IAF scheme for male pilots under SSC takes off

Bangalore: The Indian Air Force’s recent decision to recruit male pilots under the short service commission (SSC) appears to have paid off.
All vacancies for male flight cadets under the SSC route at the Air Force Academy (AFA), Dundigal (close to Hyderabad) have been fully subscribed. Of the batch of 130 flight cadets undergoing training at the AFA, 20 are hoping to become pilots through the SSC route.
The 75-year-old Air Force, which already accepts female cadets under the SSC as lady officers, including for ground duties and as transport and helicopter pilots, has until now (with a brief exception between 1990-95) only permitted male cadets to join under the ‘permanent commission’ in the flying branch.
Under the ‘Terms of Engagement,’ cadets joining the flying branch through the SSC have to be graduates and will serve for 14 years with no extension. While they can vie to become transport or helicopter pilots it is highly unlikely that they will be considered for the fighter stream.
06/02/08 Ravi Sharma/The Hindu