In this article, Ashok Samal discusses Career Opportunities for Law Graduates in Indian Air Force.

Indian Air Force

The Indian Air Force is the airborne part of the Indian military and they account for the fourth largest in terms of officials and aircrafts. It assures access to bleeding edge technology and comprises of the best minds of Indian Defence Forces.

The Air Force has three branches i.e., Flying branch, Ground Duty Branch and Technical Branch. While personnel of the flying branch actually fly the planes on military operations and battles, the main duty performed by ground duty personnel are meteorological and ground control functions. The officers on ground duty need to inform the flying branch regularly of the weather branch for uninterrupted successful operations. The members of this branch are concerned with the maintenance and of aircrafts and related equipment of the Air Force.

Why should one select the Indian Air Force as a career

These are many reasons due to which one may choose to join the Indian Air Force, some of which are that it offers a life of adventure and also the personnel get to work and interact with bleeding edge latest military technology. The enrolled persons are offered a glowing social status, a handsome salary and other miscellaneous facilities. The personnel are also taught how to handle difficult and challenging situations. They are also trained on how to command the personnel below them, i.e., how to be a leader.

While these are only some of the reasons of joining the Indian Air Forces, the most important reason is proudly and selflessly working for ensuring the safety and security of mother India.

Career opportunities for Law Graduates in I.A.F.

Law Graduates are eligible only for Ground duty branches of the Indian Air Force.

The ground duty branch officers have the job of effectively managing both the men and resources available with the Air Forces. Work includes calculating and managing the pay of Air-Force employees and also maintaining the inventories of the Air Force equipment. These branches can be enumerated as under:-

1. Administrative Branch
2. Accounts Branch
3. Logistics Branch
4. Education Branch
5. Meteorology Branch

However, law graduates(both 3 and 5 years) are only eligible for Administrative, Logistics and Education(Post Graduates only) branch.

Administrative Branch

Effective management and upkeep of the material resources and personnel is the primary job available to the administrative branch.. The following additional duties are assigned to the officers in the administrative branch:-

• Air Traffic Control:-

They ensure proper airspace management and also undertake the responsibility for a unrestricted flow of air traffic.

• Flight Control:-

They are mainly posted to the locational placement of Air Defence Radar units. For effective airspace management they ensure flow of proper radio traffic between the ground units and planes.

Eligibility criterion

• The age of a candidate has to be between 20 to 23 years and in case of post graduates(including 5 years integrated LL.B.) the age range is 20 to 25 years. In the case of law graduates doing 3 years LL.B. after graduation the age limit is one year more than the integrated course’s limit.
• Unmarried status is mandatory for appliers below 25 years of age.
• Candidates must be Indian nationals.
• This post can be held by both men and women.
• A mandatory post graduation degree or a graduation degree with minimum aggregate of 60% is a mandatory requirement for a candidate to be eligible.

Logistics Branch

An officer stationed in the Logistics Branch has the responsibility to undertake essential management of the I.A.F.  resources of any unit where he/she is posted. These resources include food, clothing, expensive aircraft equipment, building material etc. These officers have the important responsibility of maintaining a roster and chart of the availability and access to all the material resources available.

Eligibility Criterion

• Age: Eligibility age ranges from 20 to 23 years of age in case of graduates and 20 to 25 years for post-graduates /LLB (in case of Five years integrated course) and 20 to 26 years for law graduates (i.e., 3 years course after graduation)
• Marital Status: Candidates below 25 years of age must be unmarried.
• Nationality: Candidates must be Indian nationals.
• Gender: Both men and women are equally eligible for the post..
• Educational Qualifications: Graduation degree in any discipline with a minimum 60% marks in aggregate in all papers put together or Post Graduation degree or equivalent diploma in any discipline with minimum 50% marks in aggregate in all papers put together.

Education Branch(Only for post-graduates)

An officer posted in the Education Branch performs all duties related to the study and educational requirements of the Air Force employees. An education officer primarily oversees the training of personnel, supervise and manage the air force libraries and information rooms.

Eligibility Criterion

• Age: 20 to 25 years for post graduates, 20 to 27 years for M.Ed and Ph.D.

• Marital Status: Candidates below 25 years of age must be unmarried.
• Nationality: Candidates must be Indian nationals.
• Gender: Both men and women are eligible for the post.
• Educational Qualifications: Post Graduate Degree in any discipline with a minimum of 50% aggregate in all papers put together.

Physical standards to meet for persons employed in ground duty branches

Anyone being employed as an officer in the IAF must be both physically and mentally fit for improved and enhanced performance. The general guidelines are listed below.

1. Good physical and mental health.
2. Should be free from any disease or disability.
3. There should be no disease of bones.
4. No past medical history of mental illness or fits.
5. The hearing should be normal without any present or past disease of ear, nose and throat.
6. The candidate should not have any functional or organic disease of heart and blood vessels with normal blood pressure.
7. The abdominal muscles of the candidate should be well developed. There should be no enlargement of liver or spleen.
8. An un-operated hernia can be cause for rejection. The operation, if any, should have been done six months earlier prior to the examination date.
9. Any skin disease likely to cause any abnormality could cause rejection of the candidate.
10. There should be natural 20/20 vision.
11. There should be sufficient and sound teeth.

All about AFCAT

AFCAT or Air Force Common Admission Test is the entrance exam conducted for selection into the ground branch and other branches of the I.A.F.

It hires mainly for three branches –

1. Ground Duty Branches
2. Flying Branch
3. Technical Branch

Syllabus

The test is of a 2 hour duration consisting of 100 questions covering areas of mental aptitude, verbal questions, numericals, general knowledge and military aptitude.

The General Awareness section consists of topics like Indian and International history, Sports knowledge, world geography, environment, politics, culture, Art etc. The Verbal Ability part will have questions based on general comprehension, Synonyms and antonyms, vocabulary tests, completing sentences etc. The numerical ability section consists of questions on simple and general mathematical aptitude. The reasoning section tests the spatial ability of a prospective candidate.

Pay Scale

Ground duty officers will be entitled to a basic pay grade of Rs. 15,600 – 39,100 per month along with

Approximate gross allowance of Ground Duty Branches amounts to Rs. 68,550/-

Other Allowances include payments like military service pay, dearness allowance, kit maintenance allowance, transport allowance.

The other allowances provided are largely dependent on nature of posting and place of work. These also additionally include field area allowance, Hill area allowance, special force allowance and Remote Locality Allowance.

Other Benefits

Excluding the grade pay & other allowances, the officers are also entitled to certain benefits such as furnished accommodation, Medical Cover for personnel and family, journey concession, a 60 day/year leave, mess facilities, ration at decreased rate and many more including a Rs. 50 lakh insurance cover. These benefits and all the other reasons mentioned above are reasons enough for one to pursue such a job.