UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Centre sidesteps query on Agniveers’ career progression
Q1. With reference to the Agnipath Scheme, what does the term 'Seva Nidhi' refer to?
- A. A lifelong monthly pension paid to Agniveers retained after four years of service
- B. A tax-free lump-sum corpus, built from monthly contributions and a matching government share, paid to Agniveers on exit after four years
- C. A scholarship fund maintained by the Ministry of Defence for the children of serving Agniveers
- D. A group insurance cover provided to Agniveers during their four-year tenure
Q2. With reference to the ex-Agniveer wing set up within the Ministry of Home Affairs in 2025, consider the following:
1. Coordinating with central ministries and State Governments for post-service career progression of ex-Agniveers.
2. Setting up an online portal for monitoring further progression of ex-Agniveers.
3. Fixing the proportion of each Agniveer batch (currently up to 25%) to be retained in the regular armed forces.
4. Operationalising the enhanced reservation of Group-C vacancies in the Central Armed Police Forces for ex-Agniveers.
Which of the above is/are correctly identified as functions assigned to the Ministry of Home Affairs in this regard?
- Coordinating with central ministries and State Governments for post-service career progression of ex-Agniveers.
- Setting up an online portal for monitoring further progression of ex-Agniveers.
- Fixing the proportion of each Agniveer batch (currently up to 25%) to be retained in the regular armed forces.
- Operationalising the enhanced reservation of Group-C vacancies in the Central Armed Police Forces for ex-Agniveers.
- A. 1, 2 and 4 only
- B. 1 and 3 only
- C. 2, 3 and 4 only
- D. 1, 2, 3 and 4
Q3. Which one of the following Central Armed Police Forces was the FIRST to amend its recruitment rules to reserve 50% of Group-C (constable) vacancies for ex-Agniveers in 2025?
- A. Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF)
- B. Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP)
- C. Border Security Force (BSF)
- D. Central Industrial Security Force (CISF)
Q4. With reference to the post-service framework for ex-Agniveers as it stood in late 2025 compared with the position at the launch of the Agnipath Scheme in 2022, consider the following statements:
1. Reservation for ex-Agniveers in Group-C posts of the Central Armed Police Forces has been raised from 10% to 50%.
2. Ex-Agniveers are exempted from the Physical Standard Test (PST) and Physical Efficiency Test (PET) in CAPF recruitment, but must still appear for the written examination.
3. Coordination of activities for further career progression of ex-Agniveers has been transferred from the Ministry of Defence to the Ministry of Home Affairs through an amendment to the Government of India (Allocation of Business) Rules, 1961.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
- Reservation for ex-Agniveers in Group-C posts of the Central Armed Police Forces has been raised from 10% to 50%.
- Ex-Agniveers are exempted from the Physical Standard Test (PST) and Physical Efficiency Test (PET) in CAPF recruitment, but must still appear for the written examination.
- Coordination of activities for further career progression of ex-Agniveers has been transferred from the Ministry of Defence to the Ministry of Home Affairs through an amendment to the Government of India (Allocation of Business) Rules, 1961.
- A. 1 and 2 only
- B. 2 and 3 only
- C. 1 and 3 only
- D. 1, 2 and 3
Q5. As per the Cabinet Secretariat gazette notification of 16 June 2025 amending the Government of India (Allocation of Business) Rules, 1961, the responsibility of coordinating activities for further career progression of ex-Agniveers has been allocated to which one of the following Ministries?
- A. Ministry of Defence
- B. Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship
- C. Ministry of Labour and Employment
- D. Ministry of Home Affairs