Govt. to increase reservation for Agniveers in CAPFs to 50%

Months before the first batch of Agniveers were withdrawn from service, the Union Home Ministry had decided to increase the reservation of old Agniveers in Group C posts of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) to 50% from the current 10%, a senior government official said. Hindu.

On Friday, December 19, 2025, the Ministry announced that 50% of vacant police officer vacancies in the Border Security Force (BSF) will be reserved for former Intervenors. The notification suggests that despite being exempt from the Physical Standard Test and Physical Ability Test, former Agniveers will have to appear for written exams like other regular candidates.

Recruitment rules for Group C posts of all CAPFs will be changed gradually in the coming days, the official said. This is a significant change from the Ministry’s previous decision to implement 10% reservation for temporary conscripts of the armed forces in CAPFs.

The recruitment policy announced in 2022 was met with violent protests and became one of the most important issues in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Following the protests, the Ministry announced that 10% of all vacancies in CAPFs will be reserved for members of the armed forces who have completed four years of service under the Agnipath programme. He also announced that there will be a five-year age relaxation in recruitment for the first batch and a three-year age relaxation for subsequent batches. The first batch of Agniveers will be eligible for employment in CAPFs in 2026.

On Friday, the Ministry notified the Border Security Force General Duty Cadre (Non-Gazette) Recruitment Rules, (Amendment) Rules, 2025, containing new provisions. The Amended Rules state: “By direct recruitment (fifty per cent of vacancies shall be reserved in each year of recruitment for former Allies, ten per cent for ex-Servicemen and up to three per cent for filling annual vacancies among War Officers (Tradesmen).”

“In the first phase, recruitment for fifty per cent vacancies reserved for ex-Advisers will be carried out by the Nodal Force” and “in the second phase, personnel selection will be carried out by the Personnel Selection Commission for candidates other than ex-Advisers for the remaining forty-seven per cent (including ten per cent ex-Servicemen) for vacancies along with unfilled posts of ex-Advisers of a particular category in the first phase”, it said.

The age criteria for recruitment to the rank of constable from among the Combat Officers (Tradesmen) of the BSF has been relaxed from the existing 30 to 35 years and the minimum service period has been increased from three to five years. The upper age limit for assignment to other forces has been increased from 52 to 56.

The CAPFs comprise the Central Industrial Security Force, BSF, Central Reserve Police Force, Indo Tibetan Border Police, Sashastra Seema Bal and Assam Rifles.