Navy Agniveers: Maharashtra Appoints 282 as Police Constables
Image: Deccan Chronicle
Maharashtra has appointed 282 former Navy Agniveers as police constables and placed them in the state’s coastal security wing, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis told reporters in Nagpur on Friday, 23 October. He said appointment orders have been issued, and that the state will offer similar police jobs to Agniveers from the Army and the Air Force later.
150 Seamen Deckside, 132 Engineside
Of the 282 appointees, 150 are Seaman Deckside and 132 are Seaman Engineside, according to the Chief Minister. All are Maharashtra residents. Fadnavis said the Centre sent the state its first list of such personnel, which the state approved. He credited their training and service in difficult terrain for the coastal posting, and called the arrangement mutually beneficial.
Ten Per Cent Quota Cleared on 29 September
The appointments follow a state cabinet decision on 29 September to give former Agniveers 10% horizontal reservation in Group C uniformed posts, Deccan Chronicle reported. The posts include police constable, prison constable, fireman, forest guard and State Excise jawan. Candidates must have completed four years under the Agnipath scheme, and the cabinet exempted them from the written test and the physical efficiency and standard tests. Age relaxation is also provided; Fadnavis has put it at four years. At that stage an official had said 18 Navy Agniveers would join the Coastal Police. The number announced now is far higher.
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Other states have made similar moves. Assam reserved 12% of constable and equivalent posts for former Agniveers, and Gujarat announced a 20% quota with direct recruitment into its police, The News Mill reported.
Army and Air Force Agniveers Next
Fadnavis did not give a date for opening police posts to Army and Air Force Agniveers. A detailed government resolution on the quota was still to be issued when the cabinet cleared it in September. For related defence coverage, see our report on the India-Singapore naval exercise SIMBEX-2026, or browse Daily Updates.
Source: Based on reporting by Free Press Journal, The News Mill, Asianet Newsable (ANI) and Deccan Chronicle.
Image: Deccan Chronicle.
