Army Recruitment Picks Up In Telangana And South India
“Southern youth are vital to building a tech-savvy, modern defence force”: Defence minister Rajnath Singh
HYDERABAD: After years of lagging behind northern states, youth from Telangana and other southern states are steadily joining the armed and paramilitary forces in greater numbers, buoyed by the Centre’s reforms under the Agnipath scheme and renewed focus on defence awareness.
According to the ministry of defence’s Year-End Review 2024, southern states now account for about 17-18 per cent of the Indian Army’s personnel. Telangana’s contribution, though modest, has improved to about 1.3 per cent, compared with less than one per cent a decade ago.
As per data tabled in the Lok Sabha, 1,445 recruits from Telangana joined the Army between 2018 and 2022, while the number of ex-servicemen from the state stood at 28,200 in 2023, the latest figure released by the government.
Nationwide, the first Agnipath recruitment cycle drew a record 54 lakh applications across the Army, Navy, and Air Force. The ministry’s 2023 review reported that nearly 46,000 Agniveers were inducted that year — including 40,000 in the Army and 3,000 each in the Navy and the Air Force.
Sriharsha Rao, director of a defence-training academy in Hyderabad, said, “Awareness and accessibility have transformed the recruitment landscape. The Agnipath portal’s transparency and rural outreach have led to a threefold rise in our training enrolments over two years. Youth from districts like Warangal and Nizamabad are showing keen interest.”
Addressing the Defence Dialogue in October 2024, defence minister Rajnath Singh said that “southern youth are vital to building a tech-savvy, modern defence force.” He highlighted collaborations between the defence ministry, Skill India, and the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS), enabling Agniveers to earn formal qualifications alongside military service.
With over 20 lakh active NCC cadets nationwide in 2024 — 40 per cent of them from South India — and new Sainik Schools sanctioned in Telangana and Kerala, the trend signals a new phase of southern participation in national defence
