We can say that test of reasoning is one of the scoring parts of AFCAT question paper. If you are someone who is going to attempt the AFCAT exam for the first time, you must know how many questions will be asked from each section. Below we have mentioned the question wise breakup of the AFCAT paper and also given few practice questions from the test of reasoning for the upcoming AFCAT exam.
There are four sections in the AFCAT question paper:
English Verbal Ability: 25 Questions
General Knowledge: 25 Questions
Numerical Ability: 18 Questions
Test of Reasoning: 32 Questions
So now you know, the test of reasoning section has around 32 questions, which means if you can give 100% correct answers in the test of reasoning section, you can score 32 x 3 = 95 marks. 95 marks just from a single section, isn’t it great? not to forget, solving this section will take a lesser amount of time when compared to Numerical ability.
How to score more marks in AFCAT reasoning section?
Only practice can help. Solve as many as questions before the exam.
Understand the logic behind the figures to solve figure related questions.
Do not leave this section for last, you might make errors in simple questions.
Psychological or psychometric testing is based on the principles of projective testing. The psychological testing consists of WAT, TAT, SRT, SD. These tests are important because the psychologist extracts the map representation of the candidate’s character/attitude and qualities.
Word Association Test (WAT) is a test of imagination. And it’s absolutely imperative to test the personality of the candidate through his/her association of ideas about men and matters. The psychologist assesses the personality of the candidates by showing them words of different kinds. The same words arouse different ideas, feelings, and emotions in different people. Therefore, one word becomes a peephole into different personalities.
And so, it is not recommended to cram up the reactions noted down in books. But you can always seek guidance from people, professional mentors, etc. You can practice WAT by yourself at home using timers.
Moving forward to WAT, there are two kinds of words that are projected in SSBs, namely- Positive words and Negative words. Some candidates find it difficult to tackle the negative words because we tend to react positively to a negative word but somehow in the stipulated time of 15 secs and the extreme pressure exerted; we generally do not perform the way we want to.
So, in this article, we shall describe you three ways to form a positive idea from a negative word shown in the slides.
Now, when you find the word Hate flashed on the projector, the first image that comes to your mind is a feeling of dislike or revenge. The word Defeat draws the sketch of failure in our thoughts. This is natural but you need to do a little practice to transform those images into a positive frame.
Denial method: Along with the negative word denial expression is used to deny the existence of the negative word. For this type, words like does not, no, never are used in the sentence.
Syntax: TPSN (third person singular noun) + Denial words (is not, does not, has not, never) + OW (Original word) + Other words.
Examples: Hate: Never pays in a relationship. : Good friends never hate each other. : Good understanding never creates hatred. 2. Use of antonyms: Instead of the original word, its antonym can be used in the sentence.
Examples: Hate: Loving people brings them closer to us.
3. Remedial method: A remedial or curative word is used as a starting word showing its remedial effect for the negative word. Words like removes, overcome, cures, eliminates, etc can be used.
Examples: Hate: Love cures hatred. Sorrow: Joy overcomes sorrow.
Some examples of negative words:
Sad: Happiness overcomes sadness.
Harm: A teacher never harms his own students.
Failure: Success overcomes failure.
Vices: Virtues remove vices.
Shy: Frankness eliminates shyness.
Reject: A brave never rejects challenges of life.
Suicide: Courage removes the feeling of suicide.
Bomb: High alert overcomes bomb explosion.
Fear- Winners bravely face their fear.
Dismiss: A good leader never dismisses a good idea.
Snake: Snake poison is useful for medical purposes.
Knife: Knife is a useful instrument for a surgeon.
Cruel: Kindness overcomes cruelty.
Blame: An officer never blames the innocent.
Fight: She doesn’t fight with her siblings.
Some more words for practice:
Weak
Selfish
Hijack
Difficult
Blood
Darkness
Loneliness
Lies
Tiredness
Crime
Kill
Enemy
Murder
Death
Divorce
Dowry
Mistakes
Fatigue
Danger
Aggression
War
For better practice on WAT download, the ebooks linked below. These ebooks comprise of various WAT original examples you will face in SSB Interview. You will find the sample response which will help you to learn the correct way to think and write your own responses.
My name is Kartik Menon and I feel immense joy and privilege in sharing my success story. Joining the Defence Forces has always been my ambition for the longest time. I am from a defence background and have always been surrounded by army officers. I had joined the military school in 9th class and worked for it and was immensely proud when I cleared the NDA written exam for the first time during my 12th class. I had my first SSB in NSB Coimbatore. However, I could not clear the SSB and the consecutive written exams. I kept faith and pushed on during college and aimed at UES entry and CDSE entry in college. During all this time my mind did not waver over my career option and knew it was where I wanted to be. During my final year I had cleared CDS exam and AFCAT exam.
In my second interview I was overconfident and did not consider the possibility of getting screened out and that was exactly what happened! That followed were months of introspection and swore to make it this time. I made a regime and woke early go for a run and exercise and thoroughly updated my general knowledge every day. This time my SSB was in Allahabad in the 11 SSB board. I was again able to get screened in, however, I felt intimidated by the entire batch comprised of repeaters! After hearing the testimonies of 8 times and 10 times repeaters I had lost my cool and again failed to perform. On the trip back home my mind went blank and the only thing that was on my mind was to clear my next one that was to happen in a month’s time. By this time I had a clear idea what I was doing wrong and I started practicing for my psychology test available online.
I contacted Dr. Cdr. NK Natarajan watched his video lectures from Amazon and availed the psych assessment and the mock interview and received proper guidance and was made to be aware of my shortcomings. And when I went for the SSB this time my mind was still in that blank stage and i wasn’t nervous anymore and only focused on performing on the test alone. This time my SSB was again in 2AFSB Mysore and reported there on 18 Dec.
18 Dec 2017
On the first day, screening test was done and results came at 2 PM. The PPDT picture was that of a blurry public place and I made a simple 40 sec narration story and moderately participated in the following discussion. The results came positive and I was assigned chest no.43 and among 164 who reported 64 were screened in. Soon after we were routed in and I slept for 3 hours and soon after we had our Psych Test for which I was fully refreshed and gave sufficient responses in all the tests.
19 Dec 2017
This day we had our first GT and I went with an alert mind keeping in mind my mistakes and mentally preparing myself for the discussions. My aim was to take as much part in the discussions as possible without coming out too aggressive. In the group planning it was chaos. But I took that chaos as an opportunity to lead the group and I did that by raising my voice, gave a section and reasoning of the plan and let others discuss further and in the end I gave the common solution which the group agreed upon. Hence, I took active part in the group and for the PGT and HGT my experiences in the previous SSB had helped me stay ahead of the group and at the same time keep listening to my group and incorporating their ideas where I can. I felt I performed better than I expected and felt this might be it. My lecturette went especially well and I spoke on odd even formula in Delhi.
20 Dec 2017
This was my 2nd GT and we had our Individual Obstacles, Command Task and FGT. I felt it all went well thanks to all the running I did before the SSB.I got the most different obstacle and It took me a while and I kept a cool head and was able to identify the solution after which I thanked the group for their help. The FGT went without a hitch and thus ended my GT.I felt very satisfied with my performance as I felt I was able to work well with the group.
21st Dec 2017
This day was the most nervous day for me before the interview. My interview was at 10.30 AM and knew this day could make or break my career. But I was strangely calm and knew for some reason all I had to do was not mess it up. I reached the waiting room at 10.00 AM and was called in at 10.15 as the person before me was already done early. I focused on my appearance in front of the mirror, made a last minute adjustment to my formals and headed in. My interview went very smooth and all of his questions were focused on my personal life and I was straight forward and honest with all my answers. I mentioned some of my funny life incidents in response to his questions and I had fun sharing. At the end of the interview the interviewer said with a smile, ”Looks like the interview has gone on for an hour, I got everything that I wanted. You may take your file and go now.”
Conference Day
Before the conference I had no fear. Knowing that I had been able to do my very best and was sure I’ll get through. I went into the conference room and he asked me a bunch of questions regarding my engineering background and finally they asked me what my priority career was and I had only one answer. ”Armed Forces”. My Chest No.”43” was finally called I was surprised but at the same time couldn’t comprehend the implications apart from the fact that I have achieved my goal!!
Like any other defence aspirant who follows this page, would always want his/her success story to be reflected on this page. And I’m no exception!! I’ve been following SSBCrack for a year and I believe it has been one of the best ways to keep yourself updated about defense! How To Prepare for SSB Interview:
I went for the SSB at Varanasi, in June after clearing my AFCAT exam in 2017. By God’s grace, I was able to get recommended in the very first attempt! After I got recommended, I went through the medicals as well and was medically fit. I had to wait for the merits which were supposed to be out by December!
Meanwhile, I had cleared my CDS exam and I got OTA, and the SSB Interview came in November!
After my AFCAT SSB, I had a gap for the merits so I joined as an assistant professor at lovely professional University, taught students verbal ability! During the tenure of my job, I conducted a certain workshop for the defense aspirants too so that they wouldn’t face the same problems as I did. By God’s grace after the workshop my two students got recommended, one of them went for the navy and his merit was AIR-2 SHUBHRANT PATHAK. For me, it was the biggest achievement seeing my student achieving his goal at a very young age.
Right after my workshop I had one more SSB of the CDS that came in November in Kapurthala
My experience at Kapurthala :
We were 50 who reported on 25 November’17, after all the documentation we were given the accommodation and the chest numbers
PPDT:
Next day after the fall in we were sent for the screening. The picture that I had perceived, it had two males discussing something and I wrote a true story of mine , like how I used to sit with my sister ( who is also an assistant professor in the same university where I taught), and discuss about the problems faced by the students during the placement times and what could be done in order to overcome this, hence my plans were natural and practical!
And then we had the discussion part, to my surprise, none in my group wrote about a discussion and everybody wrote about pollution, stubble farming etc, but then that’s where a candidate has to be flexible! I followed the group’s story and gave few ideas from my end from my story and hence after the discussion part out of 50, 21 candidates were screened in!
observe the background and the foreground carefully
look for yourself in the picture
look for a reasonable, logical “need” that what led to the story
the leader should be the one who would be an acting leader, that he must do the action part, should not be the one who would just give orders to the subordinates but rather participate in the process
2 lines about the past, details about the central character
8-9 lines are the action part, telling about the actions, specifications, details etc about the story.
very important a normal ending . it should not be an overly ambitious ending!
I followed a similar technique for my AFCAT SSB at Varanasi.
the action part should include those activities that we can do at our age, for example becoming an IAS of the area and constructing a hospital would just be too futuristic and ambitious!
PIQ
In evening we were asked to fill PIQ. Testing for stage 2 starts with filling up of PIQ. Be careful while filling PIQ. You will be asked questions about each and every single word that you write in your PIQ. Be prepared to answer every possible question around every single word written in your PIQ.
Me 🙂
PSYCH DAY :
the next day was supposed to be a hectic one! we started off with TAT, followed by WAT then SRT and last the self-description!
The TAT technique is similar in terms of writing part like of the PPDT, follow the same objective, same techniques in it
The WAT part is the one in which we tend to lose our focus and we miss out words at times but the only tip in this that keep calm and write. Avoid missing out any word and for the SRT also don’t write too long, I could only do 51 SRT, but better than my previous attempt in which I could just do 42!
GTO
Your first and last aim should be the progress of your group. If Group wins, you win. The group loses, so do you. Don’t get personal during any task at any point of time. It’s the group that matters, not the individual. and people do this mistake, they try to overshadow the others and that’s the worst thing or quality thta youy can expect from an officer!
Group discussion and group planning exercise:
The same technique in this as well , no matter how good you are, no matter how fluent you are , but if you dont let the others participate , trust me you will never be selected! its a discussion and not a debate so let evryone participate, dont speeak too much, put your point once , come back, wait for a while, let othrs speak. again put a point , come back and do d same again. i spoke only thrice in the entire discussion (both times @varanasi and @kapurthala)
PGT, HGT
Listen to GTO briefing very carefully. While briefing, he also indicates the solution.at times he gives certain clues as well so dont miss that part!
3rd and 4th PGT are relatively tough. Try to give ideas in 3rd and 4th PGT. Keep calm.
SNAKE RACE, IO
Avoid injuries. do enjoy it!
COMMAND TASK
I ruined my command task but then I believe its all good if you are natural and you take time to think over the task, the problem keenly. But the command task at varanasi was much better , the gto made it more difficult by taking certain helping materials from me and making it difficult but then i was able to come up with ideas that were workable
Don’t be nervous. Solution is always there. Think calmly. Take your time. GTO will create time pressure. Ignore him whenever he says like you are left with 1 minute or 30 sec etc.
FGT
Give your ideas otherwise support the group.TO my knowledge the GTo has analysed you fullu but might give you a chance here ! grab the oppurtunity
INTERVIEW
I was the last to be interviewed. My interview was on the GTO day 2. His first question
IO: have a seat rahul, so coming from the grounds, how were the activities.?
ME (smiling): thank you sir , yes by gods grace they went well
IO: tired?
Me (smiling): not really , 🙂
IO: okay so this is your second attempt, how was the first one ?
Me: it was good sir , i got recommended!
Interview went for an hour (approx.). He asked about my strengths I replied “optimistic”, “always ready with helping hand” “compassion ate”(he asked the justifications as well and i justified by giving examples, teling about my students who got recommended). He asked the reason for why army over airforce ? . He asked,”what about this time?how are you better this time?” I said,” ive been teaching in the university, and i conducted a workshop for 150 odd students and i believe i am 150 times stronger this time! ”
The series of questions ranged from mechanical to reasoning, aptitude, gk, personal life etc . He tried to put me under stress and wanted to check that how efficient i am under stress, how fast i can think on my toes!
Your PIQ plays an important role in interview. You must be able to justify your answers. Support your answers with real life examples. For ex. If you say that you are calm. Support this by telling him an incident where your calmness helped you. So, be ready with real life incidents.
The day befor the conference I got the news that the merits of the airforce is out and to my surprise I couldn’t make it in d merits!! As I had resigned from the job of assistant professor as well , so I had to lead to the conference hall the next day with alot of stress , which I believe was eustress that helped me to go through!
CONFERENCE:
IO (smiling): How was your performance?
me: it was good, sir
I.O: rate yourself out of 10 , in all the three
me: psych :7/10, interview:8/10, g.t:6/10
i.o: why so less in ground task?
me: sir i ruined the command task
i.o: do u have only command task in your grounds?
me: no sir , i believe i could have done much better and there is always a scope for improvement
then he asked about certain more things and asked about the experience and also asked me what would you take back from here for your students ?
me: I would take the experience and would tell mine
We all gathered in the auditorium, the T.O came and told about his life experience, and also told that you see people who get recommended once, usually fail the next time they appear for the SSB, can anyone tell me why? the person sitting next to me said sir “because of the overconfidence!” now why I thought it’s not my day because of all the 21 candidates sitting there, was the only one who was previously recommended!
The T.O called out chest no. 12, and yes it was mine 🙂 I was the only one to be recommended from all the wonderful, intellectual, SSB veterans 😛
By god’s grace, got two recommendations back to back one from airforce and one from the army and I believe if I common person, who doesn’t have any defense background can do it then anyone can do it as well! and I would like to give all the credit of my recommendation to my real sister (, my mentor, my idol ), SSBCrack for all the information and to all my students for the love and support and of course to all the critics who have made me a better person, that I am today 🙂
India has a coast line of about 7500 km and an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of over 2 million sq kms. In addition, we are endowed with abundant oceanic wealth comprising a large number of island territories and vast sea bed area, over 97 % of our national trade is carried by sea routes! We must protect our natural wealth and keep our trade routes open in order to progress and per. It is therefore, imperative that Indian Navy is always in a high state of preparedness.
Be it any festive or celebration, Indian Navy has always been there for us to protect India’s largest border from Gujrat to West Bengal. Let us look back on what the Indian Navy has done for us this year and be ever thankful to our men in whites:
Naval Exercises
Ex Taiyaar-17:
Conducted in Jan 17, the exercise is an annual feature which allows the Naval Commands to fully prepare and exercise transition from a state of peace to one of hostilities and address any shortcomings that may be encountered. Various facets that were exercised included Op logistics, action stripping, Mine & War watching organisation, deployments by Fast Intercepter Crafts (FICs), acceleration of Refit etc.
TROPEX-17:
A Theatre Level Operational Exercise – TROPEX 17, was conducted on the Western Seaboard in Jan-Feb 17. Extensive participation of Army, Air force and the Coast Guard, including Marine Commandos (MARCOS) and Para Special Force (SF) was the highlight of this year’s exercise.
TROPEX 2017
Joint Amphibious Workup:
Joint amphibious workup by Indian Navy and Indian Army was conducted from 19 – 31 Mar 17 off Karwar. Indian Naval ships Jalashwa and Gharial along with over 1000 personnel of 91 Infantry Brigade of Army participated in the exercise.
Exercise PARIKSHAN:
Western Naval Command conducted operational level Table Top Tri-Service wargame titled ‘Exercise PARIKSHAN’ from 07-09 Aug 17. Representatives from Naval Headquarters, and operational commands of the Army and Air Force in the region also participated in the wargame.
Ex Parikshan 2017
DANX – 17:
The Joint Services Exercise ‘Defence of Andaman and Nicobar Exercise’ (DANX-17) was conducted in Andaman & Nicobar Command from 20-25 Nov 17. IN/ICG Ships, IN/IAF/ICG aircraft and Army troops from ANC and other Commands of IN, IA & IAF participated in the exercise. The successful conduct of the exercise proved unparalleled synergy achieved at ANC between the three services.
DANX 2017
International Exercises:
Exercise MALABAR 2017:
The 21st edition of Ex Malabar was conducted off the port of the East Coast of India from 09-17 Jul 17. IN, US Navy and the Japan Maritime Self – Defence Force (JMSDF) participated in the exercise. The primary objective of the exercise was to enhance maritime cooperation and interoperability amongst the participating navies. A total of 16 ships, 02 submarines, 95 aircraft, Marine Commandos (MARCOs) and Special Forces (SFs) participated in the exercise.
India-Japan-US Malabar 2017
VARUNA 17:
The Western Fleet ships participated in bilateral exercise VARUNA 17 with French Navy in Apr 17 off Toulon, France. INS Trishul, Mumbai and Aditya along with integral helicopters, participated in the Exercise.
Ex Varuna 2017
KONKAN 17:
INS Tarkash participated in bilateral Exercise Konkan 17 with Royal Navy in May 17 off UK. Ship visited Plymouth and London during the exercise and also participated in HMS Tricomalee Bi-centenary year celebrations and cultural events at London as part of ‘India-UK Year of Culture’.
Exercise SIMBEX:
Ex – SIMBEX, the annual bilateral exercise with Republic of Singapore Navy was conducted at Singapore from 12 – 21 May 17. IN ships Shivalik, Sahyadri, Kamorta and Jyoti participated in the exercise. The ships also participated in the International Maritime Defence Exhibition during the period.
Ex Simbex 2017
Exercise Indra 2017:
Indo-Russia Joint Tri-Services Exercise INDRA-17 was conducted off Vladivostok, Russian Federation from 19-29 Oct 17. This was the first ever Tri-Services bilateral military exercise between the two countries. The Naval Operations of exercise were conducted off Vladivostok in the Sea of Japan (Peter the Great Bay). The amphibious operations were conducted at Cape Klerk, about 30 nm SW of Vladivostok.
Ex Indra 2017
AUSINDEX 2017:
The second edition of biennial Australia-India Maritime Bilateral Exercise (AUSINDEX) was conducted at/ off Fremantle, Australia. The exercise was conducted from 13-19 Jun 17. The Harbour Phase of AUSINDEX-17 was conducted at Fremantle (HMAS Stirling) from 13-16 Jun 17. The Sea Phase was conducted off West coast of Australia in the Western Australia Exercise Areas (WAXA) from 17-19 Jun 17.
SLINEX 17:
The Eastern Naval Command hosted Sri Lanka-India Naval Exercise, SLINEX 17, from 07-14 Sep 17. Srilanka Naval Ships Sayura and Sagara and IN Ships Gharial and Kora participated in the exercise. Harbour phase included various training interactions. The Sea phase was conducted from 11-14 Sep 17.
Anti-Piracy Operations
SagarKavach:
Coastal security exercises ‘SagarKavach’ were conducted throughout the year.
Sagar Kavach 2017
Op Avloka:
Indian Naval ships are being deployed for Op Avloka (off Gujarat and Maharashtra coast) for coastal surveillance during the monsoons since 2010, to undertake coastal surveillance.
Op Avardhan:
Indian Naval aircraft are deployed for Op Avardhan to maintain continuous aerial coastal surveillance of the West coast of India including L&M Islands. Similar sorties are also undertaken in the East coast and the A&N Islands to augment coastal surveillance along with Indian Naval ships.
Anti-Piracy Patrol:
As part of its wider role of providing security to shipping in the Indian Ocean Region, the Indian Navy continues to deploy one ship for anti-piracy patrol in the Gulf of Aden. A total of 65 IN warships have been deployed till Dec 17, which have safely escorted more than 3788 (including 405 Indian flagged) ships with over 24,858 mariners embarked. Till date the IN has thwarted 44 piracy attempts and apprehended 120 pirates. The IN remains committed to ensuring Good Order at sea in the Indian maritime zones, and towards ensuring freedom of navigation in the high seas including off Somalia. IN’s presence in this region is being maintained to ensure safety and security of Indian trade.
Hijacking of Al – Kausar:
An Indian dhow, AlKausar was hijacked on 01 Apr 17. IN ship Sharda, deployed for anti – piracy patrol in the Gulf of Aden since 06 Apr 17, was diverted off Hobyo, Somalia to monitor the situation and render necessary assistance to the dhow. On release after negotiations, Al Kausar was safely escorted by Sharda to Kismayo, Somalia. During the passage to Kismayo, the dhow was approached by two skiffs; however, Sharda prevented any further incident.
Piracy Attack on Bulk Carrier OS35:
In another incident of piracy attack, a Bulk Carrier, OS 35 (with 19 Filipino crew onboard) reported piracy attack on 08 Apr 17. IN ships Mumbai, Tarkash, Trishul and Aditya operating in the area were diverted to provide assistance. PLA (N) ship was also in the area. IN undertook continuous aerial surveillance to sanitise the upper decks of the merchant ship and one Prahar was made stand-by. Under the aerial surveillance of the IN helo and on receiving ‘all clear signal’ from the IN that no pirates were visible on the upper decks, PLA(N) personnel boarded the ship. It was ascertained that pirates had abandoned/ fled the ship.
Suspicious Skiffs:
On 16 May 17, based on an alarm raised by Merchant Vessel Lord Mountbatten, Sharda apprehended two mother boats along with 7-8 skiffs. Ship undertook boarding and search operations, during which arms and ammunition were confiscated and thereafter boats were released in absence of any other piracy triggers.
MV JagAmar:
Whilst escorting Indian flagged vessel MV JagAmar (with 26 Indian crew onboard) in the Gulf of Aden on 06 Oct 17, INS Trishul detected a pirate boat carrying out manoeuvres in the vicinity of the merchant vessel. Trishul closed the boat for investigation and launched her helicopter (with sniper embarked) towards the boat immediately. Under the surveillance of the helicopter, ship’s boat with Prahar (Marine Commandos) boarded the pirate boat. All the piracy triggers including the AK 56 with rounds were confiscated by the ship’s boarding team to prevent any piratical action by the boat crew. All Indian crew onboard MV Jag Amar was safe and the merchant vessel safely proceeded to her next port of call.
SSB is regarded as one of the toughest interviews in India. And rightly so, because of the strict policies adopted towards the testing and the set OLQs. The interview itself if of 5 days. That speak volumes about what kind of people the armed forces want to lead their men into war. How To Prepare for SSB Interview:
These men are selected on the basis of 15 defined OLQs that SSBs look in a candidate:
Effective Intelligence, Reasoning Ability, Organizing ability, Power of Expression, Social Adaptability, Co-operation, Sense of Responsibility, Initiative, Self Confidence, Quickness of Decision, Ability to influence, Liveliness, Determination, Courage and Stamina.
These 15 OLQs are categorized on the basis of 4 factors –
Factor 1 – Intellectual
Factor 2 – Social Adjustment
Factor 3 – Social Effectiveness
Factor 4 – Dynamism
Factor 1 – Intellectual:
In this factor, your brainpower and the capability of your use is tested. There are 4 OLQs under this factor:
Effective Intelligence
Reasoning Ability
Organizing ability
Power of Expression
Factor 2 – Social Adjustment
In this factor, your adjustment socially is tested – how good can you mingle in people with you. There are 3 OLQs which define this factor:
Social Adaptability
Co-operation
Sense of Responsibility
Factor 3 – Social Effectiveness
This factor purely assess how effective you are among a group of people. This is very important factor as officers in the Indian armed forces need to keep the morale of their men high. There are 5 OLQs which define this factor:
Initiative
Self Confidence
Quickness of Decision
Ability to influence
Liveliness
Factor 4 – Dynamism
Finally this factor defines the energy and spirit you carry within you. There are 3 OLQs that define this factor:
Determination
Courage
Stamina
Manasa-Vacha-Karmana of OLQs
Whole testing procedure revolves around the analysis of the candidates’ psychology and his/her capabilities – what he/she speaks, thinks and do. This is often correlated to each other as Manasa Vacha Karmana – the three elements where the whole psychology of a candidate revolves around. The Sanskrit word manasa refers to the mind, vacha refers to speech, and karmana refers to actions.
Manasa is a candidates’ thoughts – his perception of situation and the way he thinks, whether positive or negative.
Vacha is the candidates’ words – what he speaks, whether his words have power to influence people around him, whether his words match his thoughts and whether he is fluent/confident in speaking those words.
Karmana is the candidates’ actions – whether it is linked to what he says, whether he can execute what he says and whether his actions matches his thoughts and words.
It is these elements of psychology based on which whole 15 Officer Like Qualities are developed. Let’s see how these OLQs relate to these elements:
Effective Intelligence – Manasa and Vacha
Reasoning Ability – Manasa and Vacha
Organizing ability – Manasa and Karmana
Power of Expression – Manasa and Vacha
Social Adaptability – Manasa
Co-operation – Manasa and Karmana
Sense of Responsibility – Manasa and Karmana
Initiative – Manasa and Karmana
Self Confidence – Manasa, Vacha and Karmana
Quickness of Decision – Manasa and Vacha
Ability to influence – Vacha
Liveliness – Manasa, Vacha and Karmana
Determination – Manasa, Vacha and Karmana
Courage – Manasa and Karmana
Stamina – Karmana
Don’t be surprised now if I say you that the whole SSB testing procedure is classified based on these three elements. Shocked? Let’s See:
These tests are pure psychology tests and analyses your thinking ability. The TAT, WAT, SRT and SD – all these tests solely assess your divergent thinking capabilities – your manasa.
Interview:
Interview is a conversation between you and the interviewer. It is what you say here, that defines who you are. No one can peek into your mind to assess your thinking unless you say it yourself. Therefore, interview assess your vacha.
GTO:
Needless to say now, the ground tasks that you perform assess you on your actions – Karmana. What you say in GD, what you plan in GPE, what you do in PGT, HGT, CT, IO, FPGT and Lecturette defines whether your actions are capable of fulfilling your words and thoughts.
Many candidates make this mistake thinking that since all the assessors are testing you in isolation, you can write one response in Psych tests, say something other in Interview and do something totally different in GTO. That is the reason there is a board conference;
Conference:
Since now all the three assessors have assessed you individually, they now compare your results with each other. If what you think matches with what you say and do, the Psychologist gives you a thumbs up. If what you say matches with your thinking and actions, the interviewer gives you a thumbs up. Similarly, if what you speak matches with what you think and say, the GTO gives you a thumbs up. It is only when all three have given their thumbs up, you are called inside the conference room and president confirms whether to give you a thumbs up or no.
Before the board conference, the assessors are not even allowed to discuss about a candidate as per protocols. So, your result have already been evaluated even before you enter the conference room and that is the same reason the assessors take some time before calling in the next person.
Conclusion: Now that you have the secret of understanding OLQs better and what actually are the basis of these OLQs, you can prepare accordingly and develop them for you.
To prepare for defence exams and SSB interview, get these books:
Two young pilots of the Indian Air Force died when their microlight aircraft crashed near the river island of Majuli in Assam, said Defence PRO Harsh Wardhan Pande.
Wing commanders Jai Paul James and D Vats suffered fatal injuries in the crash.
The aircraft took off from the Jorhat air base on Thursday on a routine bird recce sortie. The wreckage was found at Sumoi Mari village near Majuli, south of Kamalabari. Air Commodore S K Verma, Air Officer Commanding (AOC) of Jorhat based Air Force Station said that a court of inquiry has been ordered to investigate the cause of the accident.
Police in the island district confirmed the deaths. The incident took place at Sumoimari Chapori, a police officer said, adding that Defence and IAF personnel were on their way to Majuli.
A microlight aircraft crashed in #Assam during a routine sortie, both pilots onboard lost their lives. Inquiry ordered to ascertain cause of accident. pic.twitter.com/OYTNmhXbOG
Tamandeep Singh got recommended for TGC 127 course of the Indian Army which shall be the last course of the Technical Graduate Course from 31 SSB Kapurthala. Tamandeep belongs to a family of officers who have been serving the nation since generations and takes pride to be a part of such a great family. Tamandeep like his elder brother will be a 4th generation officer and continues the family’s tradition of safeguarding the nations boundaries. His great-grandfather served in the British Army and later the Indian Army, his grandfather retired from the Indian Air Force as a Wing Commander and father is currently serving in the Indian Army and is a Gunner Officer. His elder brother who passed out June 2017 from IMA is also a Gunner Officer. He too was dedicated towards achieving his goal and worked really hard for it and his success reflects it. He took guidance from his father, his elder brother and continuously worked towards being a part of the Officer fraternity and getting into the noble profession of arms. His parents said “They were really happy about their son’s achievement and are proud of both their sons”. He cleared the SSB in the first attempt and looks forward to joining the academy as soon as possible and passing out with flying colours. All his family members are proud of him and look forward to June 2019 to see him donning the 2 Stars on his shoulders.
Bumpy road to get shortlisted for SSB :
Right from Class 12th I had started to prepare for SSB as I was quite hopeful to crack the NDA Exam, but I couldn’t. Whenever I used to check the final score I used to find out that overall cutoff I was able to make through, but individually in mathematics, I was always short by less than 5 marks. Then I got into B.Tech. I chose it because I knew that if I did well I could get shortlisted for SSB on the basis of semester marks. So I kept working hard in engineering then in my prefinal I had a % of 71.4 and applied for UES Army, to my bad luck the percentage for my branch(IT) was 72 % that was the time I decided enough is enough. 5th and 6th semester I scored 80.1% and 81.1% respectively pulling the three overall %till 6th sem to 74.23%. I applied for TGC-127 got shortlisted and was scheduled to report at SCN Kapurthala on 1st February 2018.
Preparing for SSB:
I also got to know that this may be the last TGC entry. I knew this is 1 chance and I’ve to grab it. Right from 1st January, I started. I started by practicing TAT, timing my stories writing stories on anything and everything I saw around me, also I bought the SSBCRACK’S Ebook of original pictures of TAT. Then moving on to other parts of psychology like WAT, SRT and Self Description. I followed a strict schedule waking up early in the morning running 2kms to get stamina on point then hitting the gym to strengthen my body and also to loose weight, took advice from a cousin who is master in this to help me with my physique. After that I made sure that I attempt the whole psychology test in a quick succession in a time bound manner, the night before I asked my father to make PPT of 12 random pictures, 60 words and 60 SRTS, that would automatically change after 4 mins and 15 seconds respectively, after gym I used to attempt these. Initially, I was running out of time but later I was quite okay. I took advice from my father and brother about these stories and then kept improving. In the afternoon I used to practice for lecturette, initially looking myself in the mirror and speaking to myself then calling people and making them sit and listen to my lecturettes. I also downloaded different ssb apps to see the structures used in GTO then I understood the basic principle behind it was that of a cantilever and then I started applying this to any thing I saw in daily life, this honed my skills for GTO. For interview I used to question myself, usually while I brushed my teeth looking myself in the mirror and asking the questions and answering them and then think about what I said, “Will an officer answer this question like this?” so that also helped and taking advice for my brother and father was always there.
5 days at SSB :
Day 1
I reported with my friend and buddy Jaskaran Singh to SSB Kapurthala at 5.30am 1st February.
I was given the chest number 41 and my buddy got 46.
Then we entered the testing hall where our Intelligence test (better known as OIR test) was taken. My test was average, that time I got a little tensed as I didn’t want to be screened out in my very first attempt. So I calmed myself down and said I’ve to nail the PP&DT
During PP&DT we both were in the same group and we made stories and adequately participated and to my surprise our group was able to reach at a common story as I had read that that generally doesn’t happen. And I was nominated by the group to give the common story and I did so to the best of my abilities. Then we were sent out and asked to wait for the results. During the announcement of results my buddy’s chest number was called before me and I thought that 46 has been called and I’ve not been called, that time I thought this is it, “Man you couldn’t even make it to the Stage 2”, but right inside me there was still a hope that man is performed I should get in and then my number was called, I shouted my name and went and wore my chest number which was 15.
Day 2
Psychology test was held as I was well prepared for it I did well, made good positive and realistic stories. WAT also did almost all the words I suppose I would have missed 5 words. SRTs I gave detailed responses and was able to do 40 only. That day my interview was also scheduled but was changed and I got interviewed on the 4th day after GTO-2.
GTO started off early and I was very excited for it too. We had the GDs and GPE our group performed well. In snake race I suggested that we have our group’s war cry as “Har Maidan Fateh” after some discussions it was accepted as the war cry of the group, other war cries that were suggested were “Kar k dikhayenge, Haa bhai haa” & “We are? Champions! “. We did well everyone helped each other and got through obstacles easily and were far ahead of other groups even with one 5 seconds penalty and when completed the last obstacle the other groups were still doing the last one, so our GTO asked for volunteers to repeat the last obstacle so we did it again and then the race ended. In PGT since I had applied the fundas to everyday things that I saw our group was able to sail through the PGT as well as HGT. While I heard other groups weren’t able to do PGT-3. In lecturette I chose the topic “Media Trails”, among others that were mentioned were “Dwindling Oil prices”, “My favorite pet”, “Global Warming”. I spoke boldly yet at a medium pace with clarity quoting real life examples of the topic and then concluded when the second bell rang.
Day 4
In GTO-2 we kicked off with Individual obstacles, I followed the sequence but my sequence was broken as the chest number 14 was still doing the burma bridge when I was tu start it, so I skipped that and went on then I came back to it did it and then went to the zigzag balancing beam this changing sequence costed me time so first time I slipped from the beam the second time when I went to do it whistle rang and I was able to 9/10 obstacles. In command task GTO took me to a complex CT it was about diffusing the bomb it had 4 ways to do it, 3 ways I was able to do it easily but in the 4th I did with the help of GTO sir’s hint. Final Group Task our group was able to do easily and right after GTO Sir’s debriefing my interview took place I didn’t even get time to change my dress. My interview only went for 30 mins and the rapid fire was asked and then questions on what I answered were only asked. Like I said that I loved cooking so IO Sir asked me how to cook Galoti Kebabs and to my luck I had recently cooked kebabs so I told him the recipe and then he asked me how do you make the meat soft and tender at the middle, so I answered by reducing the heat,he said fair enough and my Interview was concluded.
Day 5
So finally the day of conference came. All of us dressed formally went to the conference hall and were asked questions. The first thing sir said, “Tamandeep you’ve got an unusual name what does it mean?” so I explained him the meaning of my name, this question was even asked to me by the Interviewing Officer and then I was asked to rate my performance as the best and not so good tasks, so I told him the best as GTO and not so good a Psychology because I was only able to do 40 SRTs. So he crossed questioned me by asking, “were you trying to be politically correct that’s why it took you time?” I replied “No Sir it’s because I was writing detailed responses that’s why” he said, “Ok”.
Then another sir came to the testing hall and kept what I counted as 4 chest numbers with a plus sign. So then an officer of Col. rank came to announce the results and asked how do you want me to announce the results in order or random the crowd shouted random and in my mind I said “No, not again just say it in order”. The crowds decision wad adopted and chest numbers started to be announced after 4 calls he took a pause I thought this is it, you weren’t good enough buddy better luck next time and then Sir said, “anyone else, sweating?” then he called another chest number that wasn’t me then I thought now it’s final, then again he said, “Anyone else? Still sweating?” then he called chest number 15, everything paused for me I was so happy I thought finally! I’ve done it. I’ll be able to carry the tradition forward and serve this great nation, I got up shouted my name and roll number and joined the recommended candidates and my chest number was the last one to be called out. He concluded the conference wished everyone the best and congratulated us all.
Candidates who have applied for the Indian Air Force technical branch through AFCAT will be facing one more exam i.e. EKT which is also known as Engineering Knowledge Test. EKT is conducted for candidates who have applied to join the technical branch of the IAF. If you have opted for the technical branch while applying for the AFCAT, you are required to face both AFCAT and EKT online exam. One needs to clear both AFCAT and EKT to be eligible for the technical branch of the Indian Air Force.
More details about EKT Exam:
There will be total 50 questions with 3 marks for each question.
One marks will be deducted for every wrong answer.
Maximum marks would be 150.
Cut off marks for EKT would be around 55-65 marks.
There will be three different papers i.e. Mechanical, Computer Science and Electrical and Electronics.
Majority of the questions would be theory based.
Below you can find the 6 sets of EKT model question papers for Mechanical, Computer Science, and Electrical and Electronics. The answers are given at the end of each question paper, it is better to solve them yourself first and then check the answer keys. If you are preparing for the AFCAT exam, you can download the AFCAT Solved Papers eBook for quick revision and practice.
EKT Model Question Papers with Answer [300 Questions]
The outstanding Invoice file should be stared on a Pardon Access Storage Device if
(a) invoice data entry is on-line
(b) payment recording is done in a batch rode
(c) inquiries concerning payable are to be answered on-line
(d) last record points to the first record
In SQL, which command(s) is/are used to enable/disable a database trigger?
(a) ALTER TRIGGER (b) ALTER DATABASE
(c) ALTER TABLE (d) MODIFY TRIGGER
The modify operation is likely to be done after
(a) Delete (b) Look-up (c) Insert (d) all of these
Which of the following is not a logical database structure?
(a) tree (b) relational (c) network (d) chain
Which of the following tools is not used in modelling the new system?
(a) decision tables (b) data dictionary
(c) data-flow diagrams (d) all of these
Difference between Decision-Tables and Decision Tree is (are) :
(a) value to end user
(b) a form of representation
(c) one shows the logic while other shows the process
(d) all of the above
The reservation system of Indian railways is an example of
(a) transaction processing system
(b) interactive decision support system
(c) management controls system
(d) expert system
The network layer, in reference to the OSI model, provide
(a) data link procedures that provide for the exchange of data via frames that can be sent and received
(b) the interface between the X.25 network and packet mode device
(c) the virtual circuit interface to packet-switched service
(d) all of the above
Which of the following is an important characteristic of LAN?
(a) application independent interfaces
(b) unlimited expansion
(c) low cost access for low bandwidth channels
(d) parallel transmission
AFCAT EKT Model Papers eBook 300 Questions [FREE]. Download Best AFCAT EKT Model Papers eBook 300 Questions [FREE] + AFCAT EKT Previous Solved Papers. These questions will help you prepare for AFCAT 1 2018 and AFCAT 2 2018.
Candidates who are going to write the AFCAT 1 2019 on 16 and 17th Feb 2019 must know that this is the first time IAF is conducting the AFCAT online, there will be some instructions you can read below before taking the AFCAT online exam. Below you will find a link to take the AFCAT online mock test, the credentials are already entered and you are not required to login with your hall ticket number and email id.
AFCAT 1 2019 Online Test Instructions
1. DO NOT CLOSE THE BROWSER ANY TIME DURING THE TEST.
2. Check your Name, Hall Ticket Number (HTN) and Photograph as being displayed on the screen. In case of any discrepancy, report the same to Invigilator immediately.
3. Ensure that you have affixed the recent color photograph and signed the attendance sheet brought by the Invigilators during the exam. You are to record the Session ID thereon. Any unrecorded Session ID corresponding to a candidate will not be considered for evaluation and all responses on that unrecorded Session ID will be treated as null and void.
4. The system would notify the candidate about the start of the exam. Candidate should start their exam (click on Examination Start immediately after receiving the
notification or instruction from the Invigilator.
5. There are four sections in the AFCAT paper namely:
(a) English Verbal Ability -25 Questions
(b) General Knowledge -25 Questions
(c) Numerical Ability -18 Questions
(d) Test of Reasoning -32 Questions
6. Select the radio button given below each question corresponding to your choice.
7. Marking Scheme of AFCAT is as follows:
(a) Three (03) marks for every correct answer.
(b) One negative mark (-1) for every wrong answer.
(c) Nil (0) marks for a un-attempted question.
8. Duration of AFCAT paper is 2hours. You are not allowed to leave the examination hall before the completion of exam duration.
9. On clicking the ( Start Examination t the bottom of the Instructions page, you will be directed to the question display screen.
10. Once the exam has started:
(a) You should not open any other software application on the computer system.
(b) You should not shut down the computer nor fiddle with allocated hardware or software.
(c) If the browser is closed accidentally or due to any unforeseen circumstance, report to Invigilator for help and youmust update the new Session ID on the attendance sheet.ln case of any other technical problem,report to Invigilator immediately.
11. You can navigate through questions using scroll bar or directly scroll through the question number grid.
