The Maharaja Ranjit Singh Armed Forces Preparatory Institute, also known as the Maharaja Ranjit Singh AFPI or the MRSAFPI, is an institute that trains young boys from

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

for permanent commission through the

National Defence Academy The National Defence Academy (NDA) is the joint defence service training institute of the Indian Armed Forces. Here, cadets of the Indian Army, Indian Navy, and Indian Air Force train together before they go on to their respective service a ...

into the

armed forces A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a ...

. The institute began training in April 2011, and was established in Sector 77

Mohali Mohali, officially Sahibzada Ajit Singh Nagar or Ajitgarh, is a planned city in the Mohali district in Punjab, India, Punjab, India, which is an administrative and a commercial hub lying south-west of Chandigarh. It is the headquarters of the M ...

by the

Government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

Punjab, India Punjab () is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. Forming part of the larger Punjab, Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, the state is bordered by the States and union territories of India, Indian states ...

. The institute is designed to train 96 boys at any one time. The training period is two years. There are two batches of 48

cadet A cadet is a student or trainee within various organisations, primarily in military contexts where individuals undergo training to become commissioned officers. However, several civilian organisations, including civil aviation groups, maritime ...

s at a time trained at the institute.It is infamously known for its ragging culture.

History

The institute began training in April 2011 with an intake capacity of 40 students. The institute was originally created in 2011 on the orders of

Parkash Singh Badal Parkash Singh Badal (8 December 1927 – 25 April 2023) was an Indian politician and Sikh rights advocate who served as the 8th Chief Minister of Punjab from 1970 to 1971, from 1977 to 1980, from 1997 to 2002, and from 2007 to 2017, the longes ...

, who was disturbed by the ever-reducing number of Punjab youth inducted into training institutions and commissioned as officers. (In the past, cadets from Punjab had made up a significant part of the academy strength, but this eventually diminished to about six or eight boys per course.) Inspired by the success of the institute, the Punjab Government created th
Mai Bhago Armed Forces Preparatory Institute
named after

Mai Bhago Mai Bhago also known as Mata Bhag Kaur, was a Sikh woman who led Sikh soldiers against the Mughals in 1705. She was an exceptionally skilled warrior on the battlefield and is revered as a warrior saint in Sikhism. She was known for rallying t ...

, in July 2015 to prepare girls to become commissioned officers. In June 2017, the first six cadets of the institute, from the first batch which had trained from 2011 to 2013, were commissioned as officers from the

Indian Military Academy The Indian Military Academy (IMA) is one of the oldest military academies in India, and trains officers for the Indian Army. Located in Dehradun, Uttarakhand, it was established in 1932 following a recommendation by a military committee set up ...

. In June 2019, institute alumni were recognized in the batch of officers who were then commissioned into the

Indian Air Force The Indian Air Force (IAF) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the air force, air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial warfare during armed conflicts. It was officially established on 8 Octob ...

. In December 2019,

Amarinder Singh Amarinder Singh (born 11 March 1942) is an Indian politician, military historian, former royal and Indian Army veteran who served as the 15th Chief Minister of Punjab. His father, Yadavindra Singh, was the last Maharaja of the princely st ...

announced that the State Government would bear the cost of educating poor students at the AFPI, who would only need to pay their own school fee. In 2019, 25 former cadets of the institute joined the

National Defence Academy (India) The National Defence Academy (NDA) is the joint Military, defence service training institute of the Indian Armed Forces. Here, cadets of the Indian Army, Indian Navy, and Indian Air Force train together before they go on to their respective s ...

or the

; they also received "Achiever Awards" in a ceremony on 18 December 2019. In March 2021, five cadets from the institute, who underwent training from 2018 to 2020 as part of the 8th AFPI course, were selected to join the National Defence Academy. As of then, 14 cadets of the 8th AFPI course had already joined the

NDA NDA may stand for: Military * National Defence Academy (disambiguation) * National Defence Act, legislation for organizing and funding Canada's military * Naval Defence Act (disambiguation) * Niger Delta Avengers, a militant group in Nigeria's ...

the previous year, and 202 cadets from the AFPI had joined same service academy till Feb 2023.

Entrance procedure

The admissions process begins when the institute publishes

advertisements Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to present a product or service in terms of utility, advantages, and qualities of interest to consumers. It is typically us ...

inviting applications in

newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as poli ...

s in November. Applications are sent online by the first week of January. Entrance tests are held in January, and candidates who do well are called for interviews in January and February; following this is a medical examination. Finally, all selected candidates are required to attend the institute in April. The institute conducts an entrance test in January every year. It includes grade 10

Math Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...

and English as

syllabus A syllabus (; : syllabuses or syllabi) or specification is a document that communicates information about an Academy, academic course or class and defines expectations and responsibilities. It is generally an overview or summary of the curriculum. ...

. A merit list is prepared on the performance of written test and 150 names are short listed for the

interview An interview is a structured conversation where one participant asks questions, and the other provides answers.Merriam Webster DictionaryInterview Dictionary definition, Retrieved February 16, 2016 In common parlance, the word "interview" re ...

. After the test, a 1-day interview is conducted. The basic aim of the interview is to choose the best out of the good. There is no study required for the interview. In the interview general ability and mental level of the

candidate A candidate, or nominee, is a prospective recipient of an award or honor, or a person seeking or being considered for some kind of position. For example, one can be a candidate for membership in a group (sociology), group or election to an offic ...

is tested. The candidates who are selected in the interview have to go for their medical conducted by the institute. Basic aim of medical is to check for internal

disabilities Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be cognitive, developmental, intellectual, mental, physica ...

if any. After the medical a final merit list is prepared showing the names of 48 selected

cadets A cadet is a student or trainee within various organisations, primarily in military contexts where individuals undergo training to become commissioned officers. However, several civilian organisations, including civil aviation groups, maritime o ...

Squadron

After the admission to the institute, a cadet is given his squadron and number.

Training

The four major aspects of training at AFPI are: # Academics - all cadets study Plus 1 and Plus 2 in the non medical stream (

Physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...

Chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...

, Math, English and

Physical Education Physical education is an academic subject taught in schools worldwide, encompassing Primary education, primary, Secondary education, secondary, and sometimes tertiary education. It is often referred to as Phys. Ed. or PE, and in the United Stat ...

Computer Science Computer science is the study of computation, information, and automation. Computer science spans Theoretical computer science, theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, and information theory) to Applied science, ...

). For this purpose AFPI has a contractual arrangement with Shemrocks a local school in Mohali. # Physical Fitness-Cadets do PT equivalent to 1st Term

standards (Basic Tests); 2nd Term standards (Higher tests); and 3rd Term standards (Excellence Tests). Drill is also taught at AFPI. All important games are played to include

Hockey ''Hockey'' is a family of List of stick sports, stick sports where two opposing teams use hockey sticks to propel a ball or disk into a goal. There are many types of hockey, and the individual sports vary in rules, numbers of players, apparel, ...

Football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

Basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

Volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

, Cross Country,

Boxing Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as boxing glove, protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing Punch (combat), punch ...

Lawn Tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

Squash Squash most often refers to: * Squash (sport), the high-speed racquet sport also known as squash racquets * Squash (plant), the fruit of vines of the genus ''Cucurbita'' Squash may also refer to: Sports * Squash (professional wrestling), an extr ...

Golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...

and

Swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, such as saltwater or freshwater environments, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Swimmers achieve locomotion by coordinating limb and body movements to achieve hydrody ...

Shooting Shooting is the act or process of discharging a projectile from a ranged weapon (such as a gun, bow, crossbow, slingshot, or blowpipe). Even the acts of launching flame, artillery, darts, harpoons, grenades, rockets, and guided missile ...

is also taught at an indoor shooting range. Equitation training is likely to be introduced shortly. # Personality Development and OLQ-Leadership, Soft skills, Communication skills, art of study, Know the armed forces, War movies, Debates, Group discussions, presentations, visit to military units. # Preparation for the NDA entrance test and SSB interviews.

Finances

All training and administrative expenses are borne by the State Government of Punjab. The cadet only has to pay school fees for the school in which he is doing his academics.

Results

In March 2013, the first course passed out. Seven cadets have joined NDA /NAVAC. 5th course has completed training. Till now 149 cadets have joined NDA / NAVAC and more than 248 cadets have joined different defence Academies. It produced an average of 25 cadets each year. The director AFPI believes that the institution will be feeding more young boys from Punjab and help Punjab to become golden sword of India.

Governance and faculty

The Chief Minister of Punjab is the chairman of the institute's governing body. The director of the institute is major general Baljit Singh Grewal, and the Psychologist of the institute is Gp Capt Arun Kumar Srivastva. The institute's administrative staff are: * Warden: Nb Sub Balwinder Singh * Accountant: Sub Maj Balkar Singh * Head clerk: Hav Dharmpal Singh *Library clerk: Mr. Amandeep Singh *Drill Instructor: Sub Swaran Singh *PTI: Hony Capt Rajinder Singh *PTI: Hav Gurmail Singh *Driver: Hav Kuldip Singh *Driver: Hav Parmjeet Singh

References

{{Reflist Education in Mohali 2011 establishments in Punjab, India Educational institutions established in 2011