How can Indian Armed Forces Sepoy become an Officer

Have you ever had a dream to pick up a gun and move across difficult terrain, shooting down bad guys for the sole purpose of protecting and serving your country? Every kid grows up with stories of bravery of army men who risk and sacrifice their lives to preserve the integrity of their motherland. Some kids even grow up to be like one of those army men. While the Indian army follows a pyramid-like structure for its hierarchy, jawans are at the bottom and Field Marshal at the top, one can join as jawan or general duty personnel and still climb their way to the top.

The Ranks

After completing the SSLC or Matric with 45 percent aggregate, a candidate can join the army as a sepoy. The succeeding ranks of a sepoy are Lance Nayak, Lance Daffadar, and Havaldar. All these ranks fall under non-commissioned officers. A candidate needs to put in 4-5 years of service to be promoted to the next rank.

The ranks of Junior Commissioned Officers are- Naib Risaldar, Risaldar, and Risaldar Major. Years of service or special recommendation from a superior can get one to the next higher rank.

Getting into the Ranks of the Officers

To join the ranks of a commissioned officer, a candidate needs to attend the Army Cadet College. The only requirement is to be within the age limit. Clearing the NDA or CDS exam renders one eligible for SSB screening. If the candidate is entering through NDA, the age limit is 19 years to be eligible to appear for SSB.

For a CDS candidate, 27 years is the age limit. A CDS candidate is also required to have completed a degree course from a university recognized by the Government. A non-commissioned officer can appear for SSB through qualifying the exam conducted by Military Training Directorate, NCC special entry, Technical entry, or ACC entry.

He needs to put in 2 years of service to be eligible for ACC. Selected candidates will be shortlisted for the screening, clearing which paves the path for the Army Cadet College. Completion of their B.A. from Army Cadet College will be followed by a year of military training in IMA, Dehradun, after which they will finally be commissioned as a Lieutenant in the army.

The process seems rigorous and confusing at times, but the bottom line is that a non-commissioned personnel CAN become a commissioned officer. To sum everything up, a non-commissioned personnel needs to:

Clear the exam conducted by Military Training Directorate/ put in at least 2 years of service for ACC entry
Pass the SSB and Medical Board screening
Complete their B.A. from Army Cadet College
Receive one year of military training

The age limit for Ground Duty personnel wanting to get into Army Cadet College is 23 years. The candidate wishing to appear for SSB can appear for SSB screening until the age of 23. There is no set number of attempts.

The SSB Screening Test

Every candidate who wants to become an officer, irrespective of the previous post held (if any), needs to appear for the SSB screening. The screening is the same for every candidate. SSB consists of two stages. The first stage is known as the screening test. The second stage consists of 3 tests which are called Psychology test, Group Testing Officers test, and Personal Interview.

Also See: How to Answer Personal Interview Questions in SSB

SSB Screening Test Process:

Part I: Story Writing- Also known as PPDT, which requires one to construct a story based on a blurry image that will be shown.
Part II: GD- The story constructed earlier is to be narrated within a minute, touching on all the important points. The group discussion starts after every candidate has narrated their story.

SSB Procedure: Psychology Test

The test assesses your personality
Thematic Appreciation Test, Word Association Test, Situation Reaction Test, and Self-Description Test are the psychology tests conducted by SSB

SSB Group Testing Officers(GTO) Test

The GTO examines a candidate for two days in 9 different tasks
The tasks assigned by the GTO are group discussion, group planning exercise, progressive group task, snake race, lecturette, half group task, individual obstacles, command task, final group task.

Personal Interview

• Duration of Personal Interviews range from 30 minutes to an hour
• The panelists contain just one interviewing Officer
• Interviews are subjective and based on the past of the candidate. The interests, hobbies, family and social life of the candidate can also be touched on by the Interviewing Officer.

Know the Complete SSB Process Here

Soldier First: The Upside and the Downside

If you wish to become a commissioned officer after ‘n’ number of years of ground service, you obviously will have certain advantages over the fresh candidates. The major advantage is that being in the army before, you have to lead a disciplined life, one that is expected of an army man.

The years of experience will also come in handy in the SSB screening, making you physically, and psychologically more agile than others.

The only downside to this route is that you will get lesser time to prepare for the screening since you will be engaged in your ground duty for most of your time.

Fighting the Odds, Climbing to the Top: Colonel Shamsher Singh

Raised by his father, Shamsher had a tough childhood. His family was economically weak and did not even have enough to replace the worn out tubes of a second-hand bicycle. He learned the use of firearms as a teenager. He also learned riding and the tricks that could be learned.

Shamsher was enrolled as a Junior Commission Officer despite being the topper of the screening board. Maharaja Yadvindra Singh allowed him to go for the Special Class Examination, admiring his audacity. He was the only one who was selected from among the eight candidates. He joined the IMA in 1940 and was commissioned as an officer in 1941.

Shamsher Singh is among the numerous who climbed their way to the top despite hardships and setbacks. Joining the army as a Junior Commission Officer, his audacity, and willpower to improve his lot, coupled with hard work and determination raised him to the rank of Colonel.

You, too, can take a leap after joining Indian Army at GD Post and if you think you re capable enough, you can opt to become an officer in the Indian Defense Forces. You just need to Clear NDA or CDS exam, then you can go for the SSB Interview, where you will have to show our leadership qualities and that could lead you to the chance to serve India as an Indian Armed Forces Officer.