5 Ways To Join Indian Air Force As An Officer In 2018

The policy for selection of officers in Indian Air Force is strictly on the basis of merit and is open to all citizens of the country. Being a technologically intensive service, the IAF strives to maintain high standards for induction of personnel.

The Indian Air Force is the dream organization of many armed forces aspirants. The IAF provides many opportunities to the candidates in order to induct maximum talent and requisite personalities in the organization. The opportunities provided by IAF starts just after a candidate pass his 12^th class and ends up to the age of 26 years. These opportunities have different eligibility condition and different age range to segregate the applicants. So here is a gist of the age range, educational qualification and important dates of the entries.

1)NDA 2018

Age – 16 ½ – 19 ½ years

NDA 1 2018 – Date of birth of the candidate must fall between 02 June, 1999 and 01 June, 2002 (Both Dates Inclusive).
NDA 2 2018 – Date of birth must fall of the candidate between 02 January, 2000 and 01 January, 2003 (Both Dates Inclusive).

Educational Qualification – The aspirants must have passed or must be appearing in 12^th standard or equivalent and have studied mathematics and physics (as compulsory subjects) in 10+2 standard.

Important Dates

NDA 1 2018 – Date of notification – 10 January, 2018 – 05 February2018; Exam Date – 22 April, 2018
NDA 2 2018 – Date of notification – 06 June, 2018 – 02 July, 2018; Exam Date – 9 September, 2018

2) CDS 2018

Age – 20- 24 years.

CDS 1 2018 – The Date of Birth of the candidate must fall between 02nd January, 1994 and later than 01st January, 1998 (Both Dates Inclusive).
CDS 2 2018 – The Date of Birth of the candidate must fall between 02nd July, 1994 and later than 01st July, 1998 (Both Dates Inclusive).

Educational Qualification – The candidate must have a graduation degree or equivalent with Physics and Mathematics studied in10+2 or must have a B.Tech Degree.

Important Dates

CDS 1 2018 – Date of notification – 08 November, 2017 to 04 December, 2017; Exam Date – 4 February, 2018.
CDS 2 2018 – Date of notification – 08 august, 2018 to 03 November, 2018; Exam Date – 18 November, 2018.

3) AFCAT 2018 (Men and Women)

Age – For flying – 20-24 years; for Ground duty (Tech and non tech) – 20 – 26 years.

AFCAT 1 2018 – For flying 02 January 1995 to 01 January 1999; for Ground duty – 02 January 1993 to 01 January 1999 (Both Dates Inclusive).
AFCAT 2 2018 – For flying 02 Jul 1995 to 01 Jul 1999; for Ground duty – 02 Jul 1993 to 01 Jul 1999 (Both Dates Inclusive).

Educational Qualification –

Flying – The candidates who have completed graduation with minimum 60% marks and have scored minimum 60% marks in mathematics and physics individually in 10+2 OR have BTech/ B.E degree with minimum 60% marks and have scored minimum 60% marks in mathematics and physics individually in 10+2 OR have cleared section A & B examination of Associate Membership of Institute Engineers (India) or Aeronautical Society of India from a recognized University with minimum 60% marks or equivalent are eligible for the entry.
Ground Duty (Technical) – Candidates who have passed B.Tech with minimum 60% marks in specified fields as mentioned in the official notification are eligible for technical entry of AFCAT.
Ground Duty (Non-Technical) – For Administrative and Logistics – Graduation degree with minimum 60% marks; for Accounts – B.com degree with minimum 60% marks; for Education – Minimum 50% marks in MBA / MCA or MA / M Sc degree in English / Physics / Mathematics / Chemistry / Statistics / International relations / International Studies / Defence Studies / Psychology / Computer Science / IT /Management / Mass Communication / Journalism / Public Relation and minimum 60% marks in graduation.

Important Dates –

AFCAT 1 2018 – Date of Notification – December 2017 – , Exam Date – 25^th February, 2018.
AFCAT 2 2018 – Date of Notification – June 2018 – , Exam Date – 28 August, 2018.

Current Affairs questions will be from last 5-7 months (for AFCAT, NDA, CDS, TA)

4) NCC (Direct Entry Men and Women)

Age – 20-24 years

NCC 1 2018 – The age of the candidate must fall between 2^nd July 1994 and 1^st July 1998 (Both dates inclusive).
NCC 2 2018 – The age of the candidate must fall between 2^nd January 1995 and 1^st January 1999 (Both dates inclusive).

Educational Qualification – the candidate must have NCC Air Wing senior division C certificate acquired on or after 21^st May 2015. (Mandatory)

The candidates must either have a graduate degree with minimum 60% marks and have studied Mathematics and Physics in 12^th class or have a B. Tech/ B.E degree.
The candidates who have passed section A & B examination of Associate Membership of Institute Engineers (India) or Aeronautical Society of India from a recognized University with minimum 60% marks or equivalent are also eligible for it.

Important Dates

Date of notification –December 2017 and May/ June 2018

5) Meteorological Department (Direct Entry) (Men and Women)

Age – 20-26 Years

Met. Dept. 1 – The date of birth of the candidate must fall between 02 January 1993 and 01 January 1999. (Both dates inclusive)
Met Dept. 2 – The date of birth of the candidate must fall between 02 July 1993 and 01 July 1999. (Both dates inclusive)

Educational Qualification – All post graduate degree holders in any subject of Science streams / Mathematics / Statistics / Geography / Computer Applications / Environmental Science / Applied Physics / Oceanography / Meteorology / Agricultural Meteorology / Ecology & Environment / geophysics / Environmental Biology having scored minimum 50% marks in aggregate in post-graduation are eligible for the entry. Along with this, he candidates must also have Mathematics and Physics in graduation with minimum55% marks in both the subjects to be eligible for the entry.

Important Dates

Date of notification – January/ February 2018 AND July/ August 2018

Conclusion – The opportunities served by the IAF to the dedicated aspirants are enough to select the best and suitable personalities for the organization. The SSB centers of the IAF are at Mysore, Dehradun, Gandhinagar and Varanasi. There are 3 opportunities which have qualifying exams (NDA, CDS, AFCAT) and 2 are direct entries (NCC, Met. Dept.). Those aspirants who are aiming to join this elite branch of the armed forces of India, must go through the above crisp overview of the entries, check for their eligibility and proceed to the preparation for it.