Engineer as an Officer in Indian Defence

ByMajor (Prof.) V.A. Narayana HOD, Dept. of CSE, CMR College of Engg., Hyderabad The students after completing their Engineering think about either a career in IT or core industry. Very few students think about making a career in Defense Services. The engineering students should note that there are a lot of opportunities in the Defense sector namely Army, Navy, Air Force and DRDO establishments and many other Defense establishments. Indian Army:  The opportunities in the Indian Army are many. There are two types of entries in Army for engineering graduates. These are Technical Graduate Course (TGC) and University Entry Scheme (UES). The candidates applying for the first course should have a notified degree in engineering, age should be between 20 and 27 years and should possess the prescribed physical standards. For the second course apart from the above the candidate's age should be between 20 and 25 years. The candidates have to undergo Service Selection Board Interview conducted for about 5 to 6 days. The Interview is broadly based on: Psychological Test, Group Task and Personal Interview. A candidate has to clear all the above three tests to get selected. All the above selected candidates have to undergo a medical examination in the Military hospital. The candidates aspiring for UES course have to first get selected in the Campus. The candidates who are selected will get a monthly stipend equivalent to the salary of a Lieutenant during their training period of one year in Indian Military Academy, Dehradun. The candidates who got selected through UES will also get a stipend equivalent to the basic pay of a Lieutenant during their final year degree of engineering. The life in Army is interesting and adventurous. Candidates may apply for permanent commission which is a minimum service of 20 years or short service commission for ten years and in some cases granted permanent commission after ten years of service. Indian Navy:  The commission in Indian Navy is of four types namely Executive, Engineering, Electrical and Education Officer. Naval Academy offers Short Service Commission as well as permanent commission jobs in various cadres like Technical, Submarine cadre, Naval Architecture cadre. Indian navy also offers Coast Guard jobs as "Assistant Commandant" for Engineering graduates. Eligibility criteria and the selection process is same as that of the Army. Indian Air Force:  The commission in Indian Air Force is of two types: Flying and Technical. In the Flying branch, the candidates will undergo Pilot Aptitude Battery Test (PABT) which is conducted only once in a life time. The candidate who clears PABT is only eligible for the flying branch. The candidate has to note that if he/she fails in PABT, they are not eligible for the Flying Branch. However, the Service Selection Board Interview may be given by the candidate any number of times until he/ she is eligible as per age norms. The age should be between 19 and 23 years. The technical branch has two streams: Aeronautical Engineering (Electronics) and Aeronautical Engineering (Mechanical). All circuit branches engineering candidates are eligible for Aeronautical Engineering (Electronics) and all non circuit engineering candidates are eligible for Aeronautical Engineering (Mechanical). The eligibility criteria and mode of selection is the same as above. DRDO:  The entry into DRDO establishments is as Scientist B. The eligibility is an engineering degree in the notified discipline. The selection process is through an entrance examination and a personal interview. Apart from the above an engineering graduate may serve the Defense services as Executive Engineer, Superintendent Engineer or Chief Engineer in the Indian Defense Service through IES examination conducted by UPSC. SERVICE SELECTION BOARD INTERVIEW  SERVICE SELECTION BOARD interview is a two stage process. To qualify for Stage II, a candidate needs to clear the Screening Test or Stage I. Day 1 (Screening Tests)  The Stage I, in which candidates are given Intelligence Test (Verbal and Non-Verbal), then there is a Picture Perception test, in which a slide (hazy or clear) is shown and then each candidate writes their story and later they have a Group Discussion. This sequence is popularly called PPDT- Picture Perception and Discussion Test. After the completion of these tests, results are announced and those who do not make it in this attempt are dropped back and the successful ones are retained for 4 days of detailed assessment. Day 2 (Psychology Tests)  1. Thematic Appreciation Test (TAT)- Commonly known as Picture Story writing. 2. Word Association Test (WAT) 3. Situation Reaction Test (SRT) 4. Self Description Test (SD) Day 3 and Day 4 (GTO Tasks)  Group Testing Officers (GTO) Test The following tests are conducted in this category:  1. Group Discussion 2. Group Planning Exercise (sometimes known as Military Planning Exercise) 3. Progressive Group Tasks 4. Half Group Tasks 5. Individual Obstacles 6. Group Obstacles Race or Snake Race 7. Command Task 8. Lecturette 9. Final Group Task Day 5 (Conference)  The candidates are required to appear before the complete Board of Examiners. For further details the candidate may refer the following websites  DRDO - http://rac.drdo.in INDIAN ARMY - http://indianarmy.nic.in INDIAN NAVY - http://nausena-bharti.nic.in INDIAN AIR FORCE - http://careerairforce.nic.in IDSE - http://upsc.gov.in