The Indian Navy’s sprawling lakeside training facility, INS Chilka, is brimming with verve and cheer as the country’s first Agniveers — selected under the new Agnipath model for short-term recruitment of soldiers in the three services — are on the threshold of a challenging military career, and prepare to finish their training at the verdant 1,540-acre campus after four gruelling months, in a watershed moment for the country’s armed forces
