AFCAT Exam Pattern, Eligibility, Syllabus and Salary

The AFCAT exam pattern is easy to remember: 100 objective questions, 300 marks, 2 hours, with 3 marks for a right answer and 1 mark cut for a wrong one. AFCAT, the Air Force Common Admission Test, is conducted by the Indian Air Force twice a year to select graduates as officers in the Flying branch and the Ground Duty branches. Boys and girls both apply, and it is the most direct route for a graduate who wants to wear the Air Force uniform as an officer.

What is AFCAT exam and which posts it fills

AFCAT is the Air Force's own officer entry exam for graduates. Unlike CDS, which UPSC runs for all three services, AFCAT is run directly by the Air Force. Successful candidates are commissioned as Flying Officers. These are the main AFCAT posts:

The same notification also covers the NCC Special Entry for Flying and a GATE score entry for technical branches; those candidates skip the AFCAT written test and go straight to the selection board. If you want to compare all routes, read our page on Indian Air Force jobs.

AFCAT exam eligibility: qualification by branch

Every branch needs class 12 under the 10+2 pattern plus a degree. The subject rules differ.

The notification also sets minimum percentage marks for each branch. These are applied strictly, so check your marksheet against the official notice before applying. Final year students can apply if they finish the degree by the date given. Commerce graduates should also look at our page on jobs after BCom, because the Accounts branch is one of the few officer jobs built for them.

AFCAT exam age limit and physical standards

Age is counted on the course start date given in the notification. There is no category based relaxation. You must be unmarried when the course begins, and marriage during training is not allowed. Use the tool below to check your age on the cut-off date.

Height matters for flying. The minimum is 162 cm for pilots. For ground duty it is 157 cm for men and 152 cm for women, with some relaxation for candidates from the North East, hilly areas of Uttarakhand, Gorkhas and Lakshadweep. Eyesight rules are strict for pilots, so get your eyes tested early. If you dream of flying but miss the medical, a civil route is explained on our commercial pilot page.

AFCAT exam pattern, exam time and duration

The written test is online, in English only.

So the AFCAT exam time is 2 hours in one sitting. The exam runs in more than one shift, and scores are normalised across shifts. Your shift and reporting time, that is your AFCAT exam timing, are printed on the admit card. The Air Force sets a minimum qualifying score each cycle; past cut-offs give an idea, but do not aim just for the cut-off.

Earlier cycles also had a separate Engineering Knowledge Test for technical branch candidates. Check the current notification to see if it applies to you.

AFCAT exam syllabus

• English: comprehension, error detection, sentence completion, synonyms and antonyms, cloze test, idioms and phrases, analogy, rearranging sentences.
• General Awareness: history, geography, polity, economy, sports, art and culture, basic science, science and technology, environment, defence and current affairs.
• Numerical Ability: decimals and fractions, time and work, average, percentage, profit and loss, ratio, simple and compound interest, time and distance, probability, number series, mensuration, statistics. The level is class 10.
• Reasoning and Military Aptitude: verbal and non verbal reasoning such as series, analogy, odd one out, figures, spatial ability. The level is graduation.

Each right answer gives 3 marks, so a strong score in maths and reasoning moves you up fast. GK carries risk because guesses cost marks.

AFCAT salary per month and pay after commission

AFCAT training period salary is a fixed stipend of ₹56,100 per month for one year of training. As a newly commissioned officer, AFCAT flying officer salary starts at ₹56,100 basic in Level 10 (range up to ₹1,77,500), and MSP of ₹15,500 comes every month as well. On top come DA, HRA or free housing, transport allowance, and branch allowances.

The pay box shown above on this page works out DA, house rent allowance by city type, travel allowance and a take home estimate from that basic. MSP sits outside that box. Armed forces officers are not covered by NPS, so treat any NPS cut in a calculator as not applying to you. What makes AFCAT salary differ between branches:

• Flying branch salary: pilots get flying allowance, which is the biggest extra. The defence pay notice lists it at ₹25,000 per month.
• Technical branch: engineers draw technical allowance as per rules.
• Ground duty non technical salary: Administration, Logistics, Accounts, Education and Meteorology officers get the same basic pay and MSP, without flying allowance. So the AFCAT non technical salary and the AFCAT accounts branch salary are a little lower in hand than a pilot's, though the rank and basic are the same.

Officers also get group insurance cover of ₹1.25 crore (on contribution), medical care, canteen and leave travel. Read salary allowances explained for each component.

AFSB selection, training and AFCAT course length

After the written test, shortlisted candidates report to an Air Force Selection Board (AFSB). Stage I has an officer intelligence test and a picture perception and discussion test; those who clear it have documents checked. Stage II has psychology tests, group tasks and an interview over about five days. Flying candidates also take the Computerised Pilot Selection System test. Then comes the medical exam. Final merit adds written and AFSB marks.

The AFCAT course is long. Flying and Ground Duty (Technical) training is about 62 weeks, and Ground Duty (Non Technical) about 50 weeks, at Air Force training establishments; flight cadets train at the Air Force Academy, Dundigal, Hyderabad.

Career in AFCAT: tenure and growth

Flying branch Short Service Commission is for 14 years. Ground duty Short Service Commission is for 10 years, which can be extended by 4 years based on need and merit. Short Service officers are not eligible for pension, but those completing 14 years get post service insurance cover. Permanent commission seats exist in the technical branch and pay a full career pension. Promotions to Flight Lieutenant and Squadron Leader come on time scale; higher ranks by selection. A career in AFCAT gives you leadership, technical skills and respect that help even after release, in civil aviation, PSUs or other government roles.

How to prepare for AFCAT and apply

Most of my students prepare in four to six months. A simple plan:

1. Revise class 10 maths daily: percentage, ratio, time and work, speed.
2. Practise 30 reasoning questions a day, including figure based ones.
3. Read a newspaper and note defence news, awards, sports and science.
4. Work on English vocabulary and reading speed.
5. Take full mock tests in 2 hours and avoid wild guesses.
6. Keep fit: running, push-ups and good sleep help in AFSB as well.

AFCAT exam fees are ₹550 plus GST, non refundable. NCC Special Entry and GATE score entry candidates do not pay the fee because they skip the written test. Apply only on the official AFCAT website named in the notification. For exam dates, seats per branch and results, always check the official site. You can also compare this route with NDA and Agniveer if you are younger.