UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — What are the changes to the Agnipath scheme?

Q1. With reference to the financial package for Agniveers, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. The Seva Nidhi corpus is built entirely from government contributions, with no deduction from the Agniveer's monthly pay.
  2. The exit package of an Agniveer includes neither a pension nor a gratuity.
  3. An Agniveer pays the premium for their life insurance cover from their monthly pay during the engagement.
  • A. 2 and 3 only
  • B. 2 only
  • C. 1 only
  • D. 1 and 3 only

Q2. Consider the following statements: Which of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

  1. The Seva Nidhi package paid to an Agniveer on completing the engagement is exempt from income tax.
  2. Seva Nidhi is paid to the Agniveer after exit as a monthly annuity, in the manner of a pension.
  • A. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II explains Statement-I
  • B. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct, but Statement-II does not explain Statement-I
  • C. Statement-I is correct, but Statement-II is incorrect
  • D. Statement-I is incorrect, but Statement-II is correct

Q3. Under the Agnipath scheme, Personnel Below Officer Rank are recruited for a short engagement with no pension entitlement, and only part of each batch moves into the regular cadre. Which of the following consequences of this design is/are correct?

  1. Savings on the defence pension bill are realised in full in the very year the scheme is launched.
  2. Over the long run, defined-benefit pension liability grows more slowly than it would if such personnel continued to be recruited for long, pensionable service.
  3. Enrolling a larger share of Agniveers into the regular cadre would partly bring back future pension liability.
  • A. 1, 2 and 3
  • B. 1 and 2 only
  • C. 2 and 3 only
  • D. 3 only

Q4. Consider the following statements: Which of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

  1. The government's pension outgo on Armed Forces personnel who retired long ago can rise even though their service ended years earlier.
  2. Under One Rank One Pension, the pension of past retirees is re-fixed on the basis of the pensions of recent retirees of the same rank with the same length of service.
  • A. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II explains Statement-I
  • B. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct, but Statement-II does not explain Statement-I
  • C. Statement-I is correct, but Statement-II is incorrect
  • D. Statement-I is incorrect, but Statement-II is correct

Q5. With reference to the 10% reservation for former Agniveers in the Central Armed Police Forces and the Assam Rifles, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. Personnel and administrative matters of the forces covered by this reservation are dealt with by the Ministry of Home Affairs.
  2. The Assam Rifles carries out counter-insurgency operations in the North-East under the operational control of the Army.
  3. An ex-Agniveer absorbed into the Assam Rifles through this reservation does not thereby become part of the regular cadre of the Army.
  • A. 1 and 2 only
  • B. 1 only
  • C. 2 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q6. Consider the following assertion: Committed expenditure on personnel, especially pensions, limits the resources available for modernising India's Armed Forces. Which of the following statements support/supports the above assertion?

  1. All recruitment at the level of Personnel Below Officer Rank in the Armed Forces now takes place through the Agnipath scheme.
  2. Salaries and pensions together account for about 44% of estimated defence spending in 2026-27.
  3. Excluding pensions, estimated defence spending in 2026-27 falls from about 2.0% to about 1.6% of GDP.
  • A. 2 and 3 only
  • B. 1, 2 and 3
  • C. 1 and 3 only
  • D. 1 and 2 only