Armed Forces of India – the most adventurous and the most rewarding career option for those who have a passion to serve the motherland.
The Armed Forces has three main arms -Army, Navy and Air Force. Each of these has many different branches trained for combat and defence. Specially trained personnel man each of the several branches. Candidates aspiring to join the defence services are recruited, trained and inducted into their chosen branch for training and serving.
In this article information about entry for training for defence service after graduation and post-graduation have been summarized.
Combined Defence Services Examination (CDSE)
Union Public Service Commission through its notification in the months of April and October, conducts an entrance examination for entry into the officer cadre of Army, Navy and Air Force. Candidates qualifying in written examination have to appear before a service selection board (SSB) for interview. Those opting for Air Force have to undergo Pilot Aptitude test. Those who come in the merit list undergo medical examination and after selection are sent to the training establishments .
• Indian Military Academy, Dehradun (IMA)
• Naval Academy, Goa
• Air Force Academy, Begumpet, Hyderabad
• Officers Training Academy,Chennai
Age requirements
• For IMA - Unmarried male candidates between the age of 18 and 23 years
• For Naval Academy - Unmarried male candidates in between the age of 18 and 22 years
• For Air Force Academy - Unmarried male candidates in between the age of 18 and 21 years
• For Officers' Training - Academy male candidates (married or unmarried) in between the age of 18 and 24 years
Educational qualifications
• For IMA and Officers' Training Academy - Degree of a recognized university or equivalent.
• For Naval Academy - B.Sc with Physics & Mathematics or Bachelor of Engineering.
• For Air Force Academy - Degree of a recognized university or equivalent with Physics and/or Mathematics as subjects. Candidates who have passed their degree examination with subjects other than Physics and/or Mathematics as subjects are also eligible provided they have passed 10+2 pattern of school education or an equivalent examination with mathematics and Physics as subject of Examination.
Air Force Common Admission Test
Male and Female graduate candidates are selected for entry to the Air Force for Flying Branch Short Service Commission, and for Technical and Ground duty Branches for Permanent/Short Service Commission also through Air Force Common Admission Test. Female candidates can only join as Short Service Officers on being selected. The age requirements and educational qualifications are as mentioned above for graduates. The test is of multiple choice questions on verbal ability, numerical ability, reasoning and general awareness and aptitude.
Incentives to NCC Cadets:
NCC cadets can enter the defence forces through reserved vacancies. Army has 50 vacancies in every regular course of IMA. Navy has 6 vacancies per course and Airforce has 20 vacancies for NCC cadets. Eligibility is based on the certificate acquired in NCC. (Refer to the end of this article.)
Service Selection Board (SSB)
After the UPSC written examination for NDA and CDSE or after the scrutiny and short listing of applicants by the respective headquarters all candidates are put through personality test, group test and interview before being sent for medical examination.
Special tests of Selection have to be cleared for the engineering branch and by pilots.