AFCAT (Air Force Common Admission Test) is one of the Entry of joining Indian Airforce in the following three Branches, which are

1. FLYING
2. GROUND DUTY (TECHNICAL)
3. GROUND DUTY (NON TECHNICAL)

AFCAT is conducted twice a year at national level by Indian Air Force to select its officers for above three branch. After AFCAT exam, students who qualify this entrance exam get call letter for SSB interview called AFSB. AFSB stands for Air Force Selection Board. It is similar to SSB interview after NDA and CDS. The successful students of AFSB undergo medical test and then final merit list is made on the basis of their written, interview and medical test. For Flying Branch there is another test PABT which is part of SSB. PABT stands for Pilot Aptitude Battery Test.

As the name suggest, Flying branch is responsible for making the cadet a pilot and associated with flying operations, whereas the Ground Duty branch would be responsible for Official tasks on the ground (both technical as well as non-technical).

Online Applications are also invited for grant of Permanent Commission/Short Service Commission for Flying Branch through

1. NCC Special Scheme
2. Meteorology Scheme

What is the Eligibility of appearing for AFCAT?

CRITERIA	FLYING BRANCH	GROUND DUTY (TECHNICAL)	GROUND DUTY (NON TECHNICAL)	Remarks
Age	20-24 Years as on Commencement Date of Course (generally 01 Jan / 01 July)	20-26 Years as on Commencement Date of Course (generally 01 Jan / 01 July)	20-26 Years as on Commencement Date of Course (generally 01 Jan / 01 July)
Gender	Male or Female	Male or Female	Male or Female	Women are allowed for only Short Service Commission Entry
Educational Qualification	Graduation with minimum 60% marks and have scored minimum 60%  marks in Maths and Physics Individually	B. Tech with minimum 60% marks in specified Fields	Administration – Graduation degree with min 60% marks Accounts – B. Com degree with min 60% marks Education – Graduation degree with min 60% marks and Min 50% marks in specified course
Height and Weight	Minimum height : 162.5 cms with correlated weight, Leg Length : Min – 99 cms. Max – 120 cms.Thigh Length : Max – 64 cms. Sitting Height : Min – 81.5 cms.Max – 96 cms.	Minimum height :- Men – 157.5 Cms with correlated weight. Women – 152 cms with correlated weight.	Minimum height :- Men – 157.5 Cms with correlated weight.	All other medical criteria would be evaluated by the Air Force Medical Authorities whose decision on the fitness would be final.
Vision	Minimum Visual Acuity 6/6 in one eye and 6/9 in other, correctable to 6/6 only for hypermetropia.

What is NCC Special Entry Eligibility?

NCC Air Wing Senior Division ‘C’ certificate acquired on or after June is mandatory. Candidates should have mandatorily passed with a minimum of 60% marks each in Maths and Physics at 10+2.

What is Meteorology Entry Eligibility?

Post Graduate Degree in any Science stream/ Mathematics/ Statistics/ Geography/ Computer Applications/ Environmental Science/ Applied Physics/ Oceanography/ Meteorology/ Agricultural Meteorology/ Ecology & Environment / Geophysics/ Environmental Biology with minimum of 50% marks in aggregate of all papers put together (Provided Maths and Physics were studied at Graduation Level with a minimum of 55% marks in each).

What is the Process of Examination / Selection?

The AFCAT entry involves Written Exam, SSB, Medical and then the Final merit list is made for the recommended candidates.

Phase 1. Written Exam is a common entrance exam for all candidates opting for different branch, which comprises of 100 Questions of 3 Marks each. Negative marking of 1 mark is also there for every wrong answer.

For candidates opting for technical branch, one another test Engineering Knowledge Test (EKT) is held on the same day for evaluating the technical ability of the candidate, which comprises of 50 Question of 3 Marks each. Negative marking of 1 mark is also there for every wrong answer.

Phase 2. The qualified candidates of the written exam are then called for SSB process at the Air Force Selection Board (AFSB) Centers. The AFSB Centers are at Varanasi, Gandhinagar, Mysore and Dehradun. SSB is an extensive 5 day process which comprises of Screening Test, GTO, Individual Test, Interview.

Phase 3. Those candidates who qualify the SSB process are then called for Medical Examination by Air Force Selection Board.

Phase 4. The Final Merit is prepared on the basis of Written Exam, SSB Interview and Medical Test.

What is Application Fees for the AFCAT Exam?

AFCAT	250/-
NCC / Meteorology Entry	NIL

When is the AFCAT Form available and other important dates?

Important Dates	AFCAT - I	AFCAT - II
Application Date	December	June
Exam Date	February	September
Result announcement	April	October
SSB Process	May	December
Commission Begins	July	January

What is Tentative Vacancies in AFCAT Entry?

Type of Entry / Branch	Short Service Commission	Permanent Commission
Flying Officer	42	None
Ground Duty (Technical)	AE (L) – 30 AE (M) – 14	AE (L) – 22 AE (M) – 10
Ground Duty (Non Technical)	Admin – 12 Logistics – 4 Accounts – 5 Education – 3	Admin – 8 Logistics – 1 Accounts – 3 Education – 3
N.C.C. Entry (Flying)	10% Seats of CDSE Vacancies
Meterology (Ground Duty Non Technical)	14	10
Total	125	57

*AE (L) – Aeronautics Engineering Electronics

*AE(M) – Aeronautics Engineering Mechanical

What is the Mode of Written Exam?

AFCAT Exam is held in ONLINE mode at the authorized Examination Centers available in 40 Cities across India.

What is the Pattern of AFCAT Exam?

AFCAT Exam Comprises of below sections:

1. Mathematics (Numerical Ability)
2. English (Verbal Ability)
3. Reasoning and Military Aptitude
4. General Awareness

Total no of Questions in Exam	100
Time allowed for the Exam	2 Hours
Marking Scheme	3 Marks for each correct Answer 1 Marks deducted for each wrong answer
Maximum Marks of Exam	300
Cut Off Marks (Previous Year)	150-165 (Approx)

As per the last AFCAT exam, the weightage of different sections is English – 25 Ques., Maths – 18 Ques., Reasoning – 32 Ques., and General Awareness – 25 Ques. (Approx)

The candidates opting for Ground Duty Technical Branch, one another Test known as EKT (Engineering Knowledge Test) is also compulsory.

What is Engineering Knowledge Test (EKT)?

Engineering Knowledge Test (EKT) is only for those candidates who have opted for Ground Duty (Technical Branch).

Total no of Questions in Exam	50
Time allowed for the Exam	45 Minutes
Marking Scheme	3 Marks for each correct Answer 1 Marks deducted for each wrong answer
Maximum Marks of Exam	150

What is the Syllabus for AFCAT?

Subject	Topics
English (Verbal Ability)	Comprehension, Close Test, Error Detection, Idoms and Phrases, Sentence Completion, Synonyms, Antonyms and Testing of Vocabulary.
Maths (Numerical Ability)	Decimal Fraction, Simplification, Average, Profit & loss, Percentage, Ratio & Proportion, Time Speed and Distance, Time and Work, Problems on trains, Boat & Stream and Simple interest.
Reasoning Ability and Military Aptitude	Venn Diagram, Classification, Analogy, Image based problems, Numerical Series, Alphabet Series, Calender, Dice, Verbal Skills and Spatial Ability.
General Awareness	History, Sports, Geography, Environment, Civics, Basic Science, Defence, Art, Culture, Current Affairs with prime focus on Defence, Politics etc.

What is the Type of Commission?

AFCAT given Officer an Opportunity to join Indian Air Force in two commissions as under:

Permanent Commission (PC) – This commission is only for Men and only for Ground Duty Branch. In this type of commission, the Officer will serve the Indian Air Force till the age of superannuation as per branch and rank.

Short Service Commission (SSC) – This commission is for both Men and Women. The engagement period for Flying Branch SSC Officer is 14 Years from the date of Commission (which is non extendable).

The Engagement period for Ground Duty Branch is 10 Years from the date of commencement. An extension of 4 Years may be granted subject to willingness, suitability, service requirement and availability of vacancies.

What is the Process of SSB for AFCAT?

5 Days Procedure of AFSB Interview

Day 1: This is the screening day in AFSB and you are generally asked to report early morning by 6:45 AM – 7 AM at the railway station. You will board in an IAF bus to reach the selection centre.

First, you will be welcomed at the AFSB by a senior officer and briefed about the rules and regulations, later you will be asked to fill in some forms followed by a quick breakfast but we suggest to have your breakfast prior to that because the testing will be a long process.

Once the paper formalities are done, you will be facing the first test of the SSB interview and that is Officer Intelligence Rating Test (OIR).

After which Picture Perception and Description Test (PPDT) is conducted.

Based on the strength, the results are announced by afternoon and the selected candidates goes to the testing room again for the document verification. The remaining candidates are dropped back to the railway station. The document checks followed for the selected candidates immediately and If you have an issue with documents and you are not eligible for the entry, you will be sent back too or asked to report later in a different batch with complete documents.

Once the document verification is done, all the successful candidates will be facing a long psychological test till night.

Day 2, 3 and 4: Your interview and GTO tests might fall on any of these days. Generally, you get one free day in AFSB. Some of you might have your GTO/Interview on the last day also. Some may have GTO/Interview on the same day but the timings won’t clash for the two. You might go directly from GTO for the interview. You are required to carry the folder and all certificates, academics and extra-curricular to the interview, make sure whatever you claim in your PIQ form, you must have proper certificates to verify that, you cannot simply say that you left the certificates at home. The interview is generally a 30 minutes-60 minutes procedure. You’ll be informed well in advance through a notice placed on the notice board about the schedule of your tests.

Day 5: This is the conference day. Some may have their interview/GTO scheduled before the conference also. The conference is a place where you get to see all the board members in the uniform. You result is discussed there. You are called in the conference hall and the process is of hardly a minute, it may stretch for border line cases. After the conference your results are announced, it’s lunchtime by now. Those who make through are asked to stay back for the remaining formalities and others are taken back to the railways station.

Flying Branch Candidates Only: Flying candidates will go for Computerized Pilot Selection System (CPSS) and Pilot Aptitude Battery Test (PABT) tests.

Computerized Pilot Selection System (CPSS) will replace the old PABT test and instruments that was in use for decades. Though there is no clear confirmation till now as to when CPSS test will replace the PABT test completely.

Like PABT test, candidate will get only one chance to clear the CPSS test, if failed, would never be eligible for flying in the armed forces, be it Air force, army, navy or coast guard. Aspirants will get only one chance to take the test under the Computerized Pilot Selection System. CPSS places special emphasis on psychomotor skills and cognitive abilities of aspirants. It ensures objectivity in results. The system will be used to screen pilots for IAF, Army, Navy and the Coast Guard.

It has 2 parts.

1. 1st there will be a MCQ test. They will first give you instructions how to read 6 kind of dials present in an aircraft, based on that there will be a number of MCQ tests which include dial reading questions along with IQ, pattern matching, basic maths, tests (around 15 small quizzes in total). It is fairly simple and anyone with basic school level physics knowledge will clear it.
2. After the 1st test you will be made to sit in a CPSS machine which is like a cockpit with a joystick, pedals and a lever (like in an aircraft) with a screen in front of you. You will be made to play a number of games similar to a video game with joystick and you have to get a certain score in all games combined to clear this test. Anyone who drives or has played videogames can clear this one easily. You just need hand leg coordination. You get 3 chances in each game and your best score is taken out of the 3, so if you mess up in the 1st attempt you can make up for it in the other 2 attempts

The CPSS test is simple. Elaborate instructions are given before commencement of both these test so there will be no confusion. So dont worry, you should focus more on the SSB part as that is the main challenge.

Medical: In AFSB the medical may not take place immediately after the selection. You will be given a date for the medical.

What is the Training Period after Final recommendation?

Training will commence from 01 January / 01 July of the consequent year for all courses at Air Force Academy, Dundigal, Hyderabad. Duration of Training for Flying and Ground Duty (Technical) Officers is 74 Weeks and that of Ground Duty (Non Technical) Officers is 52 Weeks.

What is the Pay scale of AFCAT Officers?

Payscale for Flying Branch is around 82000/- (Approx) per month

Payscale for Technical Ground Duty Branch is around 65000/- (Approx) per month

Note: All candidates are given a handsome stipend during the training period.

What is Doon IDA Fees Structure and Programme Duration?

Course Name	Duration	Tuition Fees	Admission Fees	Study Material	Online Tests	SSB Prep
Alpha	4 Months	20000	5000	Yes	Yes	Sat & Sun
Bravo	6 Months	28000	5000	Yes	Yes	Sat & Sun
Charlie	1 Year	36000	5000	Yes	Yes	Sat & Sun + 30 Day Programme

# Above Fees is inclusive of GST

^ All students will get a Bag, Dress Set, and T-shirt / accessories

$ Fee Concession of Rs. 5,000/-  for Serving Soldiers and Wards of Ex Servicemen or Retired Defence, Para Military Forces and Police Forces & Students of Sainik / Military Schools.

$$ Fee Concession of 50% for Wards of Martyrs of Armed Forces.

$$$ Fee Concession of 10% for Female Candidates

Do you have any other Question related to AFCAT? (Please write below, our team will reply within 24 hours)