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There are several ways of entering the 3 arms of defence services. In this article entry into defence services after + 2 have been detailed.

Naval Engineering College

Navy directly selects candidates for their Engineering College at Lonawala. Male candidates between the age of 16 1/2 and 19 years who have passed XII with Maths, Physics and Chemistry and have secured more than 75% marks in PCM and minimum 50% marks in English are eligible to apply.

The Naval Engineering College trains the cadets so selected in Naval Architecture, Marine Engineering and Electrical Engineering. The course starts in December, advertisement and details about this selection are published in leading newspapers and Employment news in the month of May/June.

Cadets go through an initial 6 months orientation at Naval Academy in Goa. B. Tech degree is awarded on completion of the course from Jawaharlal Nehru University of Delhi. After successful completion of initial training, Cadets are promoted to the rank of Midshipman & get a stipend of approx Rs. 8000 pm. After successful completion of a further period of six months training, Midshipmen are promoted to the rank of Sub Lieutenant with total emoluments of approx. Rs. 11800 pm. Thereafter promotion to the rank of Lieutenant and Lieutenant Commander are on time scale. Promotions to higher ranks, viz Commander, Captain, Rear Admiral & Vice Admiral are by selection.

Army Technical Branch Entry

Cadets are recruited for being trained with the Army after 10+2 with Physics, Chemistry, Maths (minimum 70%). There are two inductions annually of male candidates in the 16½ to 19½ age group. The courses begin in January and July each year.

Training - Total training is of 5 years.

• Basic Military Training : 1 year (IMA, Dehradun)
• Technical Training - Phase - I (Pre Commission Training) : 3 years (CME Pune, MCTE Mhow and MCEME Secunderabad).

Phase - II (Post Commission Training) : 1 years at CME Pune, MCTE Mhow and MCEME Secunderabad.

Award to Degree : The candidates are awarded Engineering degree after successful completion of training. No ante date seniority is admissible to candidates on account of this Engineering degree.

Officers who fail to qualify in Engineering have to reappear in the examination in the following year. In case they fail to qualify in the following year examination also, the same will result in loss of seniority to them and they will forfeit seniority to the extent of delay in passing Engineering degree examination. In case they are unable to pass the Engineering degree examination even within three years of their commissioning, their commission is terminated.

Cadets receive a stipend like NDA cadets of Rs 8,000 per month after completing 3 years of training. On completion of 4 years students get commissioned in the rank of Lieutenant.

Legal Branch

Army Institute of Law,Sangrur Road, Patiala affiliated to Punjabi University, Patiala and approved by The Bar Council Of India offers - B.A. LL.B (5 years)

Eligibility: 10+2 school examination or equivalent with not less than 50% marks (45% marks in case of SC/ST Candidates).

Students appearing in 10+2 qualifying examination are also eligible to apply.

Age Limit : Below 21 years on 1st July of the year of applying

Selection : Merit in qualifying examination and All India level Entrance Test held in April.

Adv : Feb Last date for Applying March

National Defence Academy

Union Public Service Commission holds a competitive examination twice in a year, in February & September, for a 3 year training course commencing in January and July. Candidates taking the examination have to give preference for service they desires to join, however, option also depends on the rank in merit list.

Before indicating their preferences for different courses, candidates should first decide their preference for the two Academies, viz., National Defence Academy and Naval Academy (Executive Branch).

If a candidate opts for National Defence Academy as his first choice, he must first indicate his preference for different wings of National Defence Academy viz Army, Navy and Air Force followed by his preference for Naval Academy (Executive Branch). Alternatively if a candidate opts for Naval Academy (Executive Branch) as his first choice, he must first indicate his preference for Naval Academy (Executive Branch) as his first choice, followed by his preferences for different wings of National Defence Academy.

Centres of examination - Agartala, Ahmedabad, Aizawl, Allahabad, Bangalore, Bareilly, Bhopal, Mumbai, Calcutta, Chandigarh, Cochin, Cuttack, Delhi, Dharwar, Dispur (Guwahati), Gangtok, Hyderabad, Imphal, Itanagar, Jaipur, Jammu, Jorhat, Kavaratti (Lakshadweep), Kohima, Lucknow, Chennai, Madurai, Nagpur, Panaji (Goa), Patna, Port Blair, Raipur, Sambalpur, Shillong, Shimla, Srinagar, Tirupati, Trivandrum, Udaipur and Vishakha-patnam. The centres and the date of holding the examination as mentioned above are liable to be changed at the discretion of the Commission.

Conditions of eligibility - The following are the conditions of eligibility.

Nationality - A candidate must be either (i) a citizen of India, or (ii) a subject of Bhutan, or (iii) a subject of Nepal, or (iv) a Tibetan refugee who came over to India before the 1st January, 1962 with the intention of permanently settling in India, or (v) a person of Indian origin who has migrated from Pakistan, Burma, Sri Lanka, the East African countries of Kenya, Uganda, United Republic of Tanzania (formerly Tanganyika and Zanzibar), Zambia, Malawi, Zaire and Ethiopia and Vietnam with the intention of permanently settling in India. Provided that a candidate belonging to categories (ii), (iii), (iv) and (v) above shall be a person in whose favour a certificate of eligibility has been issued by the Government of India. Certificate of eligibility is not, however, necessary in the case of candidates who are Gurkha subjects of Nepal.

Age limits, sex and marital status - Only unmarried male candidates age between 16 1/2 and 19 years are eligible. The date of birth accepted by the Commission is that entered in the Matriculation or Secondary School Leaving Certificate in a certificate recognised by an Indian University as equivalent to Matriculation maintained by a university, which extract must be certified by the proper authority of the university or in the Higher Secondary or an equivalent examination certificate.

These certificates are required to be submitted only after the declaration of the results of the written part of the examination. Candidates must undertake not to marry until they complete their full training. A candidate who marries subsequent to the date of his application though successful at this or any subsequent examination will not be selected for training. A candidate who marries during training shall be discharged and will be liable to refund all expenditure incurred on him by the Government.

Educational qualifications

For Army Wing of National Defence Academy - 12th Class pass with Maths of the 10+2 pattern of School Education or equivalent examination conducted by a State Education Board or a University.

For Air Force and Naval Wings of National Defence Academy and for the 10+2 (Executive Branch) course at the Naval Academy - 12th Class pass of the 10+2 pattern or School Education or equivalent with Physics and Mathematics conducted by a State Education Board or a University.

Candidates who are appearing in the 12th Class under the 10+2 pattern of School Education or equivalent examination can also apply. Candidates who qualify in the SSB interview are required to submit Matriculation and/or 10+2 or equivalent certificates in original to Army HQ Rtg (NDA Entry), West Block III, R.K.Puram, New Delhi 110066 and for Naval Academy Candidates to Naval Headquarters, R&R Section, 206 ‘C' Wing, Sena Bhawan, New Delhi 110011.