IMA - International Maritime Academy Chennai Answered Questions

No, the NCC Certificate is not mandatory to join the IMA. The eligibility criteria of the IMA specify that you must be:
1. A graduate of a recognised university CDS entry).
2. Unmarried male candidate
3. Between the ages of 19 and 24 years, depending on the January or July batch. In the SSB stage, the NCC Certificate may give you an advantage in getting recommended. However, this Certificate is not mandatory to apply for IMA. You can either join IMA through an NDA or CDS exam. After passing the 12th grade, you can apply to the NDA and after a three-year training programme, you will join the IMA.

The minimum age requirement to join the IMA is 19 years old via the NCC. There is no NCC Special Entry for IMA, but approximately 25 seats are reserved for NCC C Certificate holders. This applies to the January and July terms, I. e. , the total of 50 seats. For this, you have to appear in the CDS exam like other applicants. The age and other criteria are the same for NCC-C Certificate holders as for general candidates. This means you must be between the ages of 19 and 24. Also, you must have graduated from a recognised university.

If you want to have a long-term career in the army, then IMA is a better choice, whereas if you just want to live in the army for a few years, then OTA is better.
1. The basic difference between IMA and OTA is that the Indian Military Academy is for permanent commissioned officers who will serve up to 30 years, whereas the Officer Training Academy, Chennai, is for short-service commissioned officers who can serve up to 14 years maximum in the army. Hence, you will have the option of leaving the army after your compulsory service of ten years as an SSC officer in OTA.
2. Also, those who don't like mathematics can skip the compulsory math paper and opt for OTA. To join IMA, you need to score higher in the CDS exam.
3. OTA also has cadets of both genders, whereas IMA only has male cadets. Both academies are reputed in the country and were established for different purposes. You can either opt for OTA or IMA if you have allocated both. Most of the male army aspirants usually go for IMA, whereas for girls, only the OTA option is there.

Yes you can change to other branch in second year. But this is possible only if you are purchasing B. Tecg marine engineering in any of the VTU or state approved colleges. But if you are studying in DGSHIPPING approved colleges, then it's not possible. As per your questions I imagine you are studying in State approved University. So, yes you can change.

The minimum qualification for CDS is graduation in any of the stream/course. Also, B.Sc. In Mathematics is completely theoretical, if you are thinking that what you'll study in graduation will help you in CDS examination, well this is not the case. The syllabus for both is completely different.

I really don't have an idea on this matter. The only reason why Im answering this is because I was requested to. Overall, the entrance exams of UoH are designed in a way to weed out mediocre to ignorant students. Only the above average students, who are generally the B grade, to studious students stand a chance to get into this university. I am relating the score cut off to my own case to answer the second question. Overall I answered more than 70 questions and that was when I was called for the interview. The people who got only 50% of the paper were gladly ignored for the second round.

To be declared fit for selection, a candidate must be in good mental and physical health and free from any deficiency likely to interfere with the efficient performance of duties. These medical requirements are laid down by DG Shipping and are subject to change. The cardiovascular system is also the part of medical test for B.Tech Marine Engineering.
Cardiovascular System : There should be no instance of cardiac or vascular disease. Electrocardiogram should be within normal limits. Systolic and diastolic blood pressure must not exceed 140 and 90 mm of Hg, respectively.
So aeotic valve problem can affect this test. So its better to consult some DG Shipping approved Doctors for best advise.

International Maritime Academy Chennai gives good placement to candidates. Companies ranging from Chennai Ports, Kochin Port trust,P&O, TransOcean, MaerskLine etc used to hire candidates from the institute.
At the same time, There are other good Colleges in Chennai for Marine Engineering course. They are:
Indian Maritime University,
AMET University,
Vels University etc.