Once a ‘warrior-hub’, Punjab is again producing leaders for the Indian armed forces, thanks to the highly successful, government-run Maharaja Ranjit Singh Armed Forces Preparatory Institute, which was set up in Mohali in 2011

When India was a spanking new nation, one can say Punjab became its “sword arm”, ready to defend its borders from enemies. Military experts say in the late 1960s, National Defence Academy (NDA), which trains officers, used to see 70-80 men from Punjab in every batch (of approximately 300 cadets). But by 2010, the flow became a trickle with only six to eight making it to this prestigious institute. In less than a decade though, that bullet has been dodged, thanks to the Maharaja Ranjit Singh Armed Forces Preparatory Institute (AFPI) in Mohali, which is churning out record number of defence officers from Punjab again.

The state government-run institute was started in 2011 and since 2013, when the first batch of cadets passed out from here, the institute has emerged as the largest feeder institution for NDA. As many as 137 boys prepared and groomed by AFPI Mohali in the first seven batches have been selected as defence officers in army, navy and air force. While 58 of them have already commissioned as officers, rest are undergoing training at various military academies.

When compared with the success rate of various feeder institutions in the country that prepares boys for the prestigious NDA, it becomes clear that AFPI Mohali has wrested the top position in a short time, despite being a small institution with limited resources.

According to Major General B S Grewal, director of AFPI, around 25 Sainik Schools of the country that are run by ministry of defence (MoD), produces between 70-72 cadets in a batch of around 320 cadets for NDA from all over the country every year. However, AFPI Mohali sends around 20-25 cadets to NDA every year. “This is a major achievement because prior to 2013 when AFPI started giving results, there used to be only 6-8 boys in the batch of 320 cadets, from Punjab in NDA. Now, nearly 20-25 from this institute alone are joining NDA, which is a major achievement for any feeder institution in the country,” claims Gen Grewal, who also served as deputy commandant of NDA.

Only a Punjab domicile who has passed his Class X is eligible to apply at AFPI. The selection process is rigorous and include written test, interview and medical examination. The selection process starts in January every year and selected cadets join the institute in April. The procedure is same as is adopted for the selection in NDA. Every year, 48 cadets are selected and they will be trained for two years. Only science students with non-medical subjects are inducted in the AFPI. The entire expenses, including boarding, uniform, sports and other training expenses of the cadets at AFPI are funded by the Punjab government. Punjab chief minister is the chairperson of the governing body of the school. However, the cadets have to complete their schooling in a Mohali-based private school and the fee (Rs 48,000, a year) is borne by them.

Out of the 48 boys selected every year, 3-4 cadets drop out and the success rate of these cadets joining NDA is 50-60%. The cadets who could not be selected in NDA are also joining armed forces after their graduation, mostly through the combined defence services examination (CDSE). For the 2020 batch, the institute has received 2,163 applications for 48 seats.