Hello Aspirants, Many of us want to serve in the Indian Air Force. AFCAT is one of the entries that offer us the opportunity to explore our career as an Air Warrior. Let us see the details and must know the stuffs of the entry.
AFCAT stands for Air Force Common Admission Test. The entry consists of an online objective examination which is followed by an SSB interview, medicals, and final Merit List.
AFCAT is conducted by Indian Air Force via Online Mode twice in a year, generally in Feb and in Aug. With this entry one, male or female, can join the following branches of the IAF.
To Download AFCAt 2/20 Admit Card, CLICK HERE
• Flying Branch for Short Service Commission only
• Ground Duties– 1) Technical
2) Non-Tech
For PC and SSC both
Eligibility :
Air Warriors OF Indian Air Force
For Flying :
Age- 20 to 24 years (at the time of commencement of course).
Upper age limit for Candidates holding valid and current Commercial Pilot Licence issued by DGCA (India) is relaxed up to 26 years(at the time of commencement of course).
Nationality – Indian
Marital Status- Single
Gender – Men and Women.
Educational Qualifications :
Minimum of 60% marks each in Maths & Physics at 10+2 level. Graduates (Three Year Course) in any discipline from a recognised University who have attained minimum 60% marks or equivalent OR BE/B Tech (Four Year Course) from a recognised university with minimum 60% marks or equivalent.
OR
Cleared Section A & B examination of Associate Membership of Institute Engineers (India) or Aeronautical Society of India from a recognised University with a minimum of 60% marks or equivalent.
Final Year students are also eligible to apply, provided they do not have any backlog at the time of AFSB Testing and produce Degree certificate issued by the University as per the date stipulated in the advertisement.
For Ground Duties-
1) Technical Branch–
Age – 20 to 26 years (at the time of commencement of course)
Nationality – Indian
Marital Status – Unmarried candidates below the age of 25 years.
Type Of Commisision – For both Men and Women. Permanent Commission (for men) / Short Service Commission (For men and women)
Educational Qualification:
Depending upon your stream of Engineering and subjects studied, you could join one of the sub branches of the Ground Duty (Technical) branch.
A candidate should have minimum of 50% marks each in Physics and Mathematics at 10+2 level and have undergone any one of the following educational qualifications:-
A minimum of four year graduation / integrated post-graduation qualification in Engineering / Technology from recognised university.
2) Non Technical Branch –
GENERAL ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA for Ground Duty (Non-technical) Branches.
Age – 20 to 26 Years for Graduates and Post Graduates (at the time of commencement of course).
Marital Status – Unmarried Candidates below the age of 25 years.
Nationality – Indian.
Gender – Both men and women.
As a Graduate/Post Graduate you can join as an officer in any of the following Ground Duty (Non-technical) Branches.
ADMINISTRATION BRANCH
Permanent Commission (for Men)/Short Service Commission (for Men & Women) Responsible for the efficient management of both human and material resources.
Some of the officers of the Administration Branch are selected and trained to carry out the following duties also:
Air Traffic Controller – Involves maintaining an orderly flow of traffic and airspace management.
Fighter Controller – Involves close contact and supervision between the air and radar for effective airspace management.
Educational Qualifications –
Graduate Degree (Minimum three year degree course) in any discipline from a recognised university with 60% marks or equivalent or cleared section A & B examination of Associate Membership of Institution of Engineers (India) or Aeronautical Society of India from a recognised university with a minimum of 60% marks or equivalent.
ACCOUNTS BRANCH
Permanent Commission (for Men)/Short Service Commission (for Men & Women) Responsible for efficient financial management of funds. You will also act as internal auditor to ensure a zero-defect audit from outside agencies.
Educational Qualifications-
B.Com degree (minimum three year degree course) from a recognised university with a minimum 60% marks or equivalent.
LOGISTICS BRANCH
Permanent Commission (for Men)/Short Service Commission (for Men & Women) Responsible for materials management of all Air Force resources. You would ensure efficient supervision of inventories, and involve in procurement processes of various ranges of equipment.
Educational Qualifications:
Graduate Degree (Minimum three year degree course) in any discipline from a recognised university with 60% marks or equivalent or cleared section A & B examination of Associate Membership of Institution of Engineers (India) or Aeronautical Society of India from a recognised university with a minimum of 60% marks or equivalent.
EDUCATION BRANCH
Permanent Commission (for Men)/Short Service Commission (for Men & Women)
Educational Qualifications:
Passed 10+2 and Post-Graduation with 50% in any discipline including integrated courses offering PG (Single degree without permission to exit and lateral entry) and with 60% marks in Graduation in any discipline. For integrated courses (single degree without permission to exit and lateral entry), the minimum duration must be as per prevailing UGC guidelines with a minimum of 50% marks in aggregate of all papers put together.
METEOROLOGY BRANCH
Permanent Commission (for Men)/Short Service Commission (for Men & Women)As a Meteorology Branch Officer you would be involved handling the latest satellite imagery and state-of-the-art monitoring equipment, you would render specific advice to the operators on all aspects of weather.
Educational Qualification:
Post Graduation Degree in any science stream/Mathematics/Statistics/Geography/Computer Applications/Environmental Science/Applied Physics/Oceanography/Agricultural Meteorology/Ecology & Environment/Geo-physics/Environmental Biology. All candidates should have scored a minimum 50% marks in aggregate in all papers of Post Graduation put together (provided Maths & Physics were studied at Graduation level with a minimum of 55% marks in both).
Marking Scheme:-
Maximum marks for the exam is 300. The paper consists of 100 questions. 3 marks for each correct answer and 1 mark will be deducted for each incorrect answer. No marks will be allotted or deducted for unattempted question.
Syllabus :-
Generally, The question paper has 4 sections. Let us discuss each section with subtopics included,
1. English- Comprehension, Error Detection, Sentence Completion/ Filling in of correct word, Synonyms, Antonyms, Testing of Vocabulary, Idioms and Phrases.
2. General Awareness- History, Politics, Civics, Current Affairs, Environment, Basic Science, Defence, Art, Culture, Sports,etc.
3. Numerical Ability- Decimal Fractions, Time and Work, Average, Profit & Loss, Percentage, Ratio & Proportion, Simple Interest, Time & Distance (Trains/Boat/ Streams)
4. Reasoning and Military Aptitude- Verbal Skills & Spatial Ability.
You can download detailed syllabus here.
About EKT :-
EKT stands for Engineering Knowledge Test. It needs to be appeared for the Technical Branch Canditates Only. It is conducted to test basic engineering knowledge of candidate.
The Syllabus for EKT varies according to candidate’s branch of engineering.
EKT is of 50 questions and maximum 150 marks.
Preparation Tips :-
Some AFCAT models papers are available on the official site. New Candidates must go through these papers to get an idea of the exact pattern, types, and level of questions asked in the AFCAT exam.
Candidates also need to brush up their knowledge of the subtopics of sections mentioned above; Specially formulae for subtopics mentioned in the numerical ability section.
Candidates must be aware of military exercises and other recent defence updates.
One can refer to goods books dedicated to AFCAT that are available in markets.
As clearing the AFCAT exam is an important step for the final selection, one must prepare for it well in time. Though the exam is not as tough as NDA/ CDS exams are, some preparation needs to be done to clear the required cut-off.
