Category Career Queries

Who are Agniveers?

Agniveers are recruits for the armed forces under the short-term induction programme. Read on to find out more about them.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently interacted with Agniveers through a video conference. But do you know who Agniveers are and why they are recruited? Come, let’s find out.

Agniveers and Agnipath

“Agniveer” is a new military rank. Agniveers are recruits for the armed forces under the short-term induction programme called the Agnipath scheme. The scheme was unveiled by the Government on June 14, 2022, to recruit Indian youths for the three services – the Indian Army, Navy, or Air Force.

Under the scheme, those in the age group 17-and-a-half years to 21 years are recruited below the rank of commissioned officers for a period of four years with a provision to retain 25% of them for 15 more years. However, the upper age limit was extended to 23 years as a one-time measure for 2022-23. The scheme was earlier called “Tour of Duty”.

Purpose of the scheme

The main purpose of the Agnipath scheme is to strengthen the country’s security forces, with a youthful, high-tech, and combat-ready military. Those recruited under the scheme are provided training and a pay package, and on completion of the term, will be given a one-time retirement package called ‘Seva Nidhi, which will be exempted from income tax. However, the scheme does not include a pension or other benefits.

How do they train?

The training period, which lasts 31 weeks, is divided into two phases. The first 10 weeks are devoted to basic military training and the next 21 weeks to advanced military training. The training will focus on physical fitness, firing and handling various weapons, information technology, and the English language. Nearly 60 lakh applications were received of which 40,000 were selected. The target for this financial year is to recruit 46,000 candidates.

PM’s address to Agniveers

Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently interacted with the first batch of Agniveers through video conferencing. He asserted that Agnipath was a transformative policy and a game changer in strengthening the armed forces and making them future-ready.

Hailing the potential of Agniveers, he said the experience they would acquire through this opportunity, would be a source of pride for life. He said the scheme would further empower women.

The introduction of the short-term military employment scheme has faced criticism from some sections for lack of consultation and public debate.

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What is meaning of term ‘Vermicopost’?

Compost is a natural fertilizer obtained using organic components such as leaves and food scrap. Vermicomposting is the process that uses worms such as earthworms to create such compost. The worms consume the organic waste and what they excrete is the manure. This manure is said to contain nutrients higher than before the composting. Vermicompost can be prepared at home, it is completely natural, puts organic waste to good use, and is also odourless. More importantly, it eliminates the use of chemical fertilizers that can harm the soil, wildlife dependent on it, and even humans.

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What is meaning of term ‘Slow fashion’?

The clothes we wear are one of the top global polluters. Here’s why. They are produced in large quantities, making them “cheap” to buy, so we wear them just a few times, throw them away and buy new clothes all over again. Such mass production of clothing in a short while is called fast fashion. These large quantities are made by people who are paid unfairly poorly, often working long hours and in uncomfortable spaces. In effect, fast fashion causes human and planet suffering. And slow fashion hopes to correct this. It is the opposite of fast fashion-the clothes are produced in very small quantities and the people creating them are paid fairly. Such clothes are also of good quality, last long, and are more expensive than mass-produced ones. Which means, we care better for them, wear them for a long while, thus decreasing the amount of waste the clothing industry generates.

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What are UFOs?

Hundreds of new UFO reports, but…there is still no evidence of aliens. The Pentagon, the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, has set up a new office to track reports of UFO sightings and collect data.

What are UFOs?

A new Pentagon office set up to track reports of unidentified flying objects (UFOS) has received “several hundreds” of new reports. What are UFOS? Over the centuries, people have reported seeing strange airborne objects or unusual optical phenomena in the sky. These are called UFOS. Over the years, the belief that UFOs are the spaceships of aliens from other planets has gained ground – though without any concrete evidence. Are there possibilities of extraterrestrial life? Shouldn’t the sightings be tracked systematically? Well, that’s why the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) was formed.

2. What is AARO?

The AARO was set up in July 2022 to track unidentified objects in the sky, underwater and in space. It was established following more than a year of attention on unidentified flying objects that military pilots have observed.

It focusses on unexplained activity around military installations, restricted airspace and “other areas of interest” and is aimed at helping identify possible threats to the safety of U.S. military operations and to national security.

3. Scientific approach

Sean Kirkpatrick, director, AARO, did not rule out the possibility of extraterrestrial life and said he was taking a scientific approach to the research. Since the launch of the AARO, there have been several hundred new reports.

“We are structuring our analysis to be very thorough and rigorous. We will go through it all. And as a physicist, I have to adhere to the scientific method.”

4. No alien life

The U.S. military officially calls the 144 sightings observed between 2004 and 2021 as “unidentified aerial phenomena.”

But they have seen nothing that indicates alien life. “I have not seen anything that would suggest that there has been an alien visitation, an alien crash or anything like that,” said Ronald Moultrie, Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security.

5. Quick facts

* The Air Force conducted an investigation into UFO activity called ‘Project Blue Book’. It ended in 1969 with a list of 12,618 sightings, 701 of which involved objects that officially remained “unidentified.”

* In 1994, it concluded that the 1947 famous “Roswell incident” in New Mexico, was not an UFO but a crashed balloon, the military’s long-standing explanation.

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What is military literature?

The MLF is India’s one-of-a-kind literary festival that solely focusses on military literature and our soldiers’ personal accounts of the war front.

The Military Literature Festival (MLF) started in 2017 as a joint initiative of the Punjab Government and the Western command. It honours the bravery and selflessness of our soldiers and presents a platform to deliberate on contemporary military, security, and geopolitical issues. This annual winter festival usually takes place in the month of November or December. This year saw the sixth edition of the festival take place from 3 to 4 December. It was preceded by a motorcycle brave heart rally on November 27 in honour of the martyrs of Saragarhi and the 1962 Sino-Indian war. The theme for the previous year’s MLA was “Saluting the Selfless”. It celebrated 75 years of independence and the services of the armed forces. The two-day event consisted of enthralling panel discussions on topics like the Russian invasion of Ukraine, instability in Pakistan and its effect on India, and the Relevance of freedom fighter Bhagat Singh’s ideology and beliefs in today’s world.

Books that were brought under the spotlight during this period included Ramesh Inder Singh’s ‘Turmoil In Punjab’: Before and After Blue Star: An Insider’s Account, Lt General Dalip Singh’s Pratirodh: The Resistance, and Arun Bhatnagar,s Orphaned at Freedom – A Subcontinent’s Tale. Celebrated speakers that attended the event included IAF officer Vijay Gokhale, authors Jabin T Jacob, RK Kaushik, Sushant Sareen, and retired servicemen including Admirals like Sunil Lanba, Vice- admiral Anup Singh, and Lt Gen Vijay Oberoi. Lauding our brave soldiers and their bravado in protecting the nation, the MLF is India’s one-of-a-kind literary festival that solely focusses on military literature and our soldiers personal accounts of the war front.

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INS Mormugao: Sailing with the times

Named after the historic port city in Goa, the warship has around 75% indigenous content.

India has achieved a new milestone in indigenous warship building. The Indian Navy has commissioned the indigenously built guided missile destroyer INS Mormugao. But do you know what it is?

INS Mormugao

INS Mormugao is the second of four Visakhapatnam’-class destroyers, which are classed as P-15B stealth, guided-missile destroyers. A ship ‘class’ describes a group of vessels of similar tonnage, usage, capabilities, and weaponry.

The warship has been named after the historic port city in the coastal State of Goa. Built by the Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDSL), the ship was commissioned a day before the Goa Liberation Day celebrations.

The ship was launched by then Defence Minister late Manohar Parrikar on September 17, 2016. INS Mormugao undertook its first sea sortie on December 19 last year, when Goa celebrated its 60 years of liberation from Portuguese rule.

Since the ship has been designed by the Indian Navy’s Warship Design Bureau, it has around 75% indigenous content.

INS Mormugao and the other three ships in the class are 163 metre long and 17.4 metre wide, with a displacement of 7,300 tonnes.

They are operated by a crew of 350, including 50 officers and 250 sailors. Accommodation and working areas have superior ergonomics and habitability compared with its predecessor classes.

Features

It can fight under nuclear, biological and chemical warfare conditions.

Propelled by four powerful gas turbines, the warship is capable of achieving speeds of over 30 knots.

Besides being equipped with surface-to-surface and surface-to-air missiles, it has modern surveillance radar that helps in getting target data to the weapon systems.

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