Overview
- The Indian Air Force announced Tuesday that it will accept valid GATE scores as a separate route to directly shortlist candidates to AFSBs for induction into the Technical Branch.
- Candidates using the GATE route are exempt from the AFCAT preliminary written examination but will still face the same AFSB interviews and downstream selection steps as other applicants.
- The GATE scheme applies only to the Technical Branch while AFCAT remains the standard entry exam for all branches, and eligible aspirants may apply through either route depending on their qualifications.
- Educational eligibility and the list of accepted GATE disciplines are unchanged from AFCAT rules and are detailed in AFCAT Notification 02/2026 on the official IAF recruitment portals.
- The move aims to widen opportunities for engineering graduates and could change the mix of applicants for technical posts by prioritizing GATE merit scores in initial shortlisting.