Armed forces preparatory institute to come up in Hoshiarpur

CHANDIGARH: To facilitate more youths from the state to take up defence services as a career, a new armed forces preparatory institute will come up in Punjab’s Hoshiarpur. Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Wednesday virtually laid the foundation stone of Sardar Bahadur Amin Chand Soni Armed Forces Preparatory Institute at Hoshirapur’s Bajwara village, according to a government statement.

The project will be executed at a cost of Rs 27 crore over an area of 12.75 acres and will be completed by the year-end. The institute will impart training to 270 candidates per year. The CM said the institute will be instrumental in realising the dreams of Punjab's young sons and daughters to join the armed forces.

At a time when women pilot officers are flying the Rafale and helicopters and are actively involved in every field of the armed forces, the day will soon come when girls in India will be part of the fighting force like their counterparts in other countries, he said.

The CM thanked Member of Parliament Ambika Soni, the president of Sardar Bahadur Amin Chand Soni Education Trust and Society, for providing land as a gift for employment generation, skill development and training department to establish the institute. Ambika Soni thanked the state government for its help in setting up the institution.

AFPI's role in training

Amarinder Singh lauded the role played by Maharaja Ranjit Singh Armed Forces Preparatory Institute (AFPI) at Mohali in providing defence training to youth, enabling them to secure a permanent commission in the armed forces through the National Defence Academy or equivalent academy. The CM mentioned that of 144 cadets trained at the Mohali academy, 97 joined the NDA and 65 were commissioned as officers from April 1, 2017 to December 31, 2020.

Since its inception, 156 out of 384 cadets trained at the AFPI had joined the NDA and 69 were commissioned as officers, he said, adding that from two per cent initially, the number of trainees going into the armed forces from this institution has gone up to 45 per cent. Amarinder also referred to the performance of Mai Bhago Armed Forces Preparatory Institute for Girls at Mohali, which imparts training to young girls after Class 12 for a career as commissioned officers in the defence services.

The institute has so far trained 75 cadets, of whom seven were selected for the Combined Defence Services Examination (CDSE)/Air Force Central Admission Test (AFCAT) and three were commissioned as officers from April 1, 2017 to December 31, 2020.

The upcoming institute will impart training to the aspirants for induction into armed forces, keeping the entry at a graduate level for CDSE/AFCAT. The institute will run three courses of three months duration with intake capacity of 40 candidates, thus imparting training to 120 candidates in a year.

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