HYDERABAD: The Indian Army has introduced transformational changes to the recruitment procedure of Junior Commissioned Officers (JCOs), Other Ranks (ORs), and Aginveers. Colonel Keats K Das, Director of Recruiting, Army Recruiting Office Secunderabad, on Tuesday, held a press conference to announce modifications to the recruitment procedure. These changes will come into effect from the recruitment year 2023-24.
Colonel Das said that the recruitment process would still consist of three stages, but from this year, the Common Entrance Exam (CEE) will be conducted in the first phase. The exam will be conducted online, he said.
In the second stage, shortlisted candidates, based on their performance in the online CEE, will be called to designated venues for the recruitment rallies, where they will undergo physical fitness tests and measurements. The procedure for recruitment rallies remains the same.
In the third stage, the selected candidates will undergo a medical test at the rally location. The final merit list will be based on the online CEE results and physical test marks.
He said, “This change in the recruitment process is in synchronisation with the emerging requirements of the Indian Army in the 21st century. The new system aims to achieve transparency and automation in the recruitment process, balance intellectual merit and physical fitness, mitigate administrative difficulties and hardships faced by candidates, provide equal opportunity to all, and mitigate the rally load, thus enabling adequate and smooth conduct of rallies.” Online registration on the Join Indian Army website will be open from 16 February 2023 to 15 March 2023. The process of registration remains the same as earlier.
The online CEE will be conducted at 176 locations across India, including four in Telangana — Hyderabad, Adilabad, Warangal, and Karimnagar. The online CEE fee is `500, with 50% of the cost being borne by the Army. Candidates are required to pay only Rs 250/- along with associated bank charges if any.
To appear in the Online CEE, candidates can access their admit cards on the Join Indian Army website 10-14 days before the examination.