On Friday, a notable ceremony at INS Chilka marked the passing out of 1,389 Agniveers, including 214 women, from the Indian Navy. This significant event was graced by Admiral Dinesh K. Tripathi, the Chief of the Naval Staff, who reviewed the Passing Out Parade.

"However, in the first batch of Agniveers, this age relaxation will be five years," the chief minister added.

Requesting President Droupadi Murmu’s “intervention,” in the matter of granting special privileges to Agniveer, Rahul Gandhi said as President she could not generally interfere in matters of policy, but an exception had to be made to address the “discrimination against our Agniveer who bravely risk their lives to serve.”

Various activities including blindfold stripping and assembling, arms drill, physical training display, drill by Agniveervayu team, yoga, continuity drill without arms and unarmed combat drill were held on the occasion.

Agniveer, the esteemed organisation renowned for its commitment to service, is set to host a recruitment rally under the Unit Headquarter Quota (UHQ) at 1 EME Centre, Secunderabad, starting from June 20.

About 350 NCC cadets have joined the Indian Navy as Agniveers over the last year, Navy Chief Admiral R Hari Kumar said on Saturday.