The first batch of about 46,000 Agniveers completes its four years in the coming months. During Operation Sindoor, they ran air-defence systems, drove missile- and gun-mounted vehicles, and served aboard warships on standby in the Arabian Sea. One of them, 24-year-old Mood Muralinaik, died in action near the border. The dire prediction that a four-year soldier would be a lesser soldier has proven to be fearmongering. Agnipath’s design always had a strong logic: build a younger, more tech-savvy force, restore a recruitment pipeline the Army badly needed after the pandemic gap, and rein in a pension bill (₹1.71 trillion this year) that keeps growing at the expense of modernisation. Whether Agnipath becomes the transformative reform the government promised will hinge on what happens to the 75% who leave. If a 25-year-old veteran with combat experience and ₹11.71 lakh walks into a dignified next job, it can be counted as success . Raise the retention rate, especially for technical roles, and turn hiring promises into actual appointments. via @bsindia