NDA Exam SSB Interview Procedure: The NDA Exam SSB Interview is one of the most important and challenging stages in the selection process for candidates aiming to join the Indian Army, Navy, or Air Force as officers. Conducted over five days, this rigorous assessment goes far beyond testing academic knowledge — it focuses on evaluating the overall personality, mental sharpness, and leadership potential of the candidates. The SSB Interview is designed to identify Officer-Like Qualities (OLQs), which include qualities such as effective communication, responsibility, teamwork, problem-solving ability, and emotional resilience.
The five-day procedure includes multiple rounds, such as screening tests, psychological assessments, group discussions, outdoor group tasks, personal interviews, and the conference round. Each stage plays a key role in assessing different aspects of the candidate’s personality and performance under pressure. The process is not just about individual performance but also about how candidates interact with others in a team setting, make decisions, and display confidence and integrity. Successfully clearing the SSB Interview opens the door for candidates to undergo training at the prestigious National Defence Academy, ultimately shaping them into future leaders of the Indian Armed Forces.
What is SSB Interview?
The Service Selection Board(SSB) Interview is a 5-day interview procedure where candidates are tested on various parameters. The main purpose of the five day interview is to check whether the candidates have Officer Like Qualities to become an Officer in the Indian Armed Forces or not. The candidate recommended by SSB goes for a medical examination. Candidate's recommendation entirely depends on how well they performed in the assigned tasks during the five days of the selection procedure. The selection is based on the concept of Manasa, Vacha, and Karmana.
- Manasa(Mind): Psychological tests
- Vacha(Speech): Personal Interview, Group Discussion, and Lecturette
- Karmana(Action): Group Task
SSB Interview Procedure: What are Officer Like Qualities(OLQs)?
As we mentioned earlier, the main purpose of this five-day interview is just to check the Officer Like Qualities of the candidates, and these OLQs are essential for becoming an officer in the Indian Armed Forces. For your reference, we have outlined all 15 OLQs below.
- Effective Intelligence
- Reasoning Ability
- Power of Expression
- Organizing Ability
- Social Adaptability
- Sense of Responsibility
- Co-operation
- Self Confidence
- Initiative
- Ability to Influence the Group
- Speed of making Decisions
- Determination
- Liveliness
- Courage
- Stamina
If you want to join the armed forces as an officer, then start developing these qualities early to shape and enhance your overall personality.
SSB Interview Complete 5 Days Procedure
Stage 1 of SSB Interview
The first stage is a screening test, which consists of two tests- one is the Officer Intelligence Rating Test (OIR) and the second is the Picture Perception and Discussion Test (PP & DT)
- Officer Intelligence Rating Test(OIR)
The Officer Intelligence Rating Test (OIR) is a test to check the reasoning and aptitude abilities of a candidate. This comprises two sets of question booklets on verbal and non-verbal reasoning. Each booklet has 40-50 questions, and the time allotted for each booklet is 15- 20 minutes. The number of questions and allotted time can vary from centre to centre so listen to the instructions carefully.
- Picture Perception and Discussion Test(PP & DT)
The Picture Perception and Discussion Test (PP & DT) is a crucial part of the SSB interview process and consists of two parts: Picture Perception(PP) and Discussion Test(DT). Candidates are shown a picture for a brief moment and asked to write a story based on their observation and imagination. This is followed by a group discussion where candidates share and refine their stories, showcasing their observation skills, clarity of thought, and ability to work in a team.
- Picture Perception (PP)
In this part, a picture is shown on the screen for 30 seconds, then 30 seconds time is given to the candidates to write their observations like the number of characters, their gender, mood, and what they were doing, and in the next 4 minutes, the candidates are required to write a story around that picture. The story must have a proper beginning, middle, and end.
- Discussion Test
In the discussion part, the candidates are divided into small groups of 12-15 members. Each candidate is called one by one to narrate their story in front of a group of candidates and assessors. Each candidate gets 1-2 minutes to narrate their story. After the narration part is over, a group discussion begins, and a total of 10-15 minutes is provided to share opinions and form a common story of the group, which will be narrated by any group member.
Result of Screening
After the PPDT, the results of the screening test will be announced, and the shortlisted candidates will move on to stage 2. Selected candidates go for their document verification and fill up the Personal Information Questionnaire (PIQ) for stage 2.
Stage 2 of SSB Interview
The candidates who have cleared the Stage 1 screening move on to Stage 2 of the SSB Interview. Stage 2 includes several tests and activities that check the candidate’s personality, thinking ability, and whether they are fit to become an officer in the Indian Armed Forces. Here’s a simple explanation of what happens in Stage 2:
SSB Interview Psychological Test
Psychological tests are an important part of the interview process. These tests aim to check the candidate's personality, including leadership quality, decision-making abilities, and emotional stability etc. Psychological tests include the following tests:
- Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)
In this round, candidates are shown 12 pictures(including 1 blank slide), each picture will come just for 30 seconds and then disappear, after that, the candidates get 4 minutes to write the story based on that picture.
- Word Association Tests (WAT)
In this test, 60 words are shown on the screen for 15 seconds each. The candidate needs to write a sentence that comes to mind after seeing that word.
- Situation Reaction Test (SRT)
A booklet with 60 situations written in it is given to the candidate, they need to write their responses to these situations in 30 minutes.
- Self-Description Test (SD)
In this test, the candidates need to write about the opinions of their parents, teachers, friends, colleagues, etc., about themselves. What do they think about themselves, their strengths and weaknesses? What they want to improve about themself. The time allotted for this task will be 15 minutes.
SSB Interview Group Test
The Group Test in the SSB Interview is designed to assess a candidate’s teamwork, communication skills, leadership abilities, and problem-solving approach in a group setting. During these tasks, candidates are placed in small groups and given challenges such as Group Discussions, Group Planning Exercises, and outdoor tasks like Group Obstacle Races and Progressive Group Tasks. The focus is not just on individual performance but on how effectively a candidate cooperates with others, contributes ideas, and helps the team achieve common goals. This stage plays a crucial role in evaluating a candidate’s officer-like qualities in a practical and dynamic environment.
- Group Discussion(GD)
In this test, candidates are asked to discuss two back-to-back topics, and the time given for each discussion is 15-20 minutes.
- Group Planning Exercise(GPE)
The GTO explains a situation where there are various problems using a map of the place. The candidates have to write a solution to the given problem, then they need to come to a common solution to the problem. Which will be narrated by one of the group members.
- Progressive Group Task (PGT)
PGT is one of the most exciting tasks in the GTO series. The candidates have to cross certain obstacles with some weight, like a wooden plank, rope, etc, under certain rules and regulations.
- Half Group Task (HGT)
This task is the same as PGT, but the size of the group is half.
- Group Obstacle Race(GOR)
This is also known as the snake race. The group members are required to cross certain obstacles with the snake-like rope under certain rules explained by the GTO.
- Lecturette
In this task, the candidates are given 4 topics; the candidates need to select one topic of their choice and have to speak on that topic for 3 minutes.
- Individual Obstacle Task (IOT)
Each candidate needs to cross 10 obstacles individually, each obstacle has some points which are written over it. The time allotted for this task is 3 minutes.
- Command Task
In this task, the candidate is made the commander and he needs to cross some obstacles with the help of 2-3 subordinates of his own choice.
- Final Group Task
This task is again a similar task to PGT, as the name suggests, this is the final chance for the candidates to show their ability to perform as a team.
Personal Interview of SSB
The Personal Interview(PI) is one of the most important parts of the SSB Interview. This can be conducted on any day between the second to the fourth day. In this round, the Interviewing Officer (IO) asks various questions based on the candidate’s family, academics, hobbies and interests, participation in sports and extracurricular activities, responsibilities, general knowledge, etc. The interview usually lasts for 30-40 minutes.
SSB Interview Conference
In the conference, each candidate has to face all the SSB board members. The board members ask a few questions about the stay of candidate, his performance in tests, etc. The candidates who are on the borderline can be asked certain situation-based questions, and then the final decision is made. The conference hardly lasts 2-3 minutes.
Computerised Pilot Selection System (CPSS)
Computerised Pilot Selection System (CPSS) is also known as Pilot Aptitude Battery Test(PABT). This test is conducted for candidates who want to join the Indian Air Force as a flying officer. This test consists of three tests.
- Instrument Battery Test (INSB) (Paper-pencil test)
- Sensory Motor Apparatus Test (SMA) (machine test)
- Control Velocity Test (CVT) (machine test)
The candidate can give this test only once in their lifetime. If he fails, he can not apply again for a flying branch.
After the conference, the results are announced, and the recommended candidates stay for medical tests, while others have to go home.
So this is the complete five-day interview procedure. We hope this article gives you some useful insights into the SSB interview and helps you to understand the procedure.
List of SSB Centres in India
There are a total of 14 SSB centres in India. The list of all SSB centres is given below:
Indian Army SSB Centres
- Selection Center East Allahabad (Prayagraj): Uttar Pradesh
- Selection Centre Central Bhopal: Madhya Pradesh
- Selection Centre South Bangalore: Karnataka
- Selection Centre North Kapurthala: Punjab
Air Force Selection Boards
- 1AFSB Dehradun: Uttarakhand
- 2AFSB Mysore: Karnataka
- 3AFSB Gandhi Nagar: Gujarat
- 4 AFSB Varanasi: Uttar Pradesh
- 5AFSB Guwahati: Assam
Navy Selection Board (NSB) Centres
- NSB Coimbatore: Tamil Nadu
- 12 SSB at SCS Bangalore: Karnataka
- 33 SSB at SCC Bhopal: Madhya Pradesh
- SSB Kolkata
- NSB Vizag/Visakhapatnam