NDA
NDA & NA Examination
The National Defence Academy exam is the primary route for 12th-pass candidates to become officers in all three services after three years at Khadakwasla and a year at the respective service academy.
Force profile
NDA & NA Examination Combined Defence Services Examination Agniveer — Indian Army (GD, Technical, Clerk/SKT, Tradesman) Technical Entry Scheme (10+2 TES) Technical Graduate Course Short Service Commission (Technical) — Men & Women NCC Special Entry Scheme Territorial Army Officer Judge Advocate General (JAG) Entry HAL Prachand (Light Combat Helicopter) Arjun Mk1A Main Battle Tank T-90S/SK Bhishma K9 Vajra-T Self-Propelled Howitzer ATAGS (Advanced Towed Artillery Gun System) Pinaka Multi-Barrel Rocket Launcher Agnipath Scheme Explained — Pay, Seva Nidhi, Retention and W The Infrastructure Race on the LAC — Roads, Tunnels and Airf
Indian Army
World's second-largest standing army: ~1.2 million active personnel across 7 commands, 14 corps and ~40 divisions. Chief of the Army Staff heads it from Integrated HQ, New Delhi.
| Strength | ~1.2 million active, ~9.6 lakh reserve |
|---|---|
| Commands | Northern, Western, South Western, Southern, Central, Eastern, Training (ARTRAC) |
| Key equipment | T-90, T-72, Arjun; K9 Vajra, Dhanush, ATAGS, Pinaka; Apache, Prachand, Dhruv/Rudra; BrahMos, Akash |
| Entries | NDA, CDS, TES, TGC, SSC Tech, NCC Special, JAG, Agniveer, JCO Religious Teacher, TA |
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How to join the Indian Army
All entries →CDS
Combined Defence Services Examination
CDS is the graduate-entry gateway to permanent commission via IMA, INA and AFA, and short service commission via OTA Chennai.
Agniveer Army
Agniveer — Indian Army (GD, Technical, Clerk/SKT, Tradesman)
Agnipath's four-year enrolment for soldiers; 25% retained as regular cadre after four years. The single largest defence recruitment by volume.
TES
Technical Entry Scheme (10+2 TES)
Direct engineering-officer entry for 12th pass; five years of training leads to a B.Tech and permanent commission.
TGC
Technical Graduate Course
Permanent-commission entry for engineering graduates with one-year training at IMA; no written exam.
SSC Tech
Short Service Commission (Technical) — Men & Women
Short service commission (10 + 4 years) for engineers, with an option to convert to permanent commission.
NCC Entry
NCC Special Entry Scheme
Senior-division NCC cadets with a 'C' certificate skip the written test and go straight to SSB for short service commission.
TA Officer
Territorial Army Officer
The 'citizen's army' allows working professionals to serve part-time as commissioned officers, with embodiment for training and operations.
JAG
Judge Advocate General (JAG) Entry
Short service commission for law graduates in the Army's legal branch; shortlisting now uses CLAT PG scores.
Key equipment
Database →Helicopters
HAL Prachand (Light Combat Helicopter)
Land Systems
Arjun Mk1A Main Battle Tank
Land Systems
T-90S/SK Bhishma
Land Systems
K9 Vajra-T Self-Propelled Howitzer
Land Systems
ATAGS (Advanced Towed Artillery Gun System)
Land Systems
Pinaka Multi-Barrel Rocket Launcher
Related reading
Careers
Agnipath Scheme Explained — Pay, Seva Nidhi, Retention and What Happens After Four Years
Everything a 17-to-21-year-old needs to know about the Agnipath model before registering — the money, the odds of retention, and the exit options.
Army
The Infrastructure Race on the LAC — Roads, Tunnels and Airfields Since 2020
Firepower matters less than the road that gets it there. A look at what India has built along the Line of Actual Control since the Galwan clash.