First Agniveer Batch Exits in December 2026: Haryana Offers 20 Percent Quota in Police and Forest Jobs
About 18,300 Agniveers from the first batch of the Agnipath scheme will complete their four-year engagement and leave the armed forces by 31 December 2026, opening a large, planned transition into civilian and uniformed jobs. The Navy will begin releasing personnel in phases from mid-November, followed by the Air Force and the Army. Under the scheme, up to 25 percent of a batch can be retained in regular service on the basis of performance and requirement. Those who leave receive a one-time Seva Nidhi package of Rs 11.71 lakh, along with a detailed discharge certificate that helps them when they apply for other government jobs. The biggest opening is in the Central Armed Police Forces. The Home Ministry has reserved 50 percent of Constable (General Duty) vacancies in the CAPFs and Rifleman vacancies in Assam Rifles for former Agniveers. They are exempt from the written examination and physical tests for these posts, and the first batch gets a five-year relaxation in the upper age limit. Haryana has moved further for its own domiciled youth. The state government notified revised rules on 16 October 2026, effective retrospectively from 1 September 2026, giving 20 percent horizontal reservation to former Agniveers in uniformed posts including police constable, India Reserve Battalion constable, State Disaster Response Force constable, forest guard, wildlife guard, mining guard, prison warder and fire operator-cum-driver. For other Group C posts the reservation is 5 percent, and for skill-linked Group B posts it is 1 percent. Former Agniveers are also exempt from written examinations for direct recruitment to Group C posts in Haryana. Railways offers 10 percent horizontal reservation in Level-1 posts, while the Coast Guard, defence civilian posts and 16 defence public sector undertakings carry a 10 percent reservation. Together, these measures give the first batch a clear, structured path from military service into long-term government careers.
