AFCAT

Some of the important changes observed in AFCAT notification are listed below:

No Permanent Commission

There was no vacancy for Permanent Commission. Earlier, Permanent Commission vacancies were announced for male candidates. The engagement period for Flying Branch (Men and Women) SSC Officers is fourteen years from the date of Commissioning. The initial tenure for Ground Duty (Technical & Non-Technical) SSC Officers would be for a period of ten years. An extension of four years may be granted subject to service requirements, availability of vacancies, willingness, suitability and merit. Grant of Permanent Commission (PC) (at a later date) would be considered subject to service requirements, availability of vacancies, willingness, suitability, merit and as per prevailing policies on the subject. SSC officers are not entitled for the grant of pension.

New Addition of Branch

IAF included one new branch in AFCAT exam. The weapon system branch was included and the total number of vacancies for this branch was two for women and 15 for men.

Meterology Branch Included in the Online Test of AFCAT

Candidates who applied for the Meteorology branch were required to appear for AFCAT online exam. Earlier, it was as part of the special entry.

No EKT Exam Conducted

EKT exam is not included in AFCAT exam. Earlier, EKT was the part of AFCAT exam. This is conducted for the Technical branch.

Indian Air Force conducts the AFCAT exam in order to select candidates for admission to the Flying Branch and Ground Duty (Technical and Non-Technical) branches. A large number of candidates apply for AFCAT exam, therefore, candidates need to follow a good preparation strategy to crack the exam. Candidates should refer to the previous years' question papers and practice mock tests. Besides, they should check the exam pattern and syllabus to know about the exam structure and important topics. Candidates are advised to practice more and more questions to score well in the exam. Candidates need to have a strategy to complete all the questions in the available time. 

AFCAT exam is conducted to select candidates for the Flying Branch and Ground Duty (Technical and Non-Technical) branches. The Indian Air Force (IAF) will release AFCAT 1 application form for the year 2025 on December 1, 2024. AFCAT 2 application form 2025 will be released in May 2025. The link to fill the application form will be activated along with AFCAT notification 2025. AFCAT application form filling process comprises several stages which candidates need to complete successfully. AFCAT application fees are INR 550 with GST charges. The application fees are common across various categories. AFCAT dates 2025 will be announced along with the notification.

The testing body establishes the AFCAT marking scheme. The marking scheme shows the points that candidates receive for right answers and the points that are subtracted for incorrect responses. The AFCAT exam is worth 300 total points. The following is the AFCAT marking scheme: Those who provide accurate replies receive three marks. For instance, out of 35 questions in the reasoning portion, candidates have properly answered 20 of them. They will receive sixty points. You will lose one mark for each incorrect response. As an illustration, of the 18 questions that candidates attempted, 15 of them were accurate, and three of them were not. Candidates will receive a score of 15x3-3=42. Unattempted questions do not result in a mark deduction from the examination authority. Therefore, Candidates should mark the answers correctly in the exam in order to avoid negative marks in the exam.