{"id":13173,"date":"2026-05-27T14:34:32","date_gmt":"2026-05-27T09:04:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/indian-air-force-opens-technical-branch-entries-through-gate-exempts-candidates-from-afcat-written-exam\/"},"modified":"2026-05-27T14:34:32","modified_gmt":"2026-05-27T09:04:32","slug":"indian-air-force-opens-technical-branch-entries-through-gate-exempts-candidates-from-afcat-written-exam","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/indian-air-force-opens-technical-branch-entries-through-gate-exempts-candidates-from-afcat-written-exam\/","title":{"rendered":"Indian Air Force opens Technical Branch entries through GATE, exempts candidates from AFCAT written exam"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"e9jwa\">\n<div class=\"vdo_embedd\">\n<div class=\"GfdvZ\">\n<section class=\"_bIDB  clearfix id-r-component leadmedia undefined undefined  E9tg9 \" style=\"top:0px\">\n<div class=\"_bIDB\" data-ua-type=\"1\" onclick=\"stpPgtnAndPrvntDefault(event)\">\n<div class=\"ypVvZ\">\n<div class=\"WGttI\"><img src=\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/thumb\/msid-131345403,imgsize-32038,width-400,height-225,resizemode-4\/indian-air-force.jpg\" alt=\"Indian Air Force opens Technical Branch entries through GATE, exempts candidates from AFCAT written exam\" title=\"Indian Air Force exempts GATE-qualified engineers from AFCAT written test for Technical Branch\" decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Ta7d_ img_cptn\"><span title=\"Indian Air Force exempts GATE-qualified engineers from AFCAT written test for Technical Branch\">Indian Air Force exempts GATE-qualified engineers from AFCAT written test for Technical Branch<\/span><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/timesofindia.indiatimes.com\/topic\/indian-air-force\" styleobj=\"[object Object]\" class=\"\" commonstate=\"[object Object]\" frmappuse=\"1\">Indian Air Force<\/a> (IAF) has introduced a new entry scheme for induction into its Technical Branch in the officer cadre through Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) scores, opening an additional recruitment route for engineering graduates.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"4\"\/> Under the new scheme, candidates with valid GATE scores will be eligible for direct shortlisting to the Air Force Selection Boards (AFSBs) without appearing for the preliminary written examination conducted through the Air Force Common Admission Test (AFCAT).<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"6\"\/> The announcement was made by the IAF through a statement issued by the Press Information Bureau (PIB).<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"8\"\/> <\/p>\n<p><h2>Direct shortlisting through GATE<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"11\"\/> According to the IAF, candidates applying through the GATE-based pathway will be shortlisted on merit for further testing at the AFSBs.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"15\"\/> \u201cSelection will be based on merit, effectively exempting these candidates from the preliminary written examination, such as the Air Force Common Admission Test (AFCAT),\u201d the statement said.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"17\"\/> The Air Force said the move has been introduced to provide \u201cmaximum flexibility and opportunity\u201d to engineering graduates seeking induction into the officer cadre.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"19\"\/> However, the IAF clarified that the new scheme would apply only to the Technical Branch.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"22\"\/> \u201cThe GATE Score scheme will be applicable exclusively for induction into the Technical Branch. The AFCAT will continue to serve as the standard admission test for induction into all branches of the IAF, including the Technical Branch,\u201d the statement added.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"24\"\/> <\/p>\n<p><h2>Eligibility criteria remain unchanged<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"27\"\/> According to the notification, the educational qualifications required under the GATE-based scheme will remain the same as the existing eligibility criteria prescribed for Technical Branch recruitment through AFCAT.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"30\"\/> The list of accepted GATE subjects has been detailed in the AFCAT 02\/2026 notification released by the Air Force.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"32\"\/> The IAF has also allowed candidates to apply for the Technical Branch through both AFCAT and GATE routes.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"34\"\/> \u201cTo provide maximum flexibility and opportunity to aspirants, eligible candidates may apply for the Technical Branch through both the AFCAT and the GATE Score schemes, as per their choice,\u201d the statement said.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"37\"\/> <\/p>\n<p><h2>AFCAT remains primary entry route<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"40\"\/> The Air Force clarified that AFCAT will continue as the standard entry mechanism for recruitment into all branches, including Flying Branch, Ground Duty Branches and the Technical Branch.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"42\"\/> The newly introduced GATE pathway functions as an additional screening route specifically for engineering graduates seeking Technical Branch induction.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"44\"\/> The official notification and details regarding acceptable GATE subjects are available on the Indian Air Force AFCAT portal and Career Indian Air Force website.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"46\"\/><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/timesofindia.indiatimes.com\/education\/news\/indian-air-force-opens-technical-branch-entries-through-gate-exempts-candidates-from-afcat-written-exam\/articleshow\/131344340.cms\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Indian Air Force exempts GATE-qualified engineers from AFCAT written test for Technical Branch The Indian Air Force (IAF) has introduced a new entry scheme for induction into its Technical Branch in the officer cadre through Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) scores, opening an additional recruitment route for engineering graduates. Under the new scheme, candidates [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13174,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[299],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13173","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-latest-news"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13173","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13173"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13173\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13174"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13173"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13173"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13173"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}