Only going online, no change in exam syllabus: Army

New Delhi: There is no change in the syllabus or the test pattern that will be used for the online common entrance examination (CEE), the first level of screening in the recruitment procedure for Agniveers, a top Army official said on Thursday. Lt Gen N S Sarna, Director General of Recruiting, Indian Army, during a media interaction held at the South Block here, said the decision to go for an online examination format was driven by multiple factors, including that the youth are now very "technologically aware" and the proliferation of mobile phones and its penetration has gone deep into the villages, making new technology accessible to people. The Army had recently announced a change in the Agniveer recruitment process and candidates wanting to join the force will now have to first appear for an online common entrance examination (CEE), followed by physical fitness and medical tests. Earlier, candidates for Agniveers and others, had to undergo physical fitness test, followed by medical tests, and appearing for the CEE was the last step.

Lt Gen Sarna said the process to hold the online CEE as the "first screening process" is also to help candidates, and facilitate the Army in recruiting "youths who are both technologically aware and physically fit". "Candidates earlier had to stand in long queues for the screening process, and even during rallies a large number of them had to take part. Now, the change in the recruitment process will help potential candidates, and the Army will be able to manage it better with easing of the administrative process," he said. The process will become "easy, simple and more streamlined", Lt Gen Sarna said.

The Army had recently issued notifications on modification in recruitment procedure for Agniveers and others. The notifications for registration have been uploaded on the 'Join Indian Army' website. The army has announced modification to the recruitment procedure for "junior commissioned officer/other ranks/Aginveers", the Defence Ministry said in a statement on February 16. Online registrations for applications are now open from February 16 to March 15 where candidates can apply according to their age, educational qualification, physical criteria and other qualification requirements, the statement said.

According to the modified recruitment procedure, a computer-based online CEE will be conducted before the recruitment rally. "This will be the first filtering level in the recruitment process. But, I would like to assure candidates that there is no change in the syllabus or the pattern of the examination (CEE)...it will just be an online version of the earlier exam, when they used to answer MCQs (multiple choice questions) on paper," Lt Gen Sarna said. He said the Army has identified 176 locations across the country, which can be expanded if needed, and candidate can choose five centres where they wish to appear for the online CEE.