all routes for a career in indian army

10/27/2014 Know all the routes for a career in Indian Army - Career Quips

http://careerquips.blogspot.in/2014/10/all-routes-for-indian-army-career.html 1/3

I myself had studied in a Sainik School and just like all my friends, I wanted to go for a career in Indian

defence as an Army Officer. That's why, I had appeared in NDA (National Defence Academy) in Class-XII.

Although I had cleared UPSC NDA exam i.e. the written part, I could not clear the SSB Interview. From that

time onwards, my dream of joining Indian Army slowly ebbed away - ultimately, that dream remains

unfulfilled and would remain forever so, because I am an old person now (46+)...

Now as I look back why I could not succeed in my ambition for an Indian Army career, I find that there was

an absolute lack of information on what other routes were still available for joining Indian Army, even after

failing in NDA... There was no one to guide, no one to tell us that there are exams like CDS (Combined

Defence Services) Exam, which I could have opted after graduation. And since I did engineering, there

were so many other avenues...

However, time has changed since than (I appeared in NDA in 1986 - good 28 years back) - now everything

is available on the net. But I still feel that those information are not organised - I mean, the things can be

made still better. That is why this blog article is being posted - it tells you through what all routes you can

aspire to join Indian Army - even if one route is closed, there may be still some more, depending on the

course of action you take. This blog post is dedicated to students of my Alma mater - Sainik School

Goalparaand also other needy students..

Routes for a career in Indian Army for Men:

(**: these vacancies are informed only at the time of notification. Also, vacancies given above are

indicative and may differ slightly with the actual number, which is known only at the time of notifications).

Name of Indian Army Entrance exams/Entry Scheme after Class-12:

As you see above, you have two routes:

A). NDA (National Defence Academy): Just Class-12 pass.



B). 10+2 TES (Technical Entry Scheme): Minimum 75% aggregate in PCM (Physics, Chemistry & Maths).

Name of Indian Army Entrance exams/Entry Scheme after Graduation:

There are four routes after graduation, depending on what degree you have taken:

Graduation in any subject, Graduation in Law, Graduation in Engineering, Graduation in Medical.

Routes with Graduation in any subject:

A). CDS (Combined Defence Services) Exam:

Just a degree in any subject.

B). NCC Special Entry Scheme (Short Service Commission):

Graduate with 50% Aggregate marks + 2 Years service in NCC Senior Div. Army with minimum 'B' Grade in

'C' Certificate Exam.

Routes with Graduation in Law:

A). JAG (Judge Advocate General) Men:

LLB / LLM with 55% marks + Registered with Bar Council of India / State.

Routes with Graduation in Engineering:

A). UES (University Entry Scheme):

Pre Final year students of Engineering Degree Course. It is a Short Service Commission.

B). TGC (Technical Graduate Course) Engineers:

BE / B Tech final appearing & degree holders in notified streams of Engineers.

C). SSC (Tech):

Engineering Degree in notified discipline. It is a Short Service Commission (SSC).

Routes with Graduation in Medical:

A). Army Medical Corps (SSC):

You must have had cleared the MBBS in at most two attempts.

Name of Indian Army Entrance exams/Entry Scheme after Post-Graduation:

A). Army Education Corps (AEC) :

MA / M.Sc. in 1st or 2nd division in notified subjects.

Thus, as you see above, you have a plethora of choice to join the Indian Army. In fact, after graduation,

the chances are more - for example, there are 425 vacancies in CDS (250 for IMA & 175 for OTA) compared

to 195 in NDA and 85 in 10+2 TES for Indian Army. And if you had done any of law, engineering or medical

degree, the chances only increases, as besides appearing for the Law, Engineering and Medical Indian

Army exams, you can also appear for CDS exam.

Out of above exams, two are conducted by UPSC: NDA & CDS while the rest are conducted by Indian

Army directly through ADG (Additional Directorate General) Recruiting / AG (Adjutant General's) Branch.

Hence you have to look for the notifications in the respective websites.

I also keep posting informations not only about exam notifications, but also how to prepare for the exams.

For instance some samples of the blog articles I had posted is given below:

NDA 2014 Exam Prep material: Sample Papers & Books

Indian Army 10 + 2 Tech Entry 2015 Notification, Form & Eligibility

Indian Army TGC 2013 Notification, Form & Eligibility

Army Medical Corps SSC 2012 Notification, Eligibility & Forms

Indian Army UES 2013 for Engineers Notification, Form & Eligibility



SSC (Short Service Commission) Vs. Permanent Commission:

What is SSC? It might have confused you. Let me tell you what is it.

When you join Indian armed forces as a commissioned officer, you are expected to serve from the time of

appointment till the age of retirement 56 years and above, depending on which rank you retire at. This is

called permanent commission.

On the other hand, Short Service Commission is a short term career option, which enables you to retire

early from armed forces. For example, if you are going for SSC in Army Medical Corps you need to serve

only 5 compulsory years. Beyond these 5 years if you wish, you can retire or continue serving for another

9 years. Within these 5 years, after the completion of 2nd year of SSC service, you can apply for

departmental permanent commission. Thus with SSC, you have an option to have a cake and eat it too!

Routes for a career in Indian Army for Women:

Compared to men, opportunities for a women to serve in Indian Army is a little limited. You can find the

chart below which shows the career options for a women in Indian Army:

As you can see above with just Class-12 qualification, there is no entry mode for Women in Indian Army.

Also, number of vacancies are less compared to men. It is because Indian Army opened up the career

avenues for women not so long ago: Priya Jhingan was the first woman to join Indian Army on 21st

September 1992.

all routes for a career in indian army

Documents