Explained: What is the SSB Interview Process?

The armed forces offer a dynamic career to its personnel and all-round support to their dependents. The zeal to live a service-oriented adventurous life drives many towards them. In doing so, the first step is the SSB interview. If you are a complete fresher aspiring to join the armed forces, this blog is for you.

What is the SSB Interview?

SSB stands for Services Selection Board. This is a mandatory interview procedure that everyone aspiring to join the Indian Army, Navy, Air Force or Coast Guard as an officer must clear. The SSB interview is a five-day process that involves multiple tests to assess 15 Officer Like Qualities (OLQs) in male and female candidates. Following is the schedule of the SSB interview:

*The personal interview may happen on any of the three days.

Where is the SSB Interview Conducted?

Unlike most other interviews, the SSB interview happens at specific centres of the respective service. These are the selection centres. Here are the selection centres and their boards for each service:

I. Indian Army

• Selection Centre North Jalandhar: 31 and 32 SSB
• Selection Centre East Prayagraj: 11, 14, 18, 19, and 34 SSB
• Selection Centre Central Bhopal: 20, 21, and 22 SSB
• Selection Centre South Bangalore: 17 and 24 SSB

II. Indian Air Force

• 1 AFSB Dehradun
• 2 AFSB Mysuru
• 3 AFSB Gandhinagar
• 4 AFSB Varanasi
• 5 AFSB Guwahati

III. Indian Navy

• NSB Vishakhapatnam
• NSB Kolkata
• NSB Coimbatore
• 12 NSB Bangalore
• 33 SSB Bhopal

IV. Indian Coast Guard

• PSB happens at different locations such as Noida, Goa, Chennai, Kolkata, and Gandhinagar
• FSB happens at CGSB Noida

Complete Process of the SSB Interview

Now that we are clear with the basics, let us delve into the SSB interview process. After shortlisting, candidates report to their respective centres for the screening day.

Day 1: Screening

All candidates report at about 0600 hours for the screening day of the SSB interview. Here, they undergo preliminary documentation, followed by breakfast at the centre. Once done, all candidates sit for the screening test, comprising two parts:

• Officers Intelligence Rating (OIR) Test: It has two sets of verbal and non-verbal reasoning questions with each set having a time limit. There is no negative marking here.
• Picture Perception and Discussion Test (PPDT): A hazy picture flashes for 30 seconds, and candidates get 5 minutes to note relevant details and write a story on it. An individual narration and a group discussion follow it to arrive at a consensus.

All successful candidates stay at the centre for the next four days, while others return home.

Day 2: Psychology Testing

A basic psychological assessment of your personality and thought process happens during the SSB interview. At AFSBs, the psychology testing occurs on day one.

• Thematic Apperception Test (TAT): You are shown 11 pictures and a blank slide (12 slides in total for 30 seconds each) on a screen, and you get 4 minutes to write a story on each. The twelfth story can be written on an imaginary picture.
• Word Association Test (WAT): A total of 60 words flash on the screen (15 seconds each), and you must make a sentence on each word.
• Situation Reaction Test (SRT): You get a booklet having 60 daily-life situations, and you have to respond to them within 30 minutes.
• Self Description Test (SDT): This is a 15-minute-long test, in which you must write four paragraphs about the opinion of your parents, teachers, friends, and yourself. The fifth paragraph is about your vision for yourself.

Day 3: GTO Day 1

On the third day pf the SSB interview, candidates start the group tasks, which are nine in total. The GTO assesses how you function in a team through the following tasks:

• Group Discussion: The GTO announces a topic with three leads and you have to discuss your views on it. Next is another GD on a social topic. Each GD lasts 20 minutes.
• Group Planning Exercise (GPE): You are shown a large map with a story, where you’ll encounter 4-5 problems simultaneously. The GTO gives 10 minutes to write an individual narration, followed by a GD to come to a common plan.
• Progressive Group Task (PGT): In this task, you have to cross different stages by using the grounded structures and helping material (a plank, a log of wood and a rope). It happens in four stages, with progressive difficulty levels.
• Group Obstacle Race: GOR is also also known as the snake race, and candidates compete with other teams over an obstacle course, carrying an imaginary snake.
• Half Group Task or HGT: This is the same as PGT, but the group is halved for better assessment of all.
• Lecturette: Here, each candidate gets four topics to choose from. Once chosen, they can prepare a lecture on it for three minutes, and get another three minutes to deliver what they have prepared.

Day 4: GTO Day 2

The fourth day of the SSB interview is for the balance three GTO tasks:

• Individual Obstacles: This task tests your courage in attempting 10 obstacles of varying difficulty within three and a half minutes. Completing all the ten obstacles gets you 55 points, and you can repeat them once you’ve finished all ten.
• Command Task: This is the same as PGT/HGT. The only difference is that here, you’re the commander leading two subordinates. You get 15 minutes to complete it.
• Final Group Task: FGT marks the culmination of GTO tasks. It is similar to PGT but, here you only have one level to complete.

Personal SSB Interview

This is the one-on-one interaction between a candidate and an Interviewing Officer (IO) during the SSB interview. It can happen on any of the three days after screening, and goes on for about 40 to 45 minutes. The IO seeks to understand your life decisions, and motivations to determine your suitability to become an officer in the armed forces.

Day 5: Conference

The conference day is the final day of an SSB interview batch when the entire board assembles to discuss each candidate. If you possess the 15 OLQs, you are recommended, and for others, it is restart time. You can read more about the conference here.

With this, the SSB interview process comes to an end. All successful candidates undergo documentation and medicals, and wait for the final merit to become young officers in the Indian Armed Forces.