How to Join Territorial Army as an Officer in India?

 

What is the Territorial Army?

Territorial Army (TA), often regarded as the second line of defence is part of the Indian Army. It is amongst the military forces that can be mobilized during an emergency situation. The territorial army allows young men to serve the nation in two ways – as a soldier and as a civilian.

This is an important opportunity as a person can serve the nation without losing his/her job.

Who is Eligible for TA:

The given table shows the eligibility criteria to apply for the Territorial Army (TA)

Eligibility Conditions	Criteria
Nationality	Citizen of India
Age	18 to 42 years
Educational Qualification	Graduate from a recognized university
Marital Status	Married/Unmarried
Employment	Gainfully employed
Physical Standards	A person should be physically & medically fit in all respects

Note: The people who are serving in army/navy/air force/paramilitary/police/GREF are not eligible to apply for TA

This means that you should be already employed in any other profession to be eligible to apply for the territorial army.

You also need to take a ‘No Objection Certificate’ from your superiors to appear for the interview.

A person who is running a business or is self-employed needs to submit an affidavit mentioning the nature of employment as well as his annual income along with PAN card details.

How to Join Territorial Army?

Selection Process:

Candidates whose applications are found correct will be allowed to appear for a written exam. Those students who qualify for the exam will appear in front of the Preliminary Interview Board (PIB) in respective Territorial Army Group Headquarters.

Syllabus for Exam, Number of Question:

Paper	Syllabus	Number of Questions	Marks	Time
Paper I	Reasoning & Elementary Mathematics	50 + 50	100	120 Min
Paper II	General Knowledge & English	50 + 50	100	120 Min

There is a negative marking for each wrong answer. The candidates need to score a minimum of 40% marks in each paper and an overall 50% marks to qualify.

After getting shortlisted from the PIB, students will then appear for an SSB interview in the respective selection boards and further for medicals.

Note: Candidates who are Ex-service officers can also apply for TA:

They need to apply by sending their applications directly to Addl. Directorate General TA, Integrated IHQ MOD (Army), L-Block, New Delhi – 110001.

They also need to submit a copy of the release order and release medical order.

Written Exam Centres:

The test is conducted at 5 TA written exam centers:

Zone	Domicile	Written Exam Center	TA Headquarter
Zone I	Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, Delhi & Chandigarh	Chandigarh	TA Group HQ, Western Command, Building No. 750, Sector-8B, Chandigarh-160018. Ph No. 0172-2547864
Zone II	UP, Bihar, Odisha, MP, Uttarakhand, Jharkhand & Chhatisgarh	Lucknow, Patna	TA Group HQ Central Command, Lucknow (UP)-226002 Ph0522-2482278
Zone III	West Bengal, Assam, Tripura, Manipur, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh	Kolkata, Shillong	TA Group HQ, Eastern Command, Fort William, Kolkatta (WB)-700021. Ph No. 033-22313227
Zone IV	Rajasthan, Maharastra, Kerala, Karnataka, Gujarat, TN, Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Puducherry, Andaman, Lakshwadeep, Daman & Diu, Dadar & Nagar Haveli	Jaipur, Pune, Bengaluru, Hyderabad	TA Group HQ Southern Command, Pune-411001. Ph No. 020-26102848
Zone V	Jammu & Kashmir	Udhampur, Srinagar	TA Group HQ Northern Command, Udhampur (J & K)-182101 Ph No. 01992-243592

Pay and Perks of Territorial Army:

• The selected candidate then undergo one month of basic training in the first year of commission. After commissioning, they are granted the rank of Lieutenant.
• The candidate then undergoes 2 months of annual training every year including the first year.
• There is also a 3 months post commissioning training within first 2 years at IMA, Dehradun.
• The salary and allowances will be the same as the regular army officers when embodied for training & military service.
• The promotion to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel is time scale as laid down by the criteria. While promotion to Colonel and Brigadier is by selection.

Below is the pay scale of the officer in the TA:

Rank	Pay Band	Grade Pay	MSP
Lieutenant	PB-3/15600-39100	5400	6000
Captain	PB-3/15600-39100	6100	6000
Major	PB-3/15600-39100	6600	6000
Lt. Colonel	PB-4/37400 – 67000	8000	6000
Colonel	PB-4/37400 – 67000	8700	6000
Brigadier	PB-4/37400 – 67000	8900	6000

Territorial Army Units:

They are classified into the following categories:

1. Departmental units:

• Railway Engineer Regiment
• General Hospitals
• Oil & Natural Gas Pipelines

2. Non Departmental units:

• Infantry Battalions
• Ecological Battalions

Awards & Recognition:

The Territorial Army has been decorated with many awards for their gallantry & distinguished services.

They have earned a total of 2 Ati Vishisth Seva Medals (AVSM), 15 Vishisth Seva Medals (VSM), 5 Vir Chakra (VrC), 13 Sena Medals (SM) and 43 COAS Commendation Cards.

For more information of the description regarding the Medals Check out the link Below:

Distinguished Personnel serving in Territorial Army:

There are many distinguished personalities that are serving the armed forces:

1. Mohan Lal – Actor
2. Sachin Pilot – Politician
3. Sachin Tendulkar – Cricketer
4. Abhinav Bindra – Shooter
5. MS Dhoni – Cricketer
6. Kapil Dev – Cricketer
7. Anurag Thakur – Politician

^{Img source: Indian Express}

• Territorial Army 2021: Eligibility Criteria and Selection Process

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