Ex-servicemen (ESM) / Agniveers as Grass-root Entrepreneurs

A typical soldier is usually from rural background. He has spent around 15 to 20 years of his best years in Armed Forces. He is well-trained, has all potential abilities needed to be a grass-root leader. After retirement, he usually wants to go back and settle down in his village. He is well-respected in the community.

But often, lack of economically viable options force many of them to take up low-end jobs in cities like security guards, drivers and so on. That is a travesty at multiple levels. An ex-serviceman deserves better after two decades of service to the nation as a soldier. Further, while there is an acute need for grass-root leadership at village level, we, as a society, fail to utilise the potential of an ESM for the purpose.

Every year, over 60,000 soldiers retire from Indian Armed Forces. That makes for over half a million of them who have retired in last 10 years or so, with a large percentage of them from rural background.

From 2027 onwards, as per the Government policy, every year 30,000 Agniveers will leave their service, most of them in the age group of 25-28 years. They too will need dignified livelihood, preferably around their villages.

A huge impact can be created in rural development, if even 5% of them are developed as rural entrepreneurs.

Sainya-Krishi: Combining the high demand of natural farming with discipline of ESM / Agniveers

Our business model has been developed over five years of effort to address the above-mentioned challenges at grass-root level. We have closely observed the challenges to adoption of Natural Farming

All things being where they are, if one looks at any well-run rural program it will, in all likelihood, furnish two critical predictors of success:

An inspiring leader at grass-root level.
Quality and discipline of execution

This is where, we believe, ESMs (and later Agniveers) can play a crucial role.

First giving them employment in their own villages and then progressively developing them as Micro-entrepreneurs not only gives them dignified livelihood in their own villages with good and sustained income (in a high demand area of the coming years), but also has the potential to unleash natural farming revolution for small farmers through them in their own villages and communities.