Indian Army Opens TGC-145 Applications for Engineering Graduates, 30 Vacancies Announced
The Indian Army has opened applications for the 145th Technical Graduate Course (TGC-145), a pathway for unmarried male engineering graduates to join the service and be granted Permanent Commission after training at the Indian Military Academy (IMA), Dehradun. The course will commence in July 2027, and eligible candidates will have to apply online through the Army’s official recruitment portal when the window opens later next year.
According to the notification, online registration will begin on 30 September 2026 at 1500 hours and will close on 29 October 2026 at 1500 hours. Aadhaar number and the Matriculation certificate are compulsory for registration. The Army has also made it clear that only one application will be accepted from each candidate; submitting multiple applications will lead to cancellation of candidature. Once the application window closes, no changes will be permitted in the submitted details.
Eligibility conditions
The recruitment notice sets out strict eligibility rules on nationality, age, marital status and educational qualifications. A candidate must be either an Indian citizen, a subject of Nepal, or a person of Indian origin who migrated from Pakistan, Burma, Sri Lanka, or one of several East African countries — Kenya, Uganda, the United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi, Zaire and Ethiopia — or Vietnam, with the intention of permanently settling in India. Those who are not Indian citizens must hold a certificate of eligibility issued by the Government of India, except Gorkha subjects of Nepal, for whom this is not required.
The age bracket for applicants is 20 to 27 years as on 01 July 2027. In practical terms, this means candidates must have been born not earlier than 01 July 2000 and not later than 30 June 2007. The Army will accept only the date of birth recorded in the Matriculation or Secondary School Examination Certificate, or an equivalent certificate, submitted with the application. No other proof of age will be accepted, and no later request for correction will be entertained.
Only unmarried male candidates can apply. The notification states that candidates must remain unmarried until the completion of training at IMA. If a candidate marries after applying, even after clearing the Service Selection Board (SSB) and medical examination, his candidature will be cancelled. Marriage during training will lead to discharge, along with recovery of all expenses incurred by the government.
Educational qualification is limited to BE/B.Tech degrees, or M.Sc in Computer Science, in the notified engineering streams only. The degree must be from a university or institution recognised under the relevant Central or State legislation, or from institutions established under laws such as the UGC Act 1956, IIT Act 1961, AICTE Act 1987, NITSER Act 2007, or IIIT Act 2024. Candidates holding engineering degrees from foreign institutions are not eligible.
The Army has cautioned applicants that any mismatch between the engineering stream name on the degree parchment or marksheet and the stream entered in the online application will result in cancellation of candidature. CGPA or grades must be converted into marks using the formula adopted by the concerned university, and the percentage declared by the institution after applying its conversion method will be treated as final.
Final-year engineering students may also apply, but only under specified conditions. They must submit proof of passing the engineering examination, along with marksheets of all semesters or years, by 01 July 2027 to TGC Entry, West Block-III, R.K. Puram, New Delhi-110066, and produce the degree certificate within 12 weeks of the start of training at IMA. Their cumulative percentage up to the sixth semester or third year — or the eighth semester or fourth year in the case of B.Arch, and the second semester or first year for M.Sc in the notified equivalent stream — must not fall below the approved cut-off for the respective stream. After the final result is declared, the cumulative percentage up to the final semester or year must also remain above the cut-off; otherwise, candidature will be cancelled.
Those whose final-year or final-semester results will be declared after 01 July 2027 are not eligible. Final-year candidates who are accepted will be inducted on an additional bond basis to cover the cost of training, stipend, and pay and allowances if they fail to produce the required degree certificate.
The notification also excludes several categories of candidates. Those withdrawn, dismissed, removed or invalided out of any defence training academy on disciplinary, administrative or medical grounds, and therefore ineligible for further military service, cannot apply. Candidates debarred by the UPSC from any examination, or those withdrawn from NDA, IMA, OTA, Naval Academy, Air Force Academy or any service training academy on disciplinary grounds, are also ineligible. Anyone who has been arrested or convicted by a criminal court, or who has been involved in any case, is barred. Suppression of material information — including prior training, withdrawal, resignation, dismissal or medical invalidment — can lead to cancellation of candidature at any stage.
Vacancies and streams
The Army has notified 30 vacancies for TGC-145, though these remain tentative and may be altered or re-appropriated depending on organisational requirements. Only the engineering streams and equivalent disciplines listed in the notification will be considered valid.
| Core stream | Vacancies |
|---|---|
| Civil (including Architecture and Building Construction & Technology equivalents) | 08 |
| Computer Science (including Computer Science & Engineering, Computer Technology, M.Sc Computer Science, and Information Technology equivalents) | 06 |
| Electrical (including Electrical and Electronics equivalents) | 02 |
| Electronics (including Electronics & Communication, Instrumentation, Telecommunication, and related equivalents) | 06 |
| Mechanical (including Production, Automobile, Industrial, Aeronautical, Aerospace, and Avionics equivalents) | 06 |
| Miscellaneous Engineering Streams (Plastic Technology, Remote Sensing, Ballistics, Bio Medical, Food Technology, Agriculture, Metallurgical, Laser Technology, Bio Technology, Rubber Technology, Chemical, Transportation, Mining, Nuclear Technology, Textile, and related equivalents) | 02 |
| Total | 30 |
Candidates recommended under TGC-145 but whose merit does not fall within the available vacancies of their engineering stream may be offered the Short Service Commission (Tech) Course commencing in October 2027, subject to meeting the eligibility requirements and the availability of unutilised vacancies in the SSC (Tech) course for the relevant stream.
Physical standards and SSB selection
Applicants must meet minimum physical standards before joining the training academy. These include a 2.4 km run in 10 minutes 30 seconds, 40 push-ups, six pull-ups, 30 sit-ups, two sets of 30 squats, two sets of 10 lunges, and knowledge of the fundamentals of swimming.
The Integrated Headquarters of the Ministry of Defence (Army) retains the right to shortlist applications based on the vacancy-to-call-up ratio for each engineering discipline, without assigning any reason. The cut-off is applied stream-wise on the cumulative percentage of marks up to the final semester or year. Final-year candidates may be provisionally permitted to appear for the SSB, provided they satisfy the cumulative-percentage conditions.
Once shortlisted, candidates must log in and choose their SSB dates and centres on a first-come, first-served basis. The selected centre and date cannot be changed later. In exceptional circumstances, the option to choose may be withdrawn, and the Directorate General of Recruiting may also change the selected centre and date.
Shortlisted candidates will be called to one of the Selection Centres at Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh, Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh, Bengaluru in Karnataka, or Jalandhar in Punjab. Call-up letters will be sent only to the registered e-mail ID and through SMS. The SSB process consists of two stages and can take up to five days. Candidates who do not clear Stage-1 are returned the same day. Those recommended after Stage-2 undergo medical examination. Further details are available on www.joinindianarmy.nic.in.
Candidates recommended by the SSB and found medically fit will be issued joining letters in stream-wise merit order, subject to the number of vacancies and fulfilment of all eligibility conditions. Clearing the SSB does not by itself guarantee selection.
The merit list will be prepared engineering stream-wise on the basis of SSB marks. If marks are tied, the older candidate will be ranked higher. If both marks and age are equal, the candidate with the higher percentage in the qualifying degree will be placed above the other. Higher qualifications and past performance will not be considered.
The validity of the SSB medical examination is 270 days from the date of the Special Medical Board to the date of joining the Pre-Commission Training Academy. Candidates already declared medically fit in an Army SSB medical board — SMB, AMB or RMB — do not need to undergo a fresh medical for TGC-145 if the period from the SMB date to 01 July 2027 is less than 270 days. Those already under training in any Army pre-commission training academy are exempt from fresh medical examination even if the gap exceeds 270 days. Proceedings of the Medical Board are confidential.
Commission, training and seniority
Selected candidates will receive Short Service Commission on probation in the rank of Lieutenant from the date of commencement of the course or the date of reporting at IMA, Dehradun, whichever is later. On successful completion of training, they will be granted Permanent Commission in the rank of Lieutenant.
Engineering graduates commissioned through TGC will receive one year of ante-date seniority from the date of commission in the rank of Lieutenant for the purposes of seniority, promotion and pay increments.
Training at IMA is expected to last about 12 months and will be fully funded by the government. If an officer cadet is withdrawn for reasons other than medical grounds or reasons beyond his control, he must refund the cost of training at ₹20,481.96 per week, on a tentative basis, with the actual amount to be calculated at the time of withdrawal or resignation. The provision is in line with Ministry of Defence letter No. 16(1)/2017-D(GS.II) dated 15 March 2022 and carries an annual increase of 8 per cent, or as notified from time to time.
The final allocation of Arms or Services will be made before passing out from IMA at the sole discretion of the Integrated Headquarters of Ministry of Defence (Army). No representation against the allotment will be entertained.
Any candidate who fails to report within seven days of the reporting date mentioned in the joining letter, without prior permission from the Adjutant of the academy, will have his candidature cancelled, and the next candidate in merit will be issued a joining letter.
Pay, allowances and insurance
Pay will be governed by the 7th Central Pay Commission matrix. Military Service Pay of ₹15,500 per month is admissible, fixed, from Lieutenant to Brigadier. During training at IMA, gentleman cadets will receive a fixed stipend of ₹56,100 per month, corresponding to the starting pay in Level 10. Once commissioned, pay will be fixed in the first cell of Level 10. The training period will not count as commissioned service, although arrears of admissible allowances for that period will be paid.
| Rank | Level | Pay (₹) |
|---|---|---|
| Lieutenant | 10 | 56,100–1,77,500 |
| Captain | 10B | 61,300–1,93,900 |
| Major | 11 | 69,400–2,07,200 |
| Lieutenant Colonel | 12A | 1,21,200–2,12,400 |
| Colonel | 13 | 1,30,600–2,15,900 |
| Brigadier | 13A | 1,39,600–2,17,600 |
| Major General | 14 | 1,44,200–2,18,200 |
| Lieutenant General (HAG Scale) | 15 | 1,82,200–2,24,100 |
| Lieutenant General (HAG+ Scale) | 16 | 2,05,400–2,24,400 |
| VCOAS / Army Commander / Lieutenant General (NFSG) | 17 | 2,25,000 (fixed) |
| COAS | 18 | 2,50,000 (fixed) |
Promotion follows completion of reckonable commissioned service: Captain after two years, Major after six years, Lieutenant Colonel after 13 years, and Colonel (Time Scale) after 26 years. Higher ranks are filled through selection, subject to service conditions.
Other admissible allowances, subject to eligibility and revision, include Dearness Allowance at civilian rates, Technical Allowance of ₹3,000 per month for Tier-I and ₹4,500 per month for Tier-II, Dress Allowance of ₹20,000 per year, ration in kind in peace and field areas, Transport Allowance of ₹7,200 plus DA in higher TPTA cities and ₹3,600 plus DA at other places for Pay Level 10 and above, Children Education Allowance and Hostel Subsidy. Field-area allowances depend on rank and place of posting. The rates of specified defence allowances increase automatically by 25 per cent whenever Dearness Allowance rises by 50 per cent. Pay and allowances remain subject to revision.
Officer cadets receiving the stipend are insured for ₹1.25 crore under the Army Group Insurance Fund, against a monthly subscription of ₹12,500 paid in advance. Disability benefits and ex-gratia grants are available under notified conditions, while disability caused by alcoholism, drug addiction or pre-enrolment disease, as well as cases of disciplinary withdrawal, expulsion or voluntary exit, are excluded.
Application process and documents
Applications will be accepted only online at www.joinindianarmy.nic.in through the Officer Entry Apply/Login section. After registration, candidates must select “Apply against Technical Graduate Course”, complete all sections and submit the form. Two printouts of the application, bearing the roll number, must be taken 30 minutes after final closure on the last day. One signed copy with a self-attested photograph must be carried to the SSB, while the second should be retained by the candidate. No hard copy is to be sent to the Directorate General of Recruiting.
At the Selection Centre, candidates must carry originals, along with self-attested copies, of the Matriculation certificate and marksheet, Class 12 certificate and marksheet or diploma equivalent, engineering degree or provisional degree, marksheets of all semesters or years, the university certificate explaining the CGPA-to-marks conversion formula, and, for final-year candidates, the cumulative-percentage certificate, the certificate stating that the result will be declared by 01 July 2027, and the required declaration. Civil verification documents are also required.
DigiLocker certificates will not be accepted in place of originals, except where the institution certifies that only e-certificates were issued and no hard copy was provided. In such cases, a colour printout authenticated by the school, college or university must be submitted. The provisional degree certificate must not be more than six months old at the time of joining the academy. The candidate’s name, parents’ names and date of birth in the profile and application must match the Matriculation certificate. Any variation in name will require an affidavit. Serving personnel in the Armed Forces must inform their Commanding Officer in writing and carry a countersigned application.
Candidates appearing for the SSB for the first time for this type of commission are entitled to AC-III Tier to-and-fro railway fare, or bus fare including reservation-cum-sleeper charges, within Indian limits. Those applying again for the same type of commission will not receive travelling allowance on a subsequent occasion.
Queries will be answered only through the Feedback/Query option on www.joinindianarmy.nic.in, and only if received up to three days before the closing date of the online application. The notification has been issued in Hindi and English, and in case of any discrepancy, the English version will prevail.
Candidates have been advised to read the notification, website tickers, joining instructions and FAQs carefully before applying, and to ensure that the engineering-stream nomenclature, cumulative percentage and personal details match the supporting documents exactly.
