & here), JD(U), an important ally of the BJP-led NDA government, wants the government to review the Agnipath scheme. JD(U) leader K.C. Tyagi said that his party had offered unconditional support to the BJP but wanted the shortcomings of the Agnipath scheme to be discussed in detail. He further stated that there were reports of unhappiness among a section of voters in western Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan over the Agnipath scheme. He also clarified that his remarks were exactly in sync with the line articulated on several occasions by Rajnath Singh that the scheme is going to be reviewed periodically to look for shortcomings and their removal.
Amid this context, a viral document claiming that the Government of India has relaunched the Agnipath scheme as the Sainik Samman scheme is circulating widely. To check the veracity of this claim, we conducted a relevant keyword search on the internet. However, we did not find any credible reports about any such “relaunch” of the Agnipath scheme by the government. If the government had taken any such decision, it would have been reported widely by several media outlets.
We then visited the official website of the Ministry of Defence and did not find any press release or notification about changes to the Agnipath scheme. We also scanned the official social media handles of the Defence Ministry (here, here, here, & here) and did not find any announcement about the relaunch of the Agnipath scheme either.
Upon carefully reviewing the entire viral document, we noticed that it neither carried an official letterhead nor was it signed by any competent authority. Additionally, the text in the document contained multiple grammatical and spelling errors. For example, the name of the scheme “Agnipath” itself is misspelt as “Aganipath.” The word “permanent” is misspelled as “parmanent,” while “pension” is spelled as “pantion.” “Guaranteed” is misspelled as “gurnted,” and “lakhs” as “lacks,” confirming that this document is not authentic.
Furthermore, we found a post by the government’s PIB Fact Check on X (Twitter) on 16 June 2024. The post clarified that the Government of India has made no such decision regarding the Agnipath scheme and labelled the viral document as “fake.” The post reads: “A #fake WhatsApp message claims that the Agnipath Scheme has been re-launched as ‘Sainik Samman Scheme’ after review with several changes including duty period being extended to 7 years, 60% permanent staff & increased income. GOI has taken no such decision.”
To sum up, this viral document claiming that the government has relaunched the Agnipath scheme as the Sainik Samman scheme with multiple changes is fake.