Social media posts sharing a document claiming that the Indian government is relaunching the Agnipath scheme as the 'Sainik Saman scheme' with some changes, are false.
BOOM found that the central government has not released any such document officially. We found a clarification issued by the fact-checking wing of the Press Information Bureau (PIB) on X that refuted the viral claims and called the document fake.
The Indian Express reported on June 13, 2024, citing sources stating that the Indian Armed Forces are discussing possible tweaks to the Agnipath scheme for military recruitment including changes in the retention percentage of Agniveers from the current 25 per cent and increase in their training period.
This comes after opposition to the scheme by the opposition including the Congress party after it was introduced in June 2022. After the formation of the government post the general election, Bharatiya Janata Party's ally Janata Dal (United), which it depends on for its survival at the centre has reportedly demanded to scrap the Agnipath scheme.
The viral document compares the Agnipath scheme with a relaunched 'Sainik Saman scheme', claiming among several other things including extension of the service period from four to seven years.
The viral document is being shared with the caption, when translated to English reads, "The biggest news of the time from sources, Agnipath Yojana will now be known as Sainik Saman Yojana. Now the tenure of these soldiers has been proposed to extend from 4 years to 7 years. Now provision has been made to permanent 60% instead of 25. All soldiers with technical will also be permanent"
(In Hindi -सूत्रों के हवाले से इस वक्त की सबसे बड़ी खबर, अग्निपथ योजना को अब सैनिक सम्मान योजना के नाम से जानेंगे.अब इन सैनिकों का कार्यकाल 4 साल से बढ़ा कर 7 साल करने का प्रस्ताव किया गया है. अब 25 की बजाय 60% को Permanent करने का प्रावधान किया गया है.Technical वाले सभी सैनिक भी Permanent होंगे~)
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FACT-CHECK
BOOM found that the viral document circulating is fake and has not been officially released by the central government on relaunching the Agnipath scheme as 'Sainik Saman scheme'.
We checked for official notifications released by the central government and the Defence Ministry and did not find any document posted by them on relaunching the Agnipath scheme.
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We also noticed several spelling mistakes on the viral document which establish that it is not an official document. The name of the scheme itself is misspelled as 'Aganipath', instead of 'Agnipath'.
Additionally, we found a clarification issued by the fact-checking wing of the Press Information Bureau (PIB) on X that refuted the viral claims and called the document fake.
PIB Fact-Check called the document fake and posted with the caption, "A #fake WhatsApp message claims that the Agnipath Scheme has been re-launched as 'Sainik Saman 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."