10+ Ways To Join the Indian Army

Sheershoo Deb August 11, 2024

0 1,178 25 minutes read

Hello defence lovers! In this article, we are going to look at various methods of joining the Indian army. The entire article can be classified into two sub-categories- How to join the Indian Army as an officer and How to join the Indian Army as a soldier. The officer entry can be further classified into two categories – one is Permanent commission and another one is temporary commission.

How to Join the Indian Army as an Officer

After 12th

National Defence Academy (NDA)

The most popular way of joining the Indian army after 10+2 is through National Defence Academy (NDA). The selected candidates receive four years of training out of which three years are spent in the National Defence Academy, Khadakwasela Pune and the final year in the respective training academies of the three branches. The NDA exam is conducted twice a year in April (NDA I) and September (NDA II) by UPSC. Now let us look at the details.

Eligibility

Nationality: A candidate must be unmarried male/female and must be :
(i) a citizen of India, or
(ii) a subject of Nepal, or
(iii) a person of Indian origin who has migrated from Pakistan, Burma, Sri Lanka and East African Countries of Kenya, Uganda, the United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi, Zaire and Ethiopia or Vietnam with the intention of permanently settling in India.

Age, Sex and Marital Status

Unmarried males and females of age 15.5 to 18.5 years are eligible. At the time of their joining the academy (Day 1 at NDA), their age must be between 16.5 to 19.5 years.

NOTE: Matriculation Certificate (Class 10 Boards ) or equivalent, Secondary School Examination Certificate (class 12 boards) or equivalent, and Secondary school leaving certificate will be considered as proof of age only. Please check the UPSC notification for further details

Educational Qualification

Candidates who have passed class 12 of the 10 + 2 pattern or equivalent from any stream are eligible for the army. However, candidates who are appearing for class 12 boards are eligible for NDA II (September Attempt) and are required to submit their passing certificate generally before June of next year. For example, a candidate studying in class 12 CBSE who will write AISSCE 2024 can appear for NDA II 2023 but cannot appear for NDA I 2023. Students in class 11 cannot apply for NDA.

Exam Pattern

The written exam consists of two papers-

Paper I: Mathematics

120 MCQ questions, 300 marks total
Time: 10 AM to 12:30 PM (2.5 hours)
Each question carries 2.5 marks for a correct answer, 0 for not attempting, and -0.83 for an incorrect answer as a negative marking.
Syllabus: Algebra, Matrices and determinants, Trigonometry, analytical geometry of two and three dimensions, differential calculus, integral calculus and differential equations, vector algebra, statistics and probability.

Paper II: General Ability

150 MCQ questions, 600 marks total
Time: 2 PM to 4:30 PM (2.5 hours)
Each question carries 4 marks for a correct answer, 0 for not attempting, and -1.33 for an incorrect answer as a negative marking.
Syllabus: Part A: English (200 Marks), Part B: General Knowledge (400 Marks) – Physics, Chemistry, General Science, History, Geography, Current Affairs.

After successfully clearing the written examination, candidates will have to register themselves on the Join Indian Army website and select a suitable SSB slot. Accordingly, they will receive call letters for SSB. After getting recommended by SSB, they will undergo a medical examination. A merit list will be issued for the candidates who will successfully clear the medical examination. The final allocation of seats in NDA will be according to this merit list.

Notification

The notification for the NDA I (April attempt) is released in December of the previous year and the notification for the NDA II (September attempt) is released in May of that very year on UPSC’s official website.

How to Apply

To apply for NDA, a candidate who has not appeared for any UPSC exam before has to create One Time Registration (OTR) on UPSC’s website. This OTR will be used for any future UPSC exam the candidate wishes to apply for.

After logging into the OTR profile, the candidate can select the ‘Latest Notification’ tab where he/she can find the NDA notification. From there the candidate can register for the exam.

Technical Entry Scheme (TES)

The Technical Entry Scheme is a wonderful opportunity for those who aspire to join the Indian army as an engineer after 10 + 2. Through the TES scheme, one can pursue engineering through the Indian army and then serve in the Indian army as an officer. Let us look into the details.

Eligibility

Nationality: A candidate must be unmarried male and must be :
(i) a citizen of India, or
(ii) a subject of Nepal, or
(iii) a person of Indian origin who has migrated from Pakistan, Burma, Sri Lanka and East African Countries of Kenya, Uganda, the United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi, Zaire and Ethiopia or Vietnam with the intention of permanently settling in India.

Age and Marital Status

Candidates of age 15.5 to 18.5 years can apply for TES. On the first day of the month of joining the academy, their age must be between 16.5 to 19.5 years.

Only unmarried males can apply for TES. The successful candidates have to remain unmarried till the course completion, otherwise, they will be discharged from the service.

Educational Qualification

Only those candidates who have passed the 10+2 Examination or its equivalent with a minimum aggregate of 60% marks in Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics from recognized education boards are eligible to apply for this entry. The eligibility condition for calculating PCM percentage of various state /central boards will be based on marks obtained in Class XII only. The candidate must have appeared for JEE mains of that particular year.

Selection Procedure

TES is a direct entry scheme which means there will be no written examination. The shortlisting of the candidates for SSB is done on the basis of JEE main’s common rank. The cutoff is roughly around 3,00,000 JEE Main Common Rank for SSB call. After getting recommended by SSB, they will undergo a medical examination. A merit list will be issued for the candidates who will successfully clear the medical examination. The final selection will be based on the merit list.

Notification

The notification is released twice a year on the Join Indian Army website. TES-I notification is released around May or June and TES -II notification is released around November/December.

How to Apply

The candidate has to register himself on the Join Indian Army website. After logging into his profile candidate can find the “apply online” tab where all entries for which he is eligible will be shown. Candidates can select the TES entry from there and fill in the necessary details.

AFMC

The Armed Forces Medical College (AFMC) entry scheme is a wonderful opportunity for those who aspire to be doctors in the Indian armed forces. Just after clearing NEET UG, a medical aspirant can directly join the AFMC instead of any regular medical college. Let us look into the details of the entry.

Eligibility

Age, Sex and Marital Status: Both unmarried male and female candidates are eligible. The candidates must be Indian citizen

Educational requirement:

The candidates have to qualify the NEET UG test of that particular year. Apart from this the Candidates must have passed one of the qualifying examinations listed at sub-para (a) to (j) below in the first attempt with English, Physics, Chemistry and Biology taken simultaneously and securing not less than 60% of the aggregate marks in these three science subjects taken together and not less than 50% marks in English and 50% marks in each of the science subjects. They must have also passed an examination in Mathematics of the tenth standard. The examinations are:-

OR
(a) The Higher Secondary (10+2) or equivalent examination in Science of a statutory Indian University/board or other recognized examination body with English, Physics, Chemistry & Biology which shall include practical test in all of these science subjects.

OR
(b) The Pre-professional/Pre-Medical examination with English, Physics, Chemistry and Biology (after passing either the Higher Secondary School examination or pre-university or equivalent examination) which shall include practical tests in these science subjects.

OR
(c) 1st year of three years Degree course of a recognized University with English, Physics, Chemistry, and Biology including practical test in Science subjects provided the examination is a University Examination.

OR
(d) Senior Secondary of a statutory Examination Board of Indian School Certificate examination of 12 years of study, last two years of study comprising of Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Mathematics or any other elective subject with English at a higher level.

OR
(e) Higher Secondary School Certificate examination of Maharashtra State Board of Higher Secondary Education with English at Higher level, anyone of the Modern Indian or Modern Foreign or Classical Languages, Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Mathematics or any other elective subject.

(f) Any other examination which in scope and standard is found to be equivalent to the Higher Secondary Science/Pre-Professional/Pre-medical Examination of Indian University/ Board with English, Physics, Chemistry and Biology including practical test in each of these Science subjects.

OR
(g) B.Sc. Examination of a recognized Indian University provided that he/she has passed the B.Sc. Examination in not less than two of the subjects Physics, Chemistry, Botany, Zoology and further that he/she has passed the qualifying examination with Physics, Chemistry, Biology and English.
Note: The criteria for marks in Qualifying Examination (i.e. 10 + 2 or equivalent exam) will remain the
same for the B.Sc. candidates also.

OR
(h) Candidates who have appeared or will be appearing in qualifying examination may also apply. Admission, if selected, however, will be subject to passing and meeting the eligibility

OR
(j) Regarding the requirement of Mathematics, any candidate who has passed Higher Secondary, Senior Cambridge or Indian School Certificate Examination and had not offered Mathematics in the final year will be deemed eligible if he / she had studied Mathematics up to the pre-final year stage (X Class) and had passed an examination in the subject provided it was at least of Tenth standard. A certificate signed by the Head Master or Principal of the school in which candidate has studied should be produced at the time of interview in such cases. A candidate who had not taken Mathematics at the Tenth or an equivalent examination but had subsequently passed in Mathematics as an additional subject in I. Sc. / B.Sc. examination is also eligible.

Selection procedure

Candidates will be shorlisted based on their NEET UG score. The shorlisted candidates will be called to AFMC Pune for further process,

Candidates will undergo the Test of English Language, Comprehension, Logic and Reasoning (ToELR), Psychological Assessment Test (PAT), Interview and Medical Examination at AFMC, Pune.

Test of English Language Comprehension, Logic and Reasoning (ToELR) will be in the form of Computer Based Test (CBT) consisting of 40 MCQs of 2.0 marks each amounting to a maximum of 80 marks and will be held at AFMC, Pune. There will be negative marks of 0.5 for every incorrect answer. These 40 questions will be required to be answered in 30 minutes. This will be followed by an interview of 50 marks. In addition to the core subjects, the candidates will be interviewed on general awareness and knowledge, interests, hobbies and personality by a panel of judges.

The final merit list will be generated from the combined result of the above assessment and will be published on the AFMC website.

Notification

How to apply

Eligible candidates who are interested in joining AFMC Pune, to pursue the MBBS course will
have to mandatorily register and apply for AFMC, Pune on DGHS website: www.mcc.nic.in during the
registration window provided by the DGHS.

Military Nursing Service (BSc Nursing Course)

For all the female candidates who are aspiring to join the Indian army and have just passed the XIIth standard exam, the BSc Nursing course is a golden opportunity. Through this entry, they can join the medical core of the Indian army as nurses. Let us look into the details of this entry.

Eligibility

Age, Marital Status and Nationality

Unmarried/legally divorced/legally separated female candidates between the ages of 17 and 25 years can apply for this role. All the candidates must be a citizen of India.

Educational Qualification

The candidates have to clear the NEET-UG exam of the particular year. For example for BSc nursing entry 2023, the candidates have to qualify the NEET-UG 2023 exam.

The candidates must qualify the Senior Secondary school exam of 10+2 pattern or equivalent on their first attempt. Additionally, they must have Chemistry, physics, biology (botany and zoology) and English as their subjects and should have a minimum 50% aggregate.

Selection procedure

Shortlisting of the candidates will be done on the basis of their NEET UG score. The shortlisted candidates will be invited to Base Hospital Delhi Cantt where they will undergo further process. The steps are:

Physical document verification: All the original documents will be checked

Test of General Intelligence and General English (ToGiGE): It will be a computer-based MCQ-type test containing 40 MCQ questions carrying 2 marks for correct answers and -0.5 for wrong answers.

Psychological Assessment and Interview: Candidates will undergo a personal interview in which their knowledge of core subjects up to class XII, current affairs and general knowledge will be tested.

The final merit list will be generated based on NEET UG score, ToGIGE score, psychological assessment results and personal interview results. The candidates will also undergo a medical examination.

Notification

Notification of the BSc Nursing Course is released once a year in the month of June.

How to apply

The candidates have to register themselves on the Join Indian Army website. After logging into their profile candidates can find the “apply online” tab where all entries for which they are eligible will be shown. Candidates can select the BSc Nursing Entry entry from there and fill in the necessary details.

After Graduation

Combined Defence Service Examination (CDSE)

CDSE is one of the most popular post-graduate entries. It is a tri-service entry, that is all three services of the Indian armed forces recruit through CDSE. The Indian army has three entries through CDS which are the Indian Military Academy (IMA), the Officers’ Training Academy (SSC Women Non-Technical Course) and the Officers’ Training Academy (SSC Course for Men). The IMA entry offers permanent commission whereas all the remaining ones offer temporary commission. CDS is conducted twice a year: in April (CDS-I) and in September (CDS-II). Now let us look into the details of the CDS entry.

Eligibility

NOTE: Provided that a candidate belonging to categories (ii) and (iii), above shall be a person in whose favour a certificate of eligibility has been issued by the Government of India. A certificate of eligibility will not, however, be necessary in the case of candidates who are Gorkha subjects of Nepal. A candidate in whose case a certificate of eligibility is necessary, may be admitted to the examination provisionally subject to the necessary certificate being given to him/her by the Govt. before the declaration of result by UPSC.

AGE Sex and Marital status

For IMA: Unmarried Male of age 18 to 23 years are eligible. At the time of joining the academy their age must be between 19 and 24 years.

For OTA: Both unmarried males and females of age 18 to 24 years are eligible. At the time of joining the academy, their age must be between 19 to 25 years.

Educational Qualification

For IMA and OTA, the educational qualification is a degree from a recognised university or equivalent. The Candidates who are in their final year/semester can also apply. They should not have any present backlog up to the last semester/year for which results have been declared up to the time of submission of the application. They have to produce the final degree before joining the academy (a particular date will be mentioned in the notification.

Selection procedure

The first stage of the CDS exam is the written exam. The test consists of three papers – English, General Knowledge and Elementary Mathematics. Each section consists of 120 questions carrying 100 marks. The maximum time for each paper is 2 hours. There negative marking of -0.33 for each wrong answer. For IMA, INA and AFA, the three sections are mandatory whereas for OTA, the candidate has to attempt only English and General knowledge papers.

After clearing the written exam, the shortlisted candidates will receive SSB interview call letters. Then the process is similar to other entries.

Notification

The notification of CDS-I (April Attempt) is released in the month of December of the previous year and for the CDS-II (September Attempt) notification is released in the month of May.

How to apply

To apply for CDS, a candidate who has not appeared for any UPSC exam before has to create One Time Registration (OTR) on UPSC’s website. This OTR will be used for any future UPSC exam the candidate wishes to apply for.

After logging into the OTR profile, the candidate can select the ‘Latest Notification’ tab where he/she can find the CDS notification. From there the candidate can register for the exam.

Technical Graduate Course (TGC)

TGC is a convenient way of joining the Indian army as an engineer. The selected candidates are trained in the Indian Military Academy (IMA) and granted permanent commission. It is very similar to SSC tech entry. Let us look into the details.

Eligibility

NOTE: Provided that a candidate belonging to categories (ii) and (iii), above shall be a person in whose favour a certificate of eligibility has been issued by the Government of India. A certificate of eligibility will not, however, be necessary in the case of candidates who are Gorkha subjects of Nepal. A candidate in whose case a certificate of eligibility is necessary will attach such certificate along with the application.

AGE Sex and Marital status

For IMA: Unmarried Males of age 19 to 26 years are eligible. At the time of joining the academy, their age must be between 20 and 27 years.

Educational Qualification

For unmarried males who have their engineering degree in the required domains can apply for this entry. The candidates who are in the final year of their engineering degree can also apply provided they can produce their degree and mark sheet within a particular date before joining the academy which will be decided by the Indian army. This date will be clearly mentioned in the notification. They also must not have any backlogs.

Selection procedure

TGC is a direct entry scheme which means there will be no written examination. The shortlisting of the candidates for SSB is done on the basis of their percentage in their engineering courses. The cut-off varies from stream to stream and can vary from roughly 60 % to 80 %. After getting recommended by SSB, they will undergo a medical examination. A merit list will be issued for the candidates who will successfully clear the medical examination. The final selection will be based on the merit list.

Notification

The notification of the TGC entry is released twice a year. The notification of TGC-I is released in May and the notification of TGC-II is released in November.

How to apply

The candidate has to register himself on the Join Indian Army website. After logging into his profile candidate can find the “apply online” tab where all entries for which he is eligible will be shown. Candidates can select the TGC entry from there and fill in the necessary details.

SSC Tech

SSC Tech entry scheme is a direct entry scheme for engineers looking for short service commission in the Indian army. The candidates will join the prestigious OTA after successful selection.

Eligibility

Nationality: A candidate must be unmarried male or female and must be :
(i) a citizen of India, or
(ii) a subject of Nepal, or
(iii) a person of Indian origin who has migrated from Pakistan, Burma, Sri Lanka and East African Countries of Kenya, Uganda, the United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi, Zaire and Ethiopia or Vietnam with the intention of permanently settling in India.

NOTE: Provided that a candidate belonging to categories (ii) and (iii), above shall be a person in whose favour a certificate of eligibility has been issued by the Government of India. A certificate of eligibility will not, however, be necessary in the case of candidates who are Gorkha subjects of Nepal. A candidate in whose case a certificate of eligibility is necessary will attach such certificate along with the application.

AGE Sex and Marital status

Both unmarried male and female candidates of age 19 to 26 years are eligible. At the time of joining the academy, their age must be between 20 and 27 years.

War widows of Indian armed forces personnel who died in harness are also eligible. Their age must not exceed 35 years while joining the academy.

Educational Qualification

Unmarried males and females who have their engineering degree in the required domains can apply for this entry. The candidates who are in the final year of their engineering degree can also apply provided they can produce their degree and mark sheet within a particular date before joining the academy which will be decided by the Indian army. This date will be clearly mentioned in the notification. They also must not have any backlogs.

For War widows, for non-tech roles, the basic requirement is graduation in any field and for tech roles B.E or B. Tech degree is required in any domain.

Selection procedure

SSC tech is a direct entry scheme which means there will be no written examination. The shortlisting of the candidates for SSB is done on the basis of their percentage in their engineering courses. The cut off varies from stream to stream and can vary from roughly 60 % to 80 %. After getting recommended by SSB, they will undergo a medical examination. A merit list will be issued for the candidates who will successfully clear the medical examination. The final selection will be based on the merit list.

Notification

The notification of SSC tech entry is released twice a year in June and January on Join Indian Army website.

How to apply

The candidate has to register himself on the Join Indian Army website. After logging into his profile candidate can find the “apply online” tab where all entries for which he is eligible will be shown. Candidates can select the SSC tech entry from there and fill in the necessary details.

Territorial Army

The territorial army is the reserve unit of the Indian army. For those who are already employed in other domains and have an unfulfilled dream of joining the Indian army, it is a golden opportunity to join the Indian army as a part-time officer. Let us look into the details

Eligibility

Only Indian citizens are eligible for this entry. Both male and female candidates can apply for this entry. The age limit for this entry is 18 to 48 years. The candidates must be graduates of any recognised university and they must be gainfully employed in the central government, state government, PSU, private sector, self-employed or own business.

Note: Serving personnel of Regular army/navy/airforce/police/paramilitary and any other law enforcement force are not eligible.

Note: There is a separate entry for ex-servicemen only in which no written exam will be there, their selection will be directly done by Army HQ.

Selection procedure

Candidates whose application forms are found correct will be called for screening (written exam followed by interview only if passed in written exam) by a Preliminary Interview Board (PIB), by the respective Territorial Army Group Headquarters. Successful candidates will further undergo tests at a Service Selection Board (SSB) and Medical Board for final selection.

Exam Pattern: The exam consists of two papers – Paper 1 and Paper 2. Paper 1 contains Logical reasoning of 50 marks and elimination mathematics of 50 marks. Paper two contains English of 50 marks, and General Knowledge of 50 marks. A total of 2 hours will be given for paper 1 and paper 2 combined.

Syllabus: Logical Reasoning – Interpretation Of Data, Logical And Analytical Reasoning, Clocks And Calendars, Verbal Classifications, Statements And Contradictions, Numerical, Letters, And Symbol Series, Relations, and Statements With Conclusions

Elementary Mathematics – Ratios And Proportions, Average Algebra, Mensuration, Trigonometry, Number System, Geometry, Simple And Compound Interest, Profit And Losses, Time And Distances, HCF And LCM, and Simple Equation

General Knowledge – Tourism And Travel, Art And Culture, Geography, Indian Politics, Science And Technology, History, Countries And Their Capitals, and Sports Literature

English Language – Idioms And Phrases, Spell Check, Active Voice and Passive Voice, Editing Prepositions, Omitting, Jumbled Sentences, Synonyms And Antonyms, One-word Substitution, and Vocabulary

Notification

The notification is released once a year in the month of June or July.

How to apply

The candidates have to register themselves on the Join Territorial Army website. Then they have to download the Application Form in a PDF format. Then they have to fill in all the required details, such as date of birth, annual income, contact information, educational background, etc. Candidates have to attach all the necessary documents, such as a medical certificate, degree certificate, scanned copies of their signature and photograph, and proof of address, such as a PAN card or an Aadhaar card and send the appropriate hard copy to” the Directorate General Territorial Army, Integrated Headquarters of Ministry of Defence, 4th Floor, ‘A’ Block, Ministry of Defence Office Complex, KG Marg, New Delhi – 110001.”

NCC Special Entry

NCC special entry scheme is a very good opportunity for young college graduates to join the Indian army. It is a direct entry scheme hence no exam is required. Let us look into the details of this entry scheme.

Eligibility

NOTE: Provided that a candidate belonging to categories (ii) and (iii), above shall be a person in whose favour a certificate of eligibility has been issued by the Government of India. A certificate of eligibility will not, however, be necessary in the case of candidates who are Gorkha subjects of Nepal.A candidate in whose case a certificate of eligibility is necessary, may be admitted to the examination provisionally subject to the necessary certificate being given to him/her by the Govt. before the declaration of result by UPSC.

AGE Sex and Marital status

Both unmarried male and female candidates of age 18 to 24 years are eligible. At the time of joining the academy, their age must be between 19 and 25 years.

Education

The candidate should have a degree in any field from any recognised university with a minimum aggregate of 50%. Additionally, the candidate in their final year can also apply provided they have 50% aggregate up to their last semester and upon completion of their degree their aggregate is not below 50%.

Candidates must have at least 2 years of service in the NCC senior division. The candidate must have at least a B grade in their NCC C certificate exam

Note: Those candidates who have been shortlisted for CDSE SSB interview call (For Army only), are not eligible for NCC special entry. A candidate can apply for ONLY ONE of these SSB interviews.

Note: Wards of battle casualties can apply through this entry provided that they have a minimum of 50 % aggregate from any recognised university. NCC service and C certificate are not compulsory.

Selection procedure

Integrated Headquarters of the Ministry of Defence will shortlist the candidates based on their profile. Shortlisted candidates will undergo regular SSB interview process and if recommended they will undergo medical examinations.

Notification

NCC special entry notification is released twice a year, once in January and once in July on the Join Indian Army website.

How to apply

The candidates have to register themselves on the Join Indian Army website. After logging into their profile candidates can find the “apply online” tab where all entries for which they are eligible will be shown. Candidates can select the NCC special entry from there and fill in the necessary details.

JAG

JAG is a wonderful opportunity for law graduates to make their career in the Indian army. Let us look into the details of the entry.

Eligibility

NOTE: Provided that a candidate belonging to categories (ii) and (iii), above shall be a person in whose favour a certificate of eligibility has been issued by the Government of India. A certificate of eligibility will not, however, be necessary in the case of candidates who are Gorkha subjects of Nepal.A candidate in whose case a certificate of eligibility is necessary, may be admitted to the examination provisionally subject to the necessary certificate being given to him/her by the Govt. before the declaration of result by UPSC.

AGE Sex and Marital status

Both unmarried male and female candidates of age 21 to 27 years are eligible for this role

Education

Candidates require a minimum 55% aggregate marks in their LLB Degree (three years professional after graduation or five years after 10 plus 2) examination. In addition, the CLAT PG Score of the preceding year is mandatory for all candidates (including LLM-qualified and LLM-appearing candidates) who apply for courses starting in a particular year. The candidates should be eligible for registration as an advocate with the Bar Council of India/State. The candidate should be from a College/University recognized by the Bar Council of India.

Selection procedure

The Integrated Head Quarters of the Ministry of Defence (Army) reserves the right for shortlisting of applications, without assigning any reason. The shortlisted candidate will receive SSB call letters and the remaining process is similar to other entries.

Notification

The notification of the JAG entry scheme is released twice a year in the months of January and June on the Join Indian Army website.

How to apply

The candidates have to register themselves on the Join Indian Army website. After logging into their profile candidates can find the “apply online” tab where all entries for which they are eligible will be shown. Candidates can select the JAG entry from there and fill in the necessary details.

As JCO/ Other Rank

Agnipath

Agnipath is the common method of joining the Indian army as a soldier after completing 8th standard/ 10th standard/10th + diploma or 10+2. Let us look into the details.

Eligibility

Age, Sex and Marital Status: Unmarried males of age 17.5 years to 21 years can apply for the Agnipath Scheme.

Education: Since the Agnipath scheme replaced all the traditional non-officer post recruitment, there are lots of different levels of educational requirements listed below for different roles:

Agniveer (General Duty-All Arms): The Candidate should have passed Class 10th /Matric with 45% marks in aggregate and 33% in each subject. For boards following the grading system, a minimum of ‘D’ grade (33% – 40%) in individual subjects or grades with 33% in individual subjects and an overall aggregate of ‘C2’ grade or equivalent corresponding to 45% in aggregate.

Agniveer (Technical – All Arms): The candidate should be 10+2/Intermediate Exam Pass in Science with Physics, Chemistry, Maths and English with min 50% marks in aggregate and 40% in each subject. Candidates who have passed 10th and then pursued a diploma/ITI are also eligible.

Agniveer (Clerk / Store Keeper Technical – All Arms): The candidate should have passed the 10+2 / Intermediate Exam in any stream (Arts, Commerce, Science) with 60% marks in aggregate and a minimum of 50% in each subject. Securing 50% in English and Maths/Accts/Bookkeeping in Cl XII is mandatory.

Agniveer Tradesmen 10th pass (All Arms): The candidate should be Class 10th simple pass. There is no stipulation in aggregate percentage but should have scored 33% in each subject.

Agniveer Tradesmen 8th pass (All Arms): The candidate should be Class 8th simple pass. There is no stipulation in aggregate percentage but should have scored 33% in each subject.

Selection procedure

The Agniveer selection procedure consists of two phases. In Phase I common entrance test is conducted. Candidates will have to appear for an online computer-based test which will have either 50 MCQ in 1 hour or 100 MCQ in 2 hours depending upon the type of Agnipath entry scheme. The score of Phase I will be normalized to account for variations among shifts.

Those who will clear the cutoff of the common entrance test will be called to a recruitment rally where their documents will be checked, physical capability will be measured and a medical test will be conducted. Successful candidates will be absorbed as agniveers.

Notification

The Agnipath Notification is released once a year during the month of June.

How to apply

The candidates have to register themselves on the Join Indian Army website (In the Other Rank/ JCO section ). After logging into their profile candidates can find the “apply online” tab where all entries for which they are eligible will be shown. Candidates can select the Agnipath Scheme from there and fill in the necessary details.

Service entries

Army Cadet College (ACC) entry

The ACC entry is the quickest way of becoming an officer in the Indian army after joining the Indian armed forces in non-commissioned ranks.

Candidates who are in the age group of 20-27 years and have served a minimum of 2 years as a jawan, airman or sailor in the army, navy or airforce respectively can apply for this entry. The educational qualification is 10 +2 or equivalent. Both married and unmarried candidates can apply.

The notification is released twice a year internally with 100 vacancies each time. The candidates have to first clear a unit-level exam conducted by the Commanding Officer to identify the potential candidates. Then they have to appear for the written exam. Those candidates who will clear the written exam will be called for SSB interviews and the remaining process is similar to other entries.

Special Commissioned Officer (SCO) entry

SCO is an in-service entry which provides the JCOs/NCOs/ORs with the opportunity to serve as an officer in the Indian army.

The candidates who are between the age group of 30 to 35 years and have served for a minimum of 5 years in the army can apply for this entry. The minimum educational qualification is 10+2 or equivalent. Both married and unmarried candidates are eligible.

The notification is released twice a year in January and July. Candidates have to apply internally through their unit’s Adjutant General branch. The eligible candidates will receive SSB interview calls and the further process is similar to any other entry.

The selected candidates will receive training of eight weeks at AEC Centre & College, Pachmarhi and one year at OTA, Gaya. There are generally 100 vacancies.

Permanent Commission (Special List)-PC (SL)

The PC (SL) is another in-service that provides the JCOs/NCOs/ORs with the opportunity to serve as an officer in the Indian army. This entry requires greater experience compared to SCO entry.

The maximum age limit for this entry is 42 years and the candidate must have served at least 10 years in the Indian army. The minimum educational qualification is 10+2 or equivalent. Both married and unmarried candidates are eligible.

The notification is released internally once in a year with around 100 vacancies. Candidates have to apply through their units.

The shortlisting is done on the basis of service record of the candidates. The shortlisted candidates are directly called for stage II interview of SSB (there is no screening test: OIR and PPDT).

The selected candidates will receive training of eight weeks at AEC Centre & College, Pachmarhi and four months in IMA Dehradun.