Government of India is in charge of ensuring the performance of defence forces in India and the highest command of the Armed forces vests with the president of the nation. In India, the Army, navy and air force works under the ministry of defence and it is the dream of many young Indians to find placement in any of these sectors, which are regarded as the pride of the nation.

The ministry of Defence offers employment opportunities through these forces and several other organizations working under its jurisdiction.

Government organizations working under the Ministry of Defence:

The ministry of defence includes different departments under its jurisdiction like department of defence, department of defence research & development, Department of Defence Production, Department of Ex-servicemen Welfare, Finance division, intelligence agencies, inter-service organizations and voluntary military agencies. There are a number of organizations under each of these departments and they offer a wide range of employment opportunities as well to eligible candidates.

When it comes to government jobs under the ministry of defence, different recruitment methods are followed for recruitment of officers for the three main wings of defence being air force, navy and army together called as armed forces. Some of the details regarding the different methods of recruitments are discussed below:

Recruitment of officers in Armed Forces:

Normally, recruitment of commissioned officers in the armed forces are done mainly through the Union Public Service Commission. For service entry, NCC special entry scheme, women special entry scheme and for technical branches, recruitment is made directly through appropriate directorates of recruitment for the three main wings. The different methods of recruitment followed are:

• Recruitment through NCC

• Induction under special commission officers scheme

• Short Service Commission (Technical) Entry Scheme

• University Entry Scheme

• Recruitment through Selection Boards

• Recruitment through Union Public Service Commission

Of these methods of recruitments, recruitment through Union Public Service Commission is the most known method followed by youth who are interested in finding placement in the armed forces in India.

Recruitment through UPSC:

The Union Public Service Commission holds All-India level competitive examination in the name of Combined Defence Service Examination and this examination is conducted two times in a year. Candidates who have completed their degree course are eligible to apply for this examination and successful candidates will have to go for training in Air Force academy for finding placement in Air Force, the Naval Academy for finding placement in Navy and Indian Military Academy for finding placement in the Army.

Another examination held by UPSC is the National Defence Academy examination and candidates who are interested in joining the Indian Defence can apply for this examination after completion of their 10+2 or class 12 examination. Candidates succeeding in this examination conducted by the UPSC will have to join National Defence Academy for taking up NDA course and on completion of this course, they will be sent to appropriate academies for pre-commission training.

Short Service Commission (Technical) Entry Scheme:

Under this scheme, candidates with technical graduation are recruited through a set of recruitment process and this scheme is meant for entry of engineering graduates to the Indian Army. Candidates getting through the tough selection process will have to take up training in the Officers Training Academy located at Chennai after completing medical tests. On successful completion of the 10 months course, candidates will be inducted as Short Service Commissioned Officers in the Indian Army.

Recruitment through NCC:

Under this scheme, university graduates who have NCC ‘C’ Certificate with minimum B grading and not less than 50% of marks in their graduation course are recruited as Regular Commissioned Officers and SSC officers in Army. Since they hold NCC certificate, they need not take up the examination conducted by the UPSC.