SSB Interview Syllabus
STAGE I Testing
- Screening include Verbal & Non Verbal Test and PPDT
STAGE II Testing
- Psychology include Thematic Appreciation Test (TAT), Word Association Test (WAT), Situation Reaction Test (SRT), Self Description Test (SD)
- GTO include Group Discussion (GD), GPE or MPE (group/military planning exercise), Progressive group task (PGT), Snake Race/Group Obstacle Race, Individual Lecturette (IO), Half Group Task (HGT), Individual Obstacles, Command task, Final Group Task (FGT)
- Personal Interview
- Conference
We, at zentex Academy, make you well prepared and organized for each and every stage that is there in the SSB selection process. We cover full SSB Syllabus and guide you.
SSB Interview Stage-I Testing
1. SCREENING
Screening is the preliminary stage for filtering out the potential candidates from all the candidates who have applied for the SSB. Although many experts say that no preparation is required for this stage, we don’t believe in such things. We firmly believe that each and every stage is equally important and emphasis must be laid on every stage of the selection process. In screening, the selection is done on the basis of following two tests.
- Verbal and Non-Verbal Test: In this part of the SSB Syllabus selection procedure, the selectors test the OIR (Officer’s intelligence Rate) of the candidate. For this part of the testing, we provide our students with basic written and spoken English lectures, which are compulsory for everyone. The students are provided with handouts of difficult words and sample questions which they can practice and analyse how the process works. We believe in practice and that’s what helps in yielding results as it is a time-based section. So, we encourage each and every student to practice hard and we keep an eye on their performance at each stage.
- PPDT: The PPDT stands for Picture Perception and Discussion Test. In this test, the candidates are made to write, narrate and then discuss a made-up story relative to an image shown to them. This is again a time bound section as the applicant gets 30 seconds to look at a random hazy image, 1 minute to write the outline and 4 minutes to write the story. This is followed by a narration of that story and then discussion over the same. In our academy, we primarily teach our students about the basic guidelines for this section and the syntax which is to be followed while writing. We provide our students with similar images recommended by our proficient staff and let them write the stories. After that, our expert trainers, check the work, analyse the whole story and point out errors. This process is repeated many times with other images such that our students get the exposure to the type of problems and they clear the first stage confidently.
Zentex Academy provides the students with real time experience of the testing stage and ensures that the aspirant knows each and every perspective of the process being conducted in selection. In SSB Syllabus, The next three stages are regarded by zentex Academy as MANASA-VAACHA-KARMANA. These are three Sanskrit words which refer to MIND-SPEECH-ACTION. It is on the basis of these three virtues that the candidates participating in the SSB examination are judged and selected as Officers.
SSB Interview Stage-II Testing
2. PSYCHOLOGY (Mansa)
Once the list of candidates who have cleared Stage I is announced, Stage II begins. This phase involves a series of four psychological tests designed to assess a candidate’s mental and emotional suitability for becoming an officer. Since psychology plays a key role in evaluating a candidate’s personality, this stage is often referred to as the Battery of Projective Tests. This is where the real challenge begins for every aspirant.
At Zentex Academy, we go beyond conventional teaching methods. Rather than just providing theoretical knowledge, we focus on a rational and personalized approach to test preparation.
Every candidate has a unique mindset, and our training methodology is tailored to help each aspirant understand and perform to the best of their abilities. We ensure that students grasp the fundamentals of all four psychological tests before guiding them through a structured and effective preparation process. Our expert mentors work closely with students to enhance their analytical thinking, problem-solving skills, and overall confidence, ensuring they are fully prepared for this crucial stage of the SSB interview.
The Psychology tests, as stated earlier, comprises for four main sections:
- Thematic Appreciation Test (TAT)
- Word Association Test (WAT)
- Situation Reaction Test (SRT)
- Self Description Test (SD)
Thematic Appreciation Test (TAT): This part of the psychological testing involves the activity similar to PPDT from the Stage I of the selection process excluding the narration and discussion. A total of 11 crystal clear pictures are shown to the candidate one by one. Picture stays there for 30 seconds. Then 4 minutes are allotted to each candidate to weave a story out of the picture and this process continues 12 times back to back. The 12th slide is a blank slide where the candidate has to make up any story out of his imagination. This test is basically conducted to explore the subconscious mind of the candidate.
According to our SSB experts, right approach and time management play a key role here. The aspirants are made to write out their imagination on paper and our faculty guides them in this. They point out the loopholes, suggest the faster approaches and keep a tight eye on the performance. We have an abundant collection of the similar type of images that are shown in actual TAT. We assert that there’s a lot of potential in every student. All he needs is a proper orchestration and tuning which is done efficiently at Zentex Defence Academy.
Word Association Test (WAT): In SSB Syllabus this test encompasses the activity that tests the psychology based on spontaneous reaction of the candidate. The candidate is shown a total of 60 words on screen every 15 seconds and candidate has to write a sentence using that specific word. This test is done to get into the character of the candidate as in 15 seconds, he’ll only be able to write what comes to his mind first.
As maintained by our mentors, this part of the test requires profuse practice and the right syntax selection. So, we mend the ways adopted by the students by polishing their thought process and making them understand the basic concept behind this process.
Situation Reaction Test (SRT): In SSB Syllabus this test can be considered as the most important test of SSB as the aspirants may face it even in their interviews. This modus operandi of this test is that a booklet with 60 situations written on it is provided to every aspirant and the candidate has to write the responses to all of them in 30 minutes. This test is conducted to test the common sense, mental stability and typical thought process of the candidate.
At Zentex Defence Academy, every student I provided with innumerable situations from our high end study material and made to understand the strategy that is to be followed while writing their reaction. The students remain under expert guidance.
Self Description Test (SD): In this part, the candidates are required to write opinion about them from their parents, friends, teachers, themselves and things they would like to develop in future within allotted time which will be 15 minutes.
3. SSB GTO (VAACHA):
After the restless exercise of Psychological testing in Stage-II, the candidates are given series of outdoor tasks. The candidates perform these tasks in groups and the fundamental intent of this task is to judge the candidate’s performance as a team player and as an individual. Group Testing Officer (GTO) conducts this stage of selection process. Check full GTO SSB Syllabus.
There are a total of nine tasks on basis of which the candidates are to be selected.
- i. Group Discussion (GD): In this task, the group is provided with SSB Group Discussion topics and the candidates have to get involved in an informal friendly discussion based on the topics provided to them. To get through this vital task, Personality Development Lectures, Verbal Training Sessions and Spoken English Lectures from the experts are provided to the students at Zentex Defence Academy so that they prove to be the toppers in the task. As most of the topics in GD are from current affairs, various articles about National Issuesand Current Affairs are constantly updated on our e-portal. The students are also guided about the dos and don’ts so that proper control may be maintained.
- ii. GPE or MPE (group/military planning exercise): In Group Planning Exercise, each candidate has to write his plan of action for a given problem and a map provided to them. Later, the group members are required to hold a discussion on the problem and come up with a common plan having common consensus. After that, one of the group member from each team has to explain the common plan of action with the help of pointer and a map. To overcome the problems in this task, proper briefing about map problems is given to the students at Zentex Defence Academy and expert guidance is provided at regular intervals during the coaching.
- iii. Progressive group task (PGT): PGT is a task that involves provision of a set of obstacles in a specified area. During this task, team members have to cross each obstacle defined by set of rules. To cross those obstacles, some helping materials are given by the G.T.O. The task has been named Progressive group task as the difficulty of the task increases from one obstacle to another in a progressive manner. Regular guidance and on-field tips are given to students at Zentex Defence Academy so that the students have an edge over the others in the group.
- iv. Snake Race/Group Obstacle Race: In this task, the group members are made to compete with other groups. The candidates are made to hold a snake like rope and then are required to cross certain obstacles in that snake like formation. There are certain rules to be followed in this task as well. It’s basically a race among different groups taking part in SSB. All in all, it’s a fun activity.
- v. Individual Lecturette (IO):In this task, the GTO provides four topics to the candidate out of which to select one topic and give a 3 minute lecture on it. The Spoken English Lectures and Verbal Training provided to the students at our academy plays a significant role in this test and ensure an effective IO.
- vi. Half Group Task (HGT): This task is similar to the PGT. The only difference is that the no. of group members are half the number of group members in PGT. The candidate has a better chance of showing his potential as an individual compared to other group tasks. Like PGT, Regular guidance and on-field tips at Zentex Defence Academy come handy during this test and students have a whip hand over others.
- vii. Individual Obstacles: The Candidate is required to attempt 10 obstacles individually on a specified place. Each obstacle consists of some points from 1 to 10 on the basis of which GTO does the scoring.
- viii. Command task:In this task, the candidate is the commander. He is required to cross some obstacles, designed on field, with the help of 2-3 subordinates. These 2-3 subordinated are to be selected from the candidate’s very own group.
- ix. Final Group Task (FGT): An another last task is provided to the groups of candidates and its another chance for every candidate to mend the mistakes performed in previous sections and perform better.
At Zentex Academy, we believe that sports and co-curricular activities, combined with expert guidance, play a crucial role in shaping a candidate’s personality. Physical activities help develop essential virtues like teamwork, leadership, individual strength, and Officer-Like Qualities (OLQs).
Our structured training approach ensures that candidates not only gain theoretical knowledge but also actively participate in activities that enhance their overall personality. Under the mentorship of experienced professionals, every student is encouraged to engage in dynamic exercises and team-based tasks that sharpen their problem-solving skills and decision-making abilities.
At Zentex Academy, we prepare aspirants holistically, ensuring they become well-rounded individuals capable of excelling in every aspect of the SSB examination.
4. Personal Interview (Karmana):
After a long voyage of the selection process comprising of various tasks and activities, the candidates move on to a stage of paramount significance. The Personal Interview (PI) can be entitled as a purposeful conversation between the candidate and the Interviewing officers for about 50 to 60 minutes. The primary purpose of the whole PI process is to particularly check for Officer like Qualities (OLQs) in the candidate appearing for the SSB examination.
At Zentex Academy, we believe that every aspect is to be taken into consideration while the process of training is underway. With regard to the personal interview part of the SSB, we lay our emphasis on the salient parts:
Dress Code:
Behaviour:
Thought Process:
Capability Analysis:
At Zentex Academy, we are committed to providing comprehensive training for SSB aspirants, ensuring they achieve their dream of becoming officers in the Indian Armed Forces. Our focus is on quality over quantity, which is why we offer limited seats per batch to provide personalized attention to each student.
With a structured approach covering the complete SSB syllabus, we emphasize practical learning, psychological preparation, and leadership development. Our expertise and dedication have earned us a reputation as a top defence coaching institute, producing numerous successful officers.
Join Zentex Academy, follow the right guidance, and turn your dreams into reality.
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