In our country, India, after completing the 12th class, the young minds get three different entries to join armed forces as an officer. Among the three NDA and TES without any doubts do have high competition among each other. With this competition, one of the significant questions that inevitably come in students’ minds is which one is best for them. Do talking about both the entries; they have their specialty and are different in their own ways.
Though the working of both the NDA and TES entries is different,
their primary motto is to build gentlemen and leaders for the country ready
every time to give their everything to their nation. If we want to tell the
best among these, opinions may vary from person to person. Here I will be
discussing some points regarding both of them so that you could decide best for
yourself.
1. The candidates opting for NDA (National Defence Academy) get first 3-year training at NDA, Khadakwasla, Pune, and then one-year training at their respective service academies AFA/IMA/INA. On the other hand, if you will join through TES, then you will be trained for one year at OTA Gaya and later three years of Pre-Commission Training at your respective centres based on your branch.
2. Though for both NDA and TES students passed out from 12th have to appear, but the difference is that in NDA, students from all streams can appear, but in TES, the student’s background required is Maths, Physics, and Chemistry.
3. If you want to appear for the NDA SSB, then a candidate needs to clear UPSC written exam, but for the TES SSB, the interview comes up based on your 12th-grade percentage.
4. After three years of study, if someone is going through NDA entry, he will be provided with a Baccalaureate degree (a Bachelor of Arts or a Bachelor of Science). Cadets have a choice of two streams of study. Whereas in TES, after the successful completion of training, candidates are awarded the Engineering Degree. Candidates awarded the Engineering degree are awarded Permanent Commission in Army Engineering Core.
5. One trend which is shown by these entries is that a candidate from NDA entry has a higher and faster chance of promotions as compared to TES entry. It is evident from the fact that NDA has produced 27 service Chiefs of Staff to date. Not only this, but The current Chiefs of Staff of the Army, the Navy, and the Air Force are also all NDA alumni from the same course.
6. If we would talk about the salary of cadets, then definitely TES entry Cadets get more pay allowances as compared to NDA entry. TES Cadets gets an extra technical allowance for them.
7. Specific Candidates have a dream to join the Fighting arms in the Armed Forces. If you are one among them, you need to go through NDA entry as there only you will be able to join the fighting arms like Infantry, Artillery, Para, Army Aviation, etc. The TES Entry Cadets hardly gets a chance to join the fighting arm. They act as support to the fighting arms.
8. In OTA Gaya, platoon level tactics are taught in the two terms( 1 year ) of training, whereas in NDA, section level tactics will be taught that too after 2 1/2 years of training. So a second term equivalent of TES has completed IMA level training.
So, these are some of the differences between the two entries. I hope you have decided the best one for you until now, but I will suggest you go for both the entries. Here, both the academies are equally prestigious and branches if the same tree. Their main aim is common in one way or another, so never miss this golden opportunity whenever you get it.
My name is Rohit Pandey, a graduate in mechanical engineering from SRM IST Chennai, belonging to Ghazipur (UP 61) Uttar Pradesh. I belong to an army family and my father is an ex- serviceman who retired in 2012 with HAV rank and my mother is a housewife.
I have my younger brother studying in school. When I was in college, I joined NCC to explore myself more and inculcate Officer qualities like speaking, management skills, being fit, etc. I enjoyed college life with my friends – completing assignments, night rides, loitering in college, and spending time in the college canteen. It was all going great.
Now in the final year, I realized that it’s time to think about my career and take a decision about where I want to see myself after college. In my final year, I applied for SSC Tech Army entry and got a call letter from SSB Allahabad after a few months. Since it was my first SSB, I didn’t prepare much, went casually, and got screened out. But I believed that I have it in me. I learned the hard way that while going for any exam we should do our homework and prepare properly. I also got placed in an MNC through college placement.
For the next 3 SSB’s I went while managing my job after the college placement. But I still got screened out. Now as I went back home, I started thinking about why is it happening, I tried all the existing methods like talking to a mirror, and tried every possible method in the previous three SSBs. Now since I didn’t have an answer to my question I joined an Academy to really understand the process and other minute details about the SSB Interview. In the academy, I practiced all the SSB tests practically on ground before getting into the real test environment. After taking up the Offline SSB Course, I was more aware about the SSB and was confident about the process as I had gone through it multiple times in practice, cleared my doubts and some myths which kept circulating among the aspirants.
After coming to an academy I learnt not to follow anyone for SSB advice, neither believe in any myths. Research about it from official pages or from assessors who have been a part of SSBs and the selection procedure. It will save your time and energy. While in the academy I met with amazing like-minded boys and girls who are genuine and helped me throughout the journey. I agree that I may have broken a few rules with them but it was definitely worth it now that I have so many beautiful memories.
In the next attempt I was conferenced out, but this time I knew how to introspect properly and reflect on my performance. In the next few attempts, I started working on my newly discovered weaknesses while absorbing the theoretical things I have learnt and started applying it in daily life. I took help from my friends and seniors to analyze myself more and kept in touch with the assessors of from Academy. I also started enjoying my life more, spending time with family and friends. In my 10th attempt, I finally got recommended from SSB Kapurthala for NCC army entry. After getting recommended I again got screened out in my 11th attempt. But I didn’t care much and started looking towards my next attempt. And in the consequent 12th attempt, I got recommended again for NAVY TECH ENTRY from Bhopal SSB.
After multiple failures and I tasted success twice with the help and effort of all those people who stayed by my side, my friends , family and the teachers and gurus who trusted me all this way. What I believe is that if I can do it, you can also do it, just follow a plan to keep improving.
There are the few things which you can keep in mind before approaching for ssb- 1- Physical health (like do running ,gym ,play sone sport ) 2- practice self time (meditation) 3- analyse the important decision of your life (like related to career, relationship , or any daily action your are taking and reason for it) 4- keep your life sorted ,simple and stay humble. 5- Go all in and give it all you can give for preparation for ssb. 6- Never expect anything but have faith in yourself that you are worth what u are trying for.Here is the one quote which I follow “LIVE YOUR LIFE THE WAY YOU WILL LIVE WHEN YOU WILL WIN.” It’s not possible to put all of my journey in words but I tried keeping it short and interesting. Feel free to reach out to me, I would be happy to help. Instagram id- blind____spot Time to take your leave future GCs AND LCs. Thank you for Reading
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A lot of candidates have a lot of doubts as to what questions might be asked in the interview, and how they should respond to them. The interview has no specified syllabus, yet if you pay attention you’ll understand that the questions asked in the interview are in some or the other way related to you. They might be directly from your PIQ form, or they might be on general awareness, but in both ways, they are related to you.
Sometimes the interview can get as personal as possible and yet at other times it’ll leave you cracking your brains about the general knowledge questions asked in it. Here I am focusing on the major 5 questions which are generally asked in the interview. The questions may be framed in some other form, but they mean the same thing more or less. Of course, there will be other questions as well. Try to answer personal questions with the things you have exactly written in your PIQ.
Five Most Probable Questions in SSB Interview And How To Deal With Them
Comprehensive question about you: This question is a long question and covers the major area of your life. It’ll ask you about yourself, your place, your achievements, your education, sports, etc. Sometimes this question might be a one-liner, where the interviewer may only ask “tell me about you”. How to deal: To answer this you need to know about yourself. Prepare in-depth about yourself, on the mentioned things. Answer in a sequence, like either from recent to old or the other way, do not jumble up the things. If you forget the question don’t panic, move on with whatever you remember.
The question about the people in your life: This is again something that deals with your personal life. They ask you about your parents, siblings, and friends. They ask you how close they are to you, what qualities they like/dislike in you and what you like/dislike in them. They might also ask you to prove the statements by examples, as in an instance when you liked that quality or if you say they find you helpful, how you helped them. How to deal: Note down these things, like the positives and negatives about the people in your life and what they find in you. It’ll be difficult to make up things there, better if you speak the truth.
Strengths Weakness etc.: Here they ask you about your strengths and weaknesses. They might also ask you about the strengths and weaknesses of the people in your life. You’ll be also asked to substantiate your answers with proof. How to deal: Just like the second question, you need to prepare for it in well advance.
News: You’ll be asked in all possible conditions about some news. It’ll be international, national or sports news or all of them. There might be questions that follow your answer, so he’ll most probably counter-question you and try to drag it to a point where you are clueless about the answer, just to stress you. The number of news may vary from 2 to 5. How to deal: Prepare at least five pieces of current news in advance, and out of them also, prepare at least three in full depth, so you may answer almost all questions related to that.
Why you want to join that service: This will be asked of you in the interview or in the conference. This question seems simple but will be followed up with counter questions on your answers. How to deal: You need to think about the real reason why you want to join. Do not give fake reasons which you think might impress them. They are looking for honesty.
There might be some interviews in which none of these questions are asked, but the given questions are based on the general interviews for the majority of people.
List of SSB Centers: In this article, you can find the details of SSB Interview centers for Army, Air Force and Navy SSB Interviews. Candidates are required to pass the SSB Interview in order to be considered for officer positions in the armed forces. There are various SSB centers available, and each one corresponds to a certain entry that a candidate will be using. In this post, we have covered all of these SSB centers as well as the details that are associated with them.
List of SSB Centers
Indian Army SSB Centers
1) Selection Center East Allahabad (Prayagraj): Uttar Pradesh
In 1957, this SSB centre opened its doors to the public. It possesses five SSB boards with the following designations: 11 SSB, 14 SSB, 18 SSB, 19 SSB, and 34 SSB.
This particular SSB center in Madhya Pradesh came into being in 1975 after the relocation of 20 SSB and 33 SSB, both of which had previously been based in Jabalpur. It has three SSB boards with the following designations: 20 SSB, 21 SSB, and 22 SSB.
2015 marked the beginning of operations at this SSB centre, which had been established the year before. It possesses two (2) SSB boards that are designated as 31 SSB and 32 SSB respectively.
There are a total of four AFSBs (Air Force Selection Boards) in the IAF, which are responsible for recruiting officers. These four Air Force Selection Boards (AFSBs) of the Indian Air Force work tirelessly throughout the year to choose qualified applicants for commissioned officer positions in the Indian Air Force.
1 AFSB Dehradun: Uttarakhand
In 1943, an Experimental Selection Board was initially established at the Forest Research Institute in Dehradun, which later developed into the institute.
The Board was rechristened the No. 7 General Selection Board in March 1944, after which it became known as the Royal Indian Air Force Board. In October 1948, it relocated to its current home in Clement Town.
The board is now known as the Royal Indian Air Force Selection Board after receiving its new designation. After January 26, 1950, it definitively took on the identity of the Air Force Selection Board. The unit was rechristened as 1 AFSB in 1962 after the subsequent formation of Mysore as 2 AFSB.
Address: 112, 1, Post Office Rd, New Basti, Clement Town, Dehradun, Uttarakhand 248002
Fax – 0135-2640104
Phone – 0135-2642269
2 AFSB Mysore: Karnataka
The Air Force Selection Board, often known as 2AFSB, can be found in Mysore’s Sidharth Nagar at the CV Complex. Additionally, the SSB interviews for NDA and CDSE are carried out at this location. Furthermore, the PABT test for IAF applicants who would be carrying out their SSB in the Selection Center South in Bangalore is carried out at this location.
Prior to AFSB Guwahati, AFSB Gandhi Nagar North is the list’s most recent addition. Inauguration took place in 2012. 3 AFSB Gandhi Nagar is situated in Gandhinagar’s Sector 9, which also serves as the headquarters of the Indian Air Force’s South Western Air Command. The AFSB’s primary function is to assess candidates according to predetermined standards. A candidate must pass this level after passing written tests like the AFCAT, NDA, CDS, etc.
The Air Force Selection Board (AFSB) is one of the busiest SSB locations. It is located in the Uttar Pradesh city of Varanasi. After being established in Patna in 1963, it was moved to Varanasi in 1964. It is a city on the banks of the Ganges, one of the oldest continuously inhabited urban areas on the world, and the oldest in India. Varanasi is sometimes referred to as Lord Shiva’s favourite city in Hinduism.
Address: Mint Road, Nadesar, Chaukaghat, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh 221002
Fax – 0542-2502836
Phone – 0542-2503853 Extn 213
5 AFSB Guwahati: Assam
In 2015 a new AFSB board was inaugurated by then air force chief and it was named 5 AFSB Kanchrapara, later in 2021, the AFSB was shifted to Guwahati and now it is known as 5 AFSB Guwahati. This 5 AFSB is located in VIP Chowk, Borjhar, Guwahati, Assam on the foothills of Shillong Plateau. 5 AFSB purpose is to evaluate the candidates and select the potential officers for Indian Air Force. Candidates from different entries like AFCAT, NDA and CDS come to 5 AFSB for their SSB Interview. 5 AFSB Board also provides the stay facility along with modern amenities like Games, ANTE room, TV room etc. as SSB is a 5-day long process. 5 AFSB has a CSD Canteen also.
Near VIP Chowk
Guwahati Assam- 784015,
Tele-0361-2840015, M. 9394805271
Navy Selection Board (NSB) Centers
1) NSB Coimbatore: Tamil Nadu
The NSB is located in Coimbatore, a city in Tamil Nadu, in the INS Agrani, Red fields. This board will conduct the SSB interviews for applicants choosing the Indian Navy. Candidates for 10+2 Cadet Entry into the Navy are typically invited to SSB interviews in NSB. The NSB provides all the amenities necessary to give the candidates a wonderful and relaxing stay.
Address: INS Agrani, Red Fields, Coimbatore – 641018
Fax: 0422-2325957 Phone: 1800-425-4599
2) 12 SSB at SCS Bangalore: Karnataka
Indian Navy has 12 SSB Selection Center South in Bangalore. For the purpose of hiring Navy officers, the selection board conducts SSB interviews. Candidates can enter the Indian Navy through the Logistics, Education, Submarine, Pilot, and 10+2 B Tech admissions as well as the NDA & NA exam, CDS exam, and other entries.
The first full-fledged Services Selection Board (SSB) for the Indian Navy was launched on May 14 at Diamond Harbour, close to Kolkata.
SSB (Kolkata) is situated on territory that was once home to a Naval Coastal Battery, around 55 kilometres from the heart of Kolkata. The Indian Navy’s sixth Service Selection Board is responsible for choosing officers for both the Permanent and Short Service Commissions.
Address – SSB (Kolkata) Chhota Nadir Road Down Town Diamond Harbour South 24 Parganas West Bengal-743331
Karan Singh Negi has topped the TES 48 Entry through SSB Interview, he has secured the All-India Rank of 81 in the TES 48 Course. Karan is from a defence background and comes from Uttarakhand. Karan got recommended on his third attempt from 31 SSB Kapurthala and is now going to join the Indian Army at one of the cadet training wings (CTW) after completing his training at OTA Gaya.
He is going to talk about his experience related to the TES Entry SSB Interview Preparation and SSB interview Process over the course of five days in this SSBCrack Talks interview. The Indian army has released the TES 48 Merit List, which is a Technical Entry Scheme for 10+2 students. At the TES 48 SSB interview, 151 candidates cleared the SSB Interview and got recommended and Karan has secured the AIR-81 with flying colors. Karan got recommended in his third attempt and will be joining TES 48 Course. In this interview, Karan Singh Negi TES 48 Entry Topper AIR 81 is sharing his SSB interview experience.
Prakash Kumar has topped the CDS 1 2022 written examination and SSB Interview, he has got recommended for the CDS (I) 2022.
Prakash is going to talk about his experience related to the CDS Written Exam Preparation and SSB interview Process over the course of five days in this SSBCrack Talks interview. Prakash got recommended for CDS OTA Course to join the Officers Training Academy, Chennai.
Aman Kumar Singh has topped the TES 48 Entry through SSB Interview, he has secured the All-India Rank of 99 in the TES 48 Course. Aman is from a civilian background and comes from Bihar. Aman wrote NDA twice but couldn’t clear, got recommended for TES in First SSB attempt. Aman got recommended on his third attempt and is now going to join the Indian Army at one of the cadet training wings (CTW) after completing his training at OTA Gaya.
He is going to talk about his experience related to the TES Entry SSB Interview Preparation and SSB interview Process over the course of five days in this SSBCrack Talks interview. The Indian army has released the TES 48 Merit List, which is a Technical Entry Scheme for 10+2 students. At the TES 48 SSB interview, 151 candidates cleared the SSB Interview and got recommended and Aman has secured the AIR-99 with flying colors. Aman got recommended in his third attempt and will be joining TES 48 Course. In this interview, Aman Kumar Singh TES 48 Entry Topper AIR 99 is sharing his SSB interview experience.
Dheeraj Singh has topped the NDA 1 2022 written examination and SSB Interview, he has secured the All-India Rank of 312 in the NDA and NA (I) 2022. Dheeraj is from a Defence background and comes from Meerut, Uttar Pradesh. Deheeraj got recommended on his third attempt from SSB Allahabad Board and Cleared NDA 3 times.
1st SSB attempt – Conference out, 2nd SSB attempt – Screen out, and finally got recommended from Allahabad board. Dheeraj is going to talk about his experience related to the NDA Written Exam Preparation and SSB interview Process over the course of five days in this SSBCrack Talks interview. A total of 519 candidates have made it to the UPSC NDA 1 2022 merit list and Ishant has secured the AIR-312 with flying colors. Dheeraj got recommended in his third attempt for NDA 149 Course to join the National Defence Academy. In this interview, Dheeraj Singh NDA 1 2022 Topper AIR 312 is sharing his SSB interview experience.
Shubham Airi got recommended for SSC Tech 59 course to join the OTA Chennai. His Journey From Getting Screenout to SSB Interview recommended AIR-1.
Cracked the SSB interview and got recommended for the SSC Tech 59 course Electronics & Instrumentation branch OTA and secured AIR-1 to join the prestigious institute OTA Chennai. In this interview, Shubham is sharing his SSB interview experience.
SSC Tech is a special entry for male and female engineering graduates to join the Indian Army as SSC officers, there is no written exam in this entry and if shortlisted you will be called for the SSB Interview directly. Applications are invited from eligible unmarried Male and unmarried Female Engineering Graduates for a grant of the Short Service Commission (SSC) in the Indian Army. The course will commence at Officers Training Academy (OTA), Chennai, Tamil Nadu.
Candidates who have passed the requisite Engineering Degree course or are in the final year of Engineering Degree course are eligible to apply.
To join the Indian Armed Forces as an Officer and crack SSB Interview, You can join our SSB interview live classes batch and we recommend you to Enroll SSB INTERVIEW ONLINE COURSE. Trusted by thousands of defence aspirants.
Shubhi Mishra has topped the NDA 1 2022 written examination and SSB Interview, she has secured the All-India Rank of 177 in the NDA and NA (I) 2022. Shubhi is from a civilian background and comes from Dehradun, Uttarakhand.
Shubhi got recommended on her first attempt from 2 AFSB Mysore and opted for Air Force Wings. She is going to talk about her experience related to the NDA Written Exam Preparation and SSB interview Process over the course of five days in this SSBCrack Talks interview.
8262 candidates cleared the exam, and A total of 519 candidates have made it to the UPSC NDA 1 2022 merit list and Shubhi has secured the AIR-177 with flying colors.
Shubhi got recommended in her first attempt and opted for Air Wings and will be joining NDA 149 Course at National Defence Academy. In this interview, Shunhi Mishra NDA 1 2022 Topper AIR 177 is sharing her SSB interview experience.