There are many youngsters in India who always wanted to serve the Nation in Indian Army. Citizens are willing to get recruited as an officer in the territorial army. The Indian Army will be soon accepting the application form for the post. There are many aspirants who want to sit for this Territorial Army recruitment, so for that, you have to visit the official site to apply for it. Before the application, let’s see what a territorial army is and what it takes for a civilian to become an officer.

What is Territorial Army?

The Territorial Army (TA) is a volunteer reserve force of the Indian Army. Also Known as
“PART TIME COMMITMENT,FULL TIME HONOUR” it is meant for citizens who are already employed in mainstay civilian professions, and in fact gainful employment or self-employment in a civil profession is a prerequisite for joining the Territorial Army.
Volunteers of the Territorial Army usually serve in uniform for 2–3 months every year, so that they can bear arms for national defence in times of dire need or national emergencies.

History-

The Territorial army was raised by Britishers in 1920 through Indian Territorial army Act,1920 and it was organised into two wings namely - ‘The Auxiliary Force’ for Europeans & Anglo-Indians,and ‘The Indian Territorial Force’ for Indian Volunteers. After Independence Territorial Army Act was passed in 1948 and the Territorial Army was formally inaugurated by the first Indian Governor General Shri C. Rajagopalachari on 09 Oct 1949. This date is celebrated as the Prime Minister’s TA Day Parade every year.
The Territorial Army initially had various types of units such as armoured regiments, infantry battalions, air defence, medical regiments, engineers field park companies, signal regiments, Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (EME) workshops, coast batteries, Army Service Corps GT Coy, ASC Compo Pl, and AMC field ambulances.
By 1972, these units were either disbanded or converted to Regular Army units with the exception of infantry battalions.
The TA units were actively involved in 1962, 1965 and 1971 operations.

Roles And Responsibilities-

The Territorial Army is part of Regular Army and its present role is to relieve the Regular Army from passive duties and assist civil administration in dealing with natural calamities and maintenance of essential services in situations where life of the communities is affected or the Security of the Country is threatened and to provide units for Regulars Army as and when required.

Who can join?

Following are the conditions of Eligibility-

Nationality: Only citizens of India (male and female).
Age Limits: 18 to 42 years as on the last day of filing of application.
Educational Qualifications: Graduate from any recognised university.
Physical Standards: A candidate must be physically and medically fit in all respects.
Employment: Gainfully Employed.

Note: Serving members of the Regular Army/ Navy/ Air Force/ Police/ GREF/ Para Military and like forces are not eligible.

Standard and Syllabus of the Exam-

Paper 1

-Part 1: Reasoning
-Part 2: Elementary mathematics

Paper 2

-Part 1: General Knowledge
-Part 2: English
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Each part carries 50 marks with 50 questions respectively and time allotted for each is 2 hours.
STANDARD: The standard of the papers in Elementary Mathematics will be a Matriculation level. The standard of papers in other subjects will approximately be such as may be expected of a graduate of an Indian university.

SELECTION PROCEDURE:

Candidates whose application forms are found correct will be allowed to appear in written exam followed by interview (only if passed in written exam) by a Preliminary Interview Board (PIB) by the respective Territorial Army Group Headquarters.
Successful candidates will further undergo tests at a Service Selection Board (SSB) and Medical Board for final selection.

Training Process-

One month of basic training in the first year of commission.
Two months annual training camp every year including the first year.
Post Commission Training (03 months) / Pre Commission Training (06 months) as applicable at that time.

Life after Joining TA-

Territorial Army is part time concept with mandatory two months training in a year and does not provide a full time career.
Serving in Territorial Army does not guarantee pension and the same is subject to embodied service as per organisational requirement.
Commission is granted in the rank of Lieutenant.
Pay and Allowances and privileges will be the same as Regular Army Officers when embodied for training and military service.
Promotions up to Lt Col by time scale subject to fulfilling laid down criteria. Promotion to Colonel and Brigadier by selection.
Officers commissioned in Infantry TA may be called out for military service for longer duration depending on the [requirement.]
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