AFCAT Exam Pattern 2020 [UPDATED]

AFCAT Air Force Common Admission Test, an exam conducted by the Indian Airforce for recruiting officers in the three branches which are Technical, Flying and Ground Duty Branches. This written test is conducted twice every year in the month of February and August. You can check the eligibility criteria for AFCAT and make sure whether you are eligible for the same or not. Here we are going to discuss the paper pattern of AFCAT so that our aspirants may get a fair idea about the type of examination and thus can start preparing for it in a more focused and organized way. As we all know, for the first time, AFCAT exam will be conducted online and candidates can apply for AFCAT through AFCAT CDAC website. Many candidates who are applying for AFCAT are looking for updated latest AFCAT syllabus, topics, subjects, marking scheme and number of questions. In this article, you will find the latest syllabus for the AFCAT exam and related information. Though the syllabus has not changed much there are few topics which are new and you might face them in AFCAT 2019.

The subjects, the time allowed and the maximum marks allotted to each subject will be as follows:

Exam	Subject	Duration	No. of Questions	Max Marks
AFCAT	General Awareness, Verbal Ability in English, Numerical Ability and Reasoning and Military Aptitude Test	02 Hours	100	300
EKT(For Ground Duty Technical Branch only)	Mechanical, Computer Science and Electrical and Electronics	45 Minutes	50	150

Syllabus of the AFCAT 2018

• English: Comprehension, Error Detection, Sentence Completion/Filling in of correct word, Synonyms, Antonyms and Testing of Vocabulary, Idioms and Phrases
• General Awareness: History, Geography, Civics, Politics, Current Affairs, Environment, Basic Science, Defence, Art, Culture, Sports, etc
• Numerical Ability: Decimal Fraction, Time and Work, Average, Profit & Loss, Percentage, Ratio & Proportion and Simple Interest, Time & Distance (Trains/Boats & Streams)
• Reasoning and Military Aptitude Test: Verbal Skills and Spatial Ability

(a) General Awareness

• History
• Sports
• Geography
• Environment
• Civics
• Basic Science
• Defence
• Art
• Culture
• Current Affairs
• Politics

(b) Verbal Ability in English

• Comprehension
• Error Detection
• Sentence Completion
• Synonyms
• Antonyms
• Testing of Vocabulary

(c) Numerical Ability  

• Decimal Fraction
• Simplification
• Average
• Profit & loss
• Percentage
• Ratio & Proportion
• Simple Interest

(d) Reasoning and Military Aptitude Test 

• Verbal Skills
• Spatial Ability

Standard of AFCAT 2019 Question Paper:

• The standard of Numerical Ability Questions will be of Matriculation level. The standard of questions in other subjects will be of graduation level (Indian University).
• The Online examination will consist of objective type questions and will be in English only for both AFCAT and EKT

AFCAT 2019 Marking Scheme

• Three marks for every correct attempt
• One mark for every incorrect attempt
• No marks for unattempted questions

Questions will be based on the metric system of Weights & Measures wherever applicable. Candidates must appear for the Online AFCAT in person. Under no circumstance will any scribe or another candidate be allowed to appear/ assist in the exam. Air Force has the discretion to fix qualifying marks in any or all the subjects of the examination.

AFCAT Exam Schedule: The AFCAT (and EKT) will be conducted in two shifts as per the following schedule:

Activity	16 Feb 19 (Day1)		17 Feb 19 (Day 2)
	1st Shift (AFCAT)	2nd Shift (AFCAT+EKT)	1st Shift (AFCAT)	2nd Shift (AFCAT+EKT)
Candidate Reporting Time	08:00 hrs	12:30 hrs	08:00 hrs	12:30 hrs
Verification of Admit Card & ID Proof, Biometrics, Photo/ Thumb Impression/ Sign on Attendance Sheet & Candidate Seating in Exam Hall	08:00- 09:30 hrs	12:30- 14:00 hrs	08:00- 09:30 hrs	12:30- 14:00 hrs
Reading of Instructions by Candidates	09:30- 09:45 hrs	14:00- 14:15 hrs	09:30- 09:45 hrs	14:00- 14:15 hrs
AFCAT	09:45- 11:45 hrs	14:15 -16:15 hrs	09:45- 11:45 hrs	14:15 -16:15 hrs
Reading of Instructions by Candidates for EKT		16:15 -16:30 hrs		16:15 -16:30 hrs
EKT		16:30 -17:15 hrs		16:30 -17:15 hrs

Note: Candidates will not be permitted to enter the exam centre, under any circumstance, after the pre-exam verification process has commenced at 08:00 hrs for shift-I and 1230 hrs for shift-II

AFCAT Exam Pattern Highlights

AFCAT Mode	Online (Computer-based)
Question Paper type	Objective (MCQs)
Number of Sections	General Awareness, Verbal Ability in English, Numerical ability and Reasoning & Military Aptitude Test
Total no. of questions	100
Marks awarded for correct answer	+3
Negative marking	-1
Total marks	300
Exam duration	2 hours (120 minutes) for AFCAT, 45 Minutes for EKT
Medium of Exam	English

AFCAT Question Paper Sections, Questions Marks and Time

Section	Questions	Marks	Time
General Awareness	20	60	2 hours
Verbal Ability in English	30	90
Numerical Ability	15	45
Reasoning and Military Aptitude Test	35	105

AFCAT Topics

Part 1: General Awareness

• History
• Sports
• Geography
• Environment,
• Defense
• Art and Culture
• International Current Affairs
• Politics
• Civics
• Basic Science

Part 2: Verbal Ability in English

• Comprehension
• Fill in the blanks by choosing the appropriate word
• Error Detection
• Sentence Completion
• Synonyms and Antonyms
• Testing of Vocabulary
• Tenses
• Basic Grammar

Part 3: Numerical Ability

• Decimal Fraction
• Simplification
• Average
• Ratio and Proportion
• Simple interest
• Profit and loss
• Percentage
• Time and Distance
• Time and Work

Part 4: Reasoning and Military Aptitude Test

• Verbal Skills and Spatial Ability
• Data interpretation
• Embedded Figure
• Missing Character
• Sets based on arrangements
• Rotated blocks
• Hidden figures
• Analogy

How to prepare for AFCAT 2019 Online

• AFCAT Solved Papers eBook (2018 – 2011)
• Let’s Crack AFCAT [BOOK]
• AFCAT Current Affairs eBooks
• Let’s Crack SSB Interview [Book]
• Breaking the code of SSB Psychology [Book]