Young men and women who aspire a spectacular career as commissioned officers in the flying and ground duty (technical and non technical) branches of the Indian Air Force can apply online. There are 283 vacancies in various entries.

1)AFCAT entry:

a) Flying branch – Short service commission for both men and women.

b) Ground duty (technical branch): Aeronautical engineer – electronics/mechanical

c) Ground duty (non technical branch): Administration, logistics, accounts and education.

2)Meteorology entry

3) NCC Special entry – flying branch

Men get permanent commission in all branches except flying. The short service commission in the flying branch lasts for 14 years. This duration has not been extended yet. Meanwhile, the short service commission in ground duty is for 10 years. This could be extended up to 4 years. However, the permanently commissioned officers can continue until the retirement age prescribed for each branch. Employees of short service commission aren’t eligible for pension. However, there is a scheme that provide permanent commission for deserving candidates of short service commission as per certain stipulations.

Eligibility
For the flying branch, the candidates should be between 20 – 24 years as on 1 July 2023. Meanwhile, it is 20 – 26 years for ground duty. Those who are below 25 years should be unmarried. Interested candidates should register online, separately, for the first three categories. The registration fee is Rs 250. There is no registration fees for meteorology and NCC entries.

AFCAT
The Air Force Common Admission Test (AFCAT) for the course that begins in 2023 July would be held online on 26, 27 and 28 August this year. The online applications should be submitted within 5 pm on 30 June. BTech graduates and graduates in other subjects can apply. The applicants should adhere to the minimum marks criterion. Those who are trying for the ground duty (technical branch) should attend the Engineering Knowledge Test (EKT) too, besides the AFCAT.

The 2-hour long AFCAT would have questions from class ten level numerical ability, graduate level general knowledge, English proficiency, reasoning ability and military aptitude. Meanwhile, in the 45 minutes EKT, questions from mechanical stream, computer science and electrical and electronics could be expected. Even though the syllabus of the test could be accessed from the website, it would be better if the candidates could practise using question papers from previous years. The questions would be in the objective style. Besides, there will be negative marks for the wrong answers. Online practise tests are available in the website. Exam centres will be allotted in major cities like Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, Thrissur, Kannur, Coimbatore, Bengaluru, Mangaluru, Chennai, Mumbai and Delhi.

Interview
The short listed candidates should attend a 5 day long intensive interview by the Air Force Selection Board (AFSB). More than just face to face interview, it includes many rounds that asses the physical and mental capabilities of the candidates. It is a wholesome personality test to determine whether the candidate is suitable for a career in the Air Force.

Besides this interview, the applicants of the flying branch should also attend the Computerised Pilot Selection System (CPSS). The candidates will get only one chance in their life to clear this vital test. The selection process would be completed after a satisfactory medical test. Meanwhile, the NCC entrants would be directly summoned for a test by the Air Force Selection Board besides the AFCAT.

The candidates who are selected for the flying and ground duty (technical branch) would have to undergo training of 74 weeks while the ground duty (non technical) staff would have training of 52 weeks. The salary scale of the commissioned officer ranges between Rs 56,100 – 1,77,500. A commissioned officer in the Indian Air Force enjoys high salary and other allowances, besides a chance to serve the country with pride and efficiency.

Phone: 020 – 25503105; email: afcatcell@cdac.in; web: www//afcat.cdac.in; www.careerindianairforce.cdac.in.