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

Engineering Jobs in Indian Army

Engineering Graduates (Direct Entry) An Engineering graduate can join the Indian Military Academy directly. They only need to attend the Service Selection Board interview. Tentative date: Course commences every year in the month of January and July. How to Apply: Candidates can apply directly to the following address whenever the notifications are released. Generally notifications are released in the months of March/April & October /November Address:  Addl. Directorate General of Recruiting (TGC), Army HQ, West Block III, RK Puram, New Delhi -110066 University Entry Scheme:  Engineers who wish to apply for Army in Pre-Final/Final Year of Engineering have an opportunity to opt for University Entry Scheme. They can apply for Indian army as an officer. Selection is based on campus interview and Service Selection Board (SSB) interview. Candidates is eligible for induction into technical branches/services of the army as commissioned officers under the University Entry Scheme. Tentative date of Notification: Course commences every year in the month of July. How to apply: Candidates need to furnish their applications in response to the advertisement generally published in the month of July. Officers Entry Scheme: Permanent Commission: Permanent commission is for those who want to make a career in the army until retirement. Recruitment of Commissioned Officers in the Armed Forces is mainly through the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) under Permanent Commission. Eligibility:  Final Year students of Marine Engineering Mechanical Engineering Aeronautical Engineering Control Engineering Metallurgical Engineering Production Engineering with minimum 60% upto VIth Semester. Short Service Commission (Technical):  Indian army has an alternative career, called short service commission which gives an option of joining in the Indian Army and serving as a Commissioned officer for 5 years. Short Service Commission facilitates recruitment of qualified technical graduates through the SSBs, to attend the Officers training Academy (OTA), Chennai, after medical tests, for a ten month course. Short Service Commission allows you to join on a five-year contractual basis, after which you can exercise the option to continue or not. Eligibility: A Degree in Marine Engineering Mechanical Engineering Aeronautical Engineering Control Engineering Metallurgical Engineering Production Engineering Or Any other qualification recognized by the Institution of Engineers (India) as equivalent to a degree course with minimum 55% marks. Tentative dates: Advertisement will be generally released in the months of March/April & October/November. Women's Special Entry Scheme:  The WSES for officers offers non-technical, technical and specialist entry for unmarried females or issueless widow or divorcee candidates. In women special entry scheme, the initial contractual period is five years For Technical Entry: BE, BTech or equivalent or a higher qualification is needed. Eligibility:Candidate must possess an engineering degree in any one of the following branches Civil engineering Electrical engineering Mechanical engineering Electronics engineering Computer science engineering Telecommunications engineering and architecture is needed. Tentative date: Month of commencement of course in each year is March and September. Advertisement for applications will be released in June/December Selection Process: Selection is based on written exam and SSB Interview and medical examination. Electrical Branch Permanent Commission:  Eligibility: A Degree in Electrical Engineering Electronics Engineering Avionics Engineering Computer Engineering Telecommunication Engineering Or Any other qualification recognized by the Institution of Engineers (India) or Institution of Telecommunication Engineers (India) as equivalent to a degree