Territorial Army- Role, eligibility, Application Process, Selection, Exam Pattern

The Territorial Army (TA) is the secondary defense forces of the nation after the official regular army. As opposed to the full-time regular army, the Territorial Army comprises the soldiers that serve for a few months annually. The most important information about the Territorial Army services is that this is a part-time commitment towards serving the nation. It is not some full career option for anyone. Territorial Army Officers have to serve for a period of 1-2 months every year. It is not a regular occupation or employment source. So, it is like a part-time side job. Territorial Army comprises of several entities of forces who assist in different ways like:

• Infantry Battalions,
• Ecological Task Force,
• General Hospital Units,
• Home and Hearth Infantry,
• Air Defense Artillery,
• Railway Industrial Units, and many more.

Currently, the strength of Territorial Army is over 50,000 personnel which consist of both Departmental and Non-Departmental Units:

Territorial Army Recruitment 2020 Important Dates

This year the assessment and selection process has been disrupted due to the Coronavirus pandemic all over the world. This has led to a delay in the release of the application for Civilians. This in turn has changed all the dates for the further recruitment process.

The fee for the application is INR 200, which was supposed to be released in May if not for Covid-19 breakout. The exam would have taken place in the month of July, but has been delayed because of the Coronavirus health emergency. The new dates will soon be out on the official website of the Territorial Army.

Territorial Army Eligibility Criteria

• Citizenship- The candidate should be a citizen of India.
• Age Limit– The candidate should be of an age between 19 and 42 years, on the date of application.
• Educational Qualification- The candidate should at least have done graduation or its equivalent.
• Bodily Strength- The candidate should be both physically and mentally healthy.
• Employment Standing-
  • Self-employment, or
  • Gainful employment- The candidate should already have a full-time and reliable paid-job, or
  • Mainstay civilian professions- This includes people involved in the necessary community work like Accountants, doctors, para-medical, etc.
  • Ex-servicemen- The Ex-service officers who qualify the age criteria and have desired physical/mental fitness are eligible to apply for the Territorial Army.

Not Eligible- The people who are currently serving in the Regular Army, Navy force, Air Force, Police, GREF (General Reserve Engineer Force), Para Military and other such forces are not allowed to apply for TA.

Territorial Army Application Process

The application form is available at the official website of the Territorial Army https://www.jointerritorialarmy.gov.in/. The form has to be filled within the mentioned deadline only or you will lose the opportunity.

Documents required for Application of Territorial Army 2020

The online form available on the official website of the Territorial Army can be downloaded (free of cost). Then the following details and documents are needed:

1. All educational qualifications post matriculation certificates are required.
2. Latest medical physical fitness certificate from a primary health Centre, or any government hospital or any registered MBBS Doctor registered in respective medical council.
3. A copy of Identity proof which has photographs attached to it (Voter ID/PAN Card/Aadhar Card/Passport/Driving license etc).
4. Domicile certificate or any other Residential proof.
5. Certificate for evidence of correct age (Matric/ Senior Secondary mark sheet and certificate for verification of date of birth).
6. The people who are employed in Central Govt/ Union Territory/ State/Semi Govt/ Private Sector Authenticated by Head of office are required to bring Service certificate along with a No Objection Certificate by the department as per format mentioned in the official form.
7. The self-employed candidates have to submit an Affidavit on Non-Judicial stamp paper of minimum value duly attested stating nature of their employment and annual income. This has to be attached with a photocopy of PAN card and self-attested character certificate.
8. A Copy of Release Order.
9. A Copy of Release Medical Board Proceedings.
10. Latest income proof from the appropriate authority (i.e. Income Tax Revenue Department / Magistrate / Employer as applicable).
11. A Copy of PAN (Permanent Account Number) Card.
12. Copy of Aadhaar Card for unique identification of the candidate.
13. A Copy of Certificates / Reports of all Courses.
14. Discharge Papers / Service Particular Booklet.
15. Copy of latest Income Tax Return (ITR) filed as a legitimate proof of your income.

Territorial Army Exam Centers 2020

The test will be conducted in 17 different cities of India, which are as follows:

Territorial Army 2020 Selection Process

The vacancies are notified by the TA according to their requirements for male or female candidates. The selection process, as mentioned above, is different for Civilian officers and Ex-servicemen, given as follows:

Officer Civilians Territorial Army Selection Process 2020

Step 1 - Screening stage (Written and Interview):

The candidates who have applied for the TA exam are called for the screening. This includes two types of exam. First is the Written Exam that will test Reasoning, Elementary mathematics, general knowledge and hold on the language. Second is the interview round, conducted by Preliminary Interview Board (PIB)

Step 2 - Service Selection Board (SSB) examination:

Selected candidates will have to give tests conducted by SSB.

Step 3 - Medical Examination:

Selected candidates will then have to go through proper health check-up and medical examination of the physical body will be conducted according to standards set by Military Hospital.

Ex-servicemen Territorial Army Selection Process 2020:

The Ex-servicemen will be tested by ASB (Army Headquarters Selection Board) held at Additional Directorate General Territorial Army, Integrated Headquarters of Ministry of Defense, ‘L’ Block, Church Road, New Delhi – 110 001. The candidates are then supposed to undertake a medical examination at the Armed Forces Clinic. Finally, after all these procedures, the last step is their verification.

Territorial Army 2020 Exam Pattern

This national level examination is conducted in two stages for two different categories:

For Civilians -

They can fill the online application form available on the official website. There are three stages to qualify one after the, which are as follows:

1. Screening stage (Written Exam and Preliminary Interview)
2. Service Selection Board (SSB) interview
3. Medical Examination of the physical standard by Military Hospital

For Ex-servicemen -Only Interview

• Exam Duration -Each paper is held for 2 hours (for Civilians only)
• Exam Type -Objective questions type- OMR based paper (for Civilians only)
• The written exam is only for Civilians. There are two papers, Paper 1 and Paper 2. And, each paper will be of 100 marks. So, in total, the whole written test is of 200 marks.
• Each paper will be further divided into two parts. Each section of the paper will comprise of 50questions carrying 50 marks (1 mark per question) :

Territorial Army Written Exam Syllabus

Paper 1 - Syllabus Reasoning and Elementary Mathematics

• Duration of the Exam - 2 hours,
• Number of ques. - 50 + 50 = 100 questions, Marks – 100

Tip for the Paper 1- For this paper you can practice these types of questions from last year question papers available on the official website and many competitive exams books that are available in the market. Once you find the basic trick and formula for solving these MCQ’s, this part will seem very easy to you.

Section 1- Reasoning Ability Syllabus

Reasoning questions are an important part of any competitive exam. Here also, this part of the paper will test the non-verbal logical capacity of the candidates through problem solving based on figures, statements, letters, patterns, diagrams, etc. This Critical reasoning exam is for testing the candidates’ ability to draw logical conclusions. This skill is important in everyday life also which makes it an inherent part of the exam. The subsections for the Logical Reasoning test are as follows:

Section 2- Elementary Mathematics Syllabus

This part of the paper consists of mathematics topics from primary and secondary level of school. This elementary level of mathematics and aptitude will test the candidates’ ability of problem solving and basic calculation sums.

Paper 2- Syllabus General Knowledge and English

• Duration of the Exam - 2 hours,
• Number of ques. - 50 + 50 = 100 questions, Total Marks – 100

Section 1- General Knowledge Syllabus

A good knowledge of general awareness has become important for every exam point of view. This part of the paper will test the candidates’ knowledge of the current affairs and basic familiarity with the social, economic and political situation in India and the world around. Keep yourself updated about the current affairs through good English newspapers and regularly watch informative news channels. This will even improve your reading, writing and understanding skills for the English paper as well.

Section 2- English Syllabus

This section of the paper will test the candidates’ basic knowledge about English language, grammar, and Comprehension skills. This will include familiarity with elementary English grammar and other simple topics related to the language.

Salient Features of the Territorial Army Exam 2020

• Level of the Question paper-The level of mathematical questions asked in the paper will be matriculation level (i.e. 10th standard). And, the standard of complexity of the other three sections (Reasoning, General Knowledge and English) will be the graduation level.
• Application fee - Rs 200 is the fee for the application in the Territorial Army services.
• Negative Marking - Yes, there is negative marking for every wrong answer in the exam. And, for every right answer 1 mark will be allotted to the candidate.
• Qualifying Marks - The qualifying marks for the written exam of Territorial Army is 40% in each unit. And, on the average the total marks should be at least 50%.

Territorial Army 2020 Vacancies

The number of opening positions is still not notified. The vacancies for the posts (for both male and female) in the Territorial Army are released every year according to the need of the recruitment by the organization.

Territorial Army Exam Cut-off Trends

The cut off of Territorial Army will be displayed on the official website of the TA. It slightly varies from year to year as the following factors are taken into consideration:

1. Number of candidates appearing in the exam.
2. Difficulty level of exam conducted.
3. Total vacancies for the particular year.

Territorial Army Salary Structure, Financial Growth and career evolution

The rank pay, entitlement to medals and honours, allowances, and several service benefits to the Territorial Army are provided as applicable in the case of the Regular Army. TA officers are also entitled to TA Decoration after completing 20 years. In fact, if the candidates do well and fulfil the required eligibility conditions, they can be promoted to the military rank of Lieutenant Colonel. Officers commissioned in Infantry TA may be called for the military for a longer duration depending on the requirement.

• Pension - Officers with 20 years and Junior Commissioned Officers (JCO) and other ranks with 15 years are given Pension.
• Increment - Increment is done each time after completing 365 days of physical service.
• Insurance Benefits – The benefits and incentives related to insurance are given to personnel of non-departmental TA units

The pay scale mentioned is according to the 7th Central Pay Commission (CPC):

Tips for preparation for Territorial Army 2020

The written exam is designed to check the candidates’ grasp of knowledge in the following subjects: Reasoning, Elementary Mathematics, General Knowledge and English. Pay attention to the following tips and guidance to score more in the Territorial Army 2020:

Importance of grasp of the syllabus:

Without understanding the syllabus of the exam, you can never score good as you end up preparing in the wrong direction. Do a thorough study of the syllabus provided by the TA recruitment before starting your preparation.

Last years’ question papers is the key:

It is highly important that you go through the detailed analysis of the last year question paper available on the official website of TA. This will enable you in learning the exam pattern and the important topics from where the questions are asked most frequently.

Mock tests:

Practice by solving more and more mock test papers to boost your confidence and overcome the silly mistakes in the practice session only. Know the areas you are lacking in and work towards correcting them before the final exam.

Disciplined Strategic study:

Cracking even the toughest of the exams is not impossible if you are dedicated towards your study. You don’t need to study 24 hours a day to make it happen. What is required is discipline and the need to study and revise daily step by step.

Territorial Army 2020: Top reference Books

Reasoning Ability:

• A Modern Approach to Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning by RS Aggarwal
• Multi-Dimensional Reasoning by Mishra & Kumar Dr. Lal

Elementary Mathematics:

• Fast Track Objective Arithmetic by Verma Rajesh
• Quantitative Aptitude for Competitive Examinations by RS Aggarwal

General Knowledge:

• Lucent’s General Knowledge by Binay Karna and SP Suman
• Arihant’s General Knowledge by Manohar Pandey

English Language:

• Objective General English by SP Bakshi
• Word Power Made Easy by Norman & Lewis

So, if you are planning to appear for the Territorial Army 2020, then prepare with all your heart. There is no other job that will satisfy all your desires of having a challenging, adventurous, social status, prestige and quality of life. And, the pride, status, honour you will feel while wearing the uniform for your fellow countrymen has no other match. Good luck for your journey towards serving the nation!