Anyone willing to serve the nation and want to be a part of everyone’s safety, the Indian Army seems like an excellent option. The objective of preventing the nation peace and defending the country from outside attacks is crucial. There are a total of seven commands in the Indian army – Eastern, Northern, Western, Central, South-Western, Southern, and training command. Due to such a large border area and location to prevent threats, the Indian army becomes the fourth GFP with the largest armed forces. There are more than 1.2 million active personnel serving the nation.
Candidates that fulfil the minimum eligibility and have enough aggregates in the studies can apply. However, becoming an army officer is not an easy challenge. Numerous students are competing for the army officer exam, and if you want to get selected, you need to look after ticking all the necessary boxes. To begin, preparing at an early stage should be your priority. As there are plenty of officer posts to get selected, it is up to your skills that what you achieve. Here are all the necessary things you should know about –
Eligibility Criteria – NDA, TES, and CDSE
To be an Indian Army officer, you can choose one of the following options:
Eligibility according to the National Defence Academy ( NDA )
- To join the NDA, the candidates should be passed Class 12th in any stream from the recognized university.
- To be a part of the NDA, the candidates have to be a minimum age. (Age limit- 16.5 to 19 year).
- You should clear the written exam that can be held by NDA for the training.
- The qualifying candidates who clear the above-mentioned exam can go for the physical and medical test.
- Such candidates have to go for 3-year training at the National Defence Academy (Pune) and 1-year at Indian Military Academy (Dehradun).
- The candidates become a B.Sc or B.A. degree holder after the training.
- After training, the applicants will be posted to the Indian Army.
- Another important point is that only male candidates can join the Indian Armed force through NDA.
Eligibility according to Technical Entry Scheme (TES)
- If you have completed your 10+2 in Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics with a 70% aggregate, you can apply for the Technical Entry Scheme.
- Candidates must clear the written examination that will be conducted for Technical Entry Scheme.
- The qualifying candidates will have to go for 1-year training and join Officer Training Academy
- The candidates will also go for 4-year training and join Cadet training Wings.
- Any interested candidates who want to join the Indian Army, also have to fulfil the age criteria. The minimum age is 16.5 to 19 year.
- After training, the candidates will get a posting with a B.Tech degree.
- For further details, you should check the official website of the Indian Army.
Eligibility according to the Combined Defense Services Exam ( CDSE)
- To join the Indian Army through CDSE, the candidates should be a graduation degree holder from a recognized university or any equivalent institute.
- The minimum age required to apply for CDSE is 19 to 24 year.
- The candidate must be unmarried.
How to become an Officer in the Indian Army?
All those applicants that want to be an Indian Army officer, need to follow the under mentioned steps-
- Screening of Application form
- Interviews and Psychological tests
- Medical test
- Final Merit List
Screening of application form:
After the screening of the application form, you will receive a call letter from UPSC. The candidates will appear in NDA written test that will be conducted in April and August. Also, the CDSE conduct the written examination in April and September. The qualifying candidates will go for the next step.
Interviews and Psychological tests:
The candidates will receive an opportunity from one of the Army Selection Boards which is located at Bhopal and Bangalore. After successful selection, the candidates will go for the psychological test, group activities and an interview. If you have potential and have a lot of courage, then you should join the Indian Army.
Test Description:
The psychological test plays an essential role in checking the mental stability of a candidate. The interview includes a personal conversation that can hold by the interviewing officer. Your presence of mind makes your interview more effective and impressive. The candidates can also prepare for physical test.
Medical Test:
Qualified candidates will be sent to a medical examination by the group of the Selection Board.
Final Merit List:
The Final Merit list has been preparing based on the candidate’s performance and medically tested. Along with this Army HQ would issue the joining letters for the candidates training.
Job opportunities for Army officer:
There are many options available in the Indian Army. Indian Armed is categorized into a different division. Which one you will get, it all depends on your skills, qualification and performance
- Armoured Corps:this category is one of the combat arms of the Indian Army. The armoured corps contains armoured vehicles and battalions tanks.
- Infantry: the Infantry is also known as the specialization category of an Indian army. They engage in military combat and fight with the enemy on foot using various types of equipment like rifles, machine guns, automatic rifles.
- Army Engineers: it is one of the major categories in the Indian Army that can be responsible for roads construction, bridges construction, helipads and airfields improvement. They also find various obstacles to the advancement of enemy troops.
- ASC- Army Service Corps: the ASC category is responsible for the regular movements of troops, arms, weapons. These officers can manage the rations. ASC are also responsible for the safe storage of equipment. They can provide clothes, foods to the soldiers.
- SRO- Signal Regiment Officer: In the Indian Army, the SRO is responsible for the sudden implementation of communication. During the war, the SRO will connect with the headquarters and give all information about the war activities.
- Army Medical Corps: This category provides medical treatment for the families of the troops and officers. In this category, the doctors will be responsible for the troop’s treatment.
- Intelligence Corps: they can manage the various analyses and provide information about the enemy.
Top Colleges to pursue a career as Army Officer
Choosing a top institution or college increases your chances of getting selected. Based on your skills, aggregates, and other aspects, finding an excellent institution seems easier. These are the options that you can take into consideration –
- Army War College
- National Defence Academy
- National Defence College
- Institute of Military Law
- High Altitude Warfare School
- School of Artillery
- Armed Force Medical College
- Defence Services Staff College
In this list, National Defence College is the most reputed institution due to its higher selection rate in the army. If you can’t enrol in any of these colleges, some private institutions and colleges can come in handy.
Salary packages or Pay Scale of the Army Officer:
The candidate’s ability, performance and experience will decide the position in the service. Based on Position, the Indian government can decide the particular pay scale for the officers. Such as-
- Lieutenant- 15600-39000 per year
- Caption- 15600-39000 per year
- Major- 15600- 39000 per year
- Colonel- 37400-67000 per year
- Brigadier- 37400-67000 per year
- Major General- 37400-67000 per year
- Lt general- 37400-67000 per year
- General- 80000 per year
Apart from the salary, the army officer will receive numerous benefits and government subsidies.
Career and employment opportunities for Indian Army officer:
The Indian Armed force counts in the government sector. There is no opportunity in the private sector for the armed force. The candidates who will have the physical strength and have the courage to serve the country can get employment in the Indian army. After clearing the written test the aspirants will undergo the training. The candidates will get posted on the position according to their abilities and gets a satisfactory salary package.
Train Yourself
Apart from taking admission in top colleges, it would be better to start preparing your body physically. There are plenty of exercises you can start doing and increase the time to boost performance. These exercises are –
- Running 5 kilometres a day
- Push-ups for 60 seconds (do as much you can)
- Pull-ups for 60 seconds (do as much you can)
- Sit-ups for 60 seconds (do as much you can)
- Stretching for flexibility
These exercises for the first few days and adding up more time to enhance your endurance will prepare you physically.
Conclusion
Choosing institutions that offer quality education to trainee and bequeath them the ability to perform any military task comfortably seems beneficial. To endeavour a military career, choosing a college from our list of top 8 options can provide a plethora of advantages. You are going to train for every military challenge, combats and law and administration. It would be better to prepare for physical challenges like running, jumping, push-ups and other exercises in the early stage to boost your endurance. Strength is the key part and being able to tackle the unfamiliar issue is the primary skill of an army officer.
Rahul Kumar is a passionate educator, writer, and subject matter expert in the field of education and professional development. As an author on CoursesXpert, Rahul Kumar’s articles cover a wide range of topics, from various courses, educational and career guidance.
