Indian Army GD Eligibility 2024 – Agniveer GD Age, Height, Chest

Indian Army GD Eligibility, Selection Process(Age, Height, Weight, Chest, Race)The Indian Army is known as Thal Sena(भारतीय थलसेना) in Hindi, having the largest number of soldiers(Sainik) in it. This territorial army of India has proved to be a great defense system, and hence, a vast number of youth from different states of India want to join the Indian army.

अग्निवीर जनरल ड्यूटी (GD) के लिए आयु सीमा फिर से 21 वर्ष कर दी गयी है।

The upper age limit for Agniveer General Duty (GD) is now 21 years

The Indian Army has a regimental system(Regiments of different states) which is then divided into 7 commands on the basis of operations and geographic locations.

In this article, you will get all the details like Indian Army GD Eligibility, Indian Army GD Selection/Bharti Process, Indian Army GD Physical Criteria, Syllabus, written test, and the procedures on How to Join Indian Army GD.

Indian Army GD is a part of the general duty section, where the real defense soldiers exist, this includes the Rifleman, the land defense force, fighting troops, drivers, operators, gunners, etc. And it also includes Army Service Corps (ASC), Army Medical Corps (AMC) on drivers, Ordnance, General Duties, operators, etc. Below are the complete details about the Bharti process for Indian Army GD.

Before we proceed to the selection process and eligibility for soldier GD,  you should know all the advantages and disadvantages of joining the Indian army.

Indian Army GD Eligibility 2024, Selection Process Agniveer GD Age, Height, Chest

In order to join the Indian army, you must have the following qualifications and physical qualities.
Educational and physical criteria include the following points.

Please note that the eligibility given in this article is for male candidates, for female GD eligibility and selection process follow the given link.

1. Educational Qualifications

In order to join the Indian Army in the GD category, the candidate must be Matriculation passed, or some equivalent examination from a recognized board. So, the minimum educational requirement is class 10th pass with a minimum of 45% marks in aggregate and a minimum of 33% marks in each subject.

This means that out of 100 marks, one must get at least 33 marks in each subject, and at least 45% overall. If you a candidate has 6 subjects, then the best of 5 is taken. If a candidate fails in an additional subject, then still he is eligible to apply for this post.

2. Army GD Age

To be eligible to apply for soldier GD, a candidate must be between 17½ years to 21 years old, as per his original documents. When the recruitment notification is released for a particular district or state, the date of birth in which the applicant’s DOB must fall as mentioned in that notification. The applicant must make sure that their DOB falls between the dates given in the notification.

In simple words, if you want to know if you are eligible age-wise or not, then match your DOB with the one mentioned in the official notification. Also, once you make a profile on the army official website, then it will automatically show the rallies that you can apply for.

3. Nationality For Indian Army GD

In order to maintain integrity, the defence government of India has set the following rules for nationality to join the Indian army from the same or different countries. The criteria for nationality are as follows.

1. All the candidates from India can join the Indian army (qualified with the above qualifications).
2. Candidates having the nationality of Nepal and Bhutan can join the Indian Army.
3. The permanently settled Tibetan refugee in India, who came to India before the 1st of January of 1962 can also apply.
4. A person who migrated from Sri Lanka and East African Countries of Kenya, Uganda, Pakistan, Burma the United Republic of Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Zaire and Ethiopia, and Vietnam and settled permanently in India can also join the Indian army.

Candidates falling in points 2, 3, and 4 should have the certificate (Regarding the nationality) in their own favor issued by the Indian government.

However, if a candidate belongs to Nepal or Gorkha subjects are not necessarily required the certificate of eligibility of nationality.

4. Marital Status

The candidate should be an unmarried Male following all the above points.

5. Physical Standards and Eligibility

In order to recruit the best candidates, there are sets of physical standards formed by the Indian army. The physical criteria are as follows:

# The height criteria for different states and districts are different. This criterion can be relaxed according to the region of the candidates and mostly for Gorkha candidates. See the below table for more information.

# Minimum chest required is 77 cm, and plus 5 cm after expansion.

# The Weight of the candidate should be in proportion with his height & according to his age.

Indian Army Soldier GD Height, Chest & Weight requirements

Region	Minimum Height	Minimum Weight	Minimum Chest
Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab Hills (Area South and West of the Inter-State Border between Himachal Pradesh and Punjab and North and East of Road Mukerian, Hoshiarpur, Garh Shankar, Ropar, and Chandigarh), Garhwal and Kumaon (Uttarakhand)	163 cm	48 Kg	77 cm
Sikkim, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Tripura, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Assam, and Hill Region of West Bengal (Gangtok, Darjeeling, and Kalimpong Districts)	160 cm	48 Kg	77 cm
Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, Rajasthan, and Western Uttar Pradesh (Meerut and Agra Division)	170 cm	50 Kg	77 cm
Eastern Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Jharkhand, and Orissa	169 cm	50 Kg	77 cm
Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Dadar, Nagar Haveli, Daman, and Diu	168 cm	48 Kg	77 cm
Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Goa, and Puducherry	166 cm	50 Kg	77 cm

Physical standards as per different region and categories

Region	Height	Weight	Chest
Ladakhi Candidates	158 cm	50 Kg	77 cm
Nepalese, Indians, and Gurkhas	157 cm	48 Kg	77 cm
Lakshadweep Group including Minicoy, Andaman Nicobar Islands	165 cm	50 Kg	77 cm
The Locals Candidates	155 cm	50 Kg	77 cm
Recognized tribal areas	162 cm	48 Kg	77 cm
Brigade of the Guards	173 cm	50 Kg	77 cm
Med Arty	170 cm	50 Kg	77 cm
Corps of Military Police	173 cm	50 Kg	77 cm
Clerks GD/SKT	162 cm	50 Kg	77 cm

The above are the physical criteria needed for a candidate to qualify for army soldier GD. These standards are decided by the Indian army and no relaxation is given based on cast or category.

Indian Army Agniveer GD Selection Process (Age, Height, Weight, Chest, Race)

The following steps are required, to become a Soldier/Sepoy in Army:

Step 1: Online Registration  & Online Form Filling

No matter if there is an upcoming Indian Army Bharti in your district or not, if you want to join the army then you need to make a one-time registration on the official army website first. After making your profile on the official website you can log in to it and check for the upcoming recruitments that you can apply for.

Next, you will need to stay in touch with the official website and keep checking for recruitment in your state. Whenever there is an opening, the first thing you need to do is complete the online application process. After submitting the online application, you will have to wait for admit card.

The army admit card will be sent on your registered email ID, or you can download it by signing in to your profile on the official army website. The process of sending admit card usually starts the next day after the online application process is closed.

In the admit card all the information like reporting timing and instruction will be given. Don’t forget to take the printout of admit card. Also, carry original documents as well as at least 2 photocopies of each document with you.

Step 2: Written Test

Once a candidate clears the registration, then he is given admit card for a written exam right on the rally site. All the important information like exam venue, time, and other instructions are written on that admit card.

The written exam which is known as Common Entrance Exam (CEE) is conducted after 21 to 30 days of the registration. The written exam for soldier GD is also known as the NER exam. The CEE is conducted on the 4th Sunday of each month (except March, June, September, and December) like other government job exams.

Here are some important points related to soldier GD CEE:

1. The written exam will be an objective type which means that 4 options will be given for every question.
2. The Paper will be bilingual which means that questions will be given in Hindi and English.
3. A negative marking of 0.5 marks will be done for every wrong answer.
4. Each question will carry 2 marks. A total of 50 questions will be given for a total of 100 marks.
5. One hour (60 minutes) is given to complete the exam.
6. Minimum passing marks are 32, this means that a candidate needs to score at least 32 marks to stay in the selection process.
7. The exam will have 4 sections namely GK, general science, math & logical reasoning.
8. GK (15 questions, 30 marks), GS (15 questions, 30 marks), math (15 questions, 30 marks), logical reasoning (5 questions, 10 marks).
9. Candidates must try to score at least 70 to 80 marks in the written exam because the cutoff goes really high for GD.

Note: the ‘C’ certificate Holder candidates are not necessary to give this written exam, but they must fulfill all the other requirements mentioned above in this article.

Following is the syllabus for Soldier GD for each section.

1. General Knowledge – (15 questions, 30 marks)

Make your GK strong by practicing Army GD General knowledge questions and answers that we are offering.

Topic	Questions From
Abbreviations	National and International
Sports	National and International
Awards & Prizes	National awards, Gallantry awards, Nobel prizes
History	Important dates & battles in Indian and World History and Landmarks of Indian History, national movement.
Geography	Solar System, Space exploration, The Earth, Principal Peaks, Deserts, Rivers, Lakes and famous Waterfalls, Geographical Tallest, Biggest, and Longest, etc.
Terminology	Geographical terms, Economic terms, Astronomical terms, Legal terms, and Misc terms.
Other Topics	UNO, Indian Armed Forces, Indian Towns, States, and UTs, Institutions and research stations, International space stations and festivals of India and world, Indian News Agencies and Dailies, Continents and Sub Continent, Inventions and Discoveries, Environment, The Constitution of India, Religious Communities and Principal Languages, National and International Days, International Organizations, Books and Authors, The world of plants and animals, Current Affairs and “Who`s Who”.

2. General Science – (15 questions, 30 marks)

Click on the link given if you want to practice Army GD General Science questions.

Topic	Questions From
Human Body	Food and nutrition, disease and prevention, vitamins and their uses.
Physics	General Physics(Related to day to day activities)
Chemistry	General Chemistry(Related to day to day activities)
Biology	General Biology(Related to day to day activities)
Medical Terms	Name of diseases and terms used in medical science.
Scientific Terms	Commonly used scientific terms in daily life also includes  Research Institutes in India

3. Mathematics – (15 questions, 30 marks)

Topic	Questions From
Arithmetic	Unitary method, time, work and distance, simple interest, numbers, HCF, LCF, Decimal, fraction, square roots, percentage, average, ratio and proportion, partnership, profit, and loss.
Algebra	Basic operations and factorization, HCF and LCM, quadratic equations.
Geometry	Lines and angles, triangles, quadrilaterals, and parallelograms and circles.
Mensuration	Area and perimeters of squares, rectangles, parallelograms and circles, volume and surface area of cube, cuboids, cone, cylinders, and sphere.

4. Logical Reasoning – (5 questions, 10 marks)

The questions for logical reasoning will be based on the logical ability of the candidates of age group ranging between 16 to 20 years. Candidates should prepare a basic level of logical reasoning because the questions asked in the logical reasoning section are not very hard.

Step 3: Physical Fitness Test (PFT)

The physical fitness test is the most important step. Candidates should try to score maximum marks in PFT because the final merit list is made combining marks scored in PFT + written exam. Therefore, just qualifying is not enough you have to score the maximum possible marks. Following are the activities involved in PFT.

# Height, weight & chest measurement

As soon as you reach the recruitment site, the first thing they will do is check your height, and all those candidates who will not satisfy the minimum height requirement will be disqualified from the rally and will not be allowed to go any further.

Weight and chest measurements can be done at any point of PFT, and if someone does not fully fill the required criteria, then he will be sent home right from there. So, make sure to check your eligibility before applying.

# 1-mile run (1600 meter race)

It is the primary step of the selection process. In this, a candidate has to run 1.6 Km within a set time limit. The hard part in 1600 meter race is not the timing or distance, it’s the competition as everyone participating in the race want’s to complete the race as soon as possible, therefore leaving no margin for those who are unprepared. Following is the marks distribution according to time.

Army GD 1600 meter race time & marks

Category	Timing (in min.)	Marks
Group 1	5.30	60
Group 2	5.31 – 5.45	48
Time is taken more than 5.45 min – disqualify

Extra time will be added if the rallies are conducted on areas that are higher than 5000 ft. Following is the provision for extra time:

• Between 5000 ft. to 9000 ft. – extra 30 seconds will be given.
• Between 9000 ft. to 12000 ft. – extra 120 seconds will be given.

Keep in mind that you will have to run in a group i.e many people will run along with you, therefore, if you somehow lose your balance and fall down, then others may run over you which can cause serious injuries. So, make sure you are well prepared for running in the army. See this article on how to prepare for the Indian army.

# Pull Ups

they come after the 1.6 km running. Candidates are given marks out of 40 according to the number of pull-ups they do, the more the pull-ups more the marks. The standard marks distribution for pull-ups is as follows:

Army GD Pull-ups marks distribution

No. of pull-ups	Marks awarded
10	40
9	33
8	27
7	21
6	16
Less than 6 pull-ups – disqualify

Remember, just qualifying is not enough. If you somehow do clear pull-ups with qualifying marks only, then your chances of making it to the merit list will reduce significantly. This is why it’s important to prepare for pull-ups as well.

# 9 Feet Ditch Jump

In this test, candidates have to jump over a 9 feet ditch or hurdle. No marks are awarded for this part of PFT, candidates just have to qualify for this part. It is said that they give a candidate 3 attempts to clear this test, but one should try to clear this round on 1st attempt as you may not get another attempt.

# Zig-zag balance

Just like 9 feet ditch, zig-zag balancing is also qualifying in nature i.e a candidate just has to qualify for this test and no marks are awarded for it. In this, the candidates will have to walk from one end to another end of a zig-zag shaped narrow wooden stand without falling.

Though this part is quite easy to clear and you may be given 3 attempts to clear it, but it can be tricky sometimes. Since many participants walk over that wooden stand, therefore it can become slippery and hard to walk on. So, before you climb on it, make sure that your feet are well dried.

Step 4: Medical Test

To join the Indian army, a candidate must be medically fit so that he can serve his country with his best. A candidate has to pass a number of medical tests to join the Indian army. The following are the main points that are checked in a medical exam.

• The candidate should not be suffering from any mental disease. The candidate should be free from diseases/disabilities and must possess a good physique. Candidates should not have body defects such as for overweight etc.
• The chest of a candidate should be well developed and in a good shape, there must be a minimum expansion of 5 cm during the chest measuring test.
• Candidates should be free from bone diseases and bone joint defects, each important bone joint are examined during the medical test.
• Your hearing, viewing, and speaking ability should be very clear. Candidates having disease or problem in their ears, eyes, and throat will be rejected.
• The candidate must not have organic diseases such as diseases related to the heart and vessels. The blood pressure should also be under the limits.
• Candidate must not possess any disease regarding internal organs such as liver, kidneys, spleen, etc, having such diseases can give you a rejection.
• Urine examination is also done during the medical process.
• Your teeth should be in good condition.
• The candidate must be free from communicable diseases and cardiovascular, infections, surgeries, etc. The candidate should not have a past of some mental disease. The nose, ear, and throat must be perfectly working.

Ranks For General Duty Soldier

As all of you must be aware that the future of a GD soldier is very bright in the Indian army. There are so many benefits of being in the army like you get free medical services etc. though the commission is deducted each month from the salary for such facilities, yet they are very beneficial.

Now if you are wondering how high can you go in aspects of both rank and salary, then below is the rank and salary structure that a GD soldier can go for:

• A soldier GD is recruited for the post of Sepoy at the beginning. People at the rank of Sepoy are also known as recruits. The minimum starting salary of a Sepoy is Rs.21,700 (without allowances).
• The next post that you will be promoted to is lance Naik and after that Naik. The minimum salary of Naik is Rs.25,500 (without allowances).
• After Naik, the next post is havildar. The minimum starting salary of  a havildar is Rs.29,200 (Without allowances)
• After the promotion of havildar, a person gets the rank of Naib Subedar, and from this rank onwards the army personnel comes under Junior commissioned officer. The beginning salary that a Naib Subedar gets is Rs.35,400 (without adding any allowances).
• The next rank is of Subedar and the starting salary is Rs.44,900 (without any allowances).
• Subedar Major is the next rank for which the beginning salary is Rs.47,600 (without allowances).
• If a person keeps getting timely promotion then he can reach the post of Honorary Lieutenant for which the starting salary is Rs.56,100 (without allowances).
• Honorary Captain is the highest post that a person recruited as a soldier can go. The minimum salary for Hon. Captain is Rs.61,300 (without allowances).

Please note that the above-given information about the salaries may not be 100% accurate. For more detail on Indian army rank wise salary, follow the given link.

Indian Army General Duty Sample And Previous Year Papers

If you are preparing to join the Indian army then you will need to work very hard, as these days the competition is very high. As for physical, you will need to put all your efforts, especially into the running part. And to crack the written exam, you will need to practice the sample and previous year’s papers which are given below.

Click the below buttons to download the previous year and sample papers regarding Indian Army GD.

GD sample papers

Hope this article was helpful for you. Please feel free to write your comments.