12 AFPI Mohali cadets commissioned as lieutenants in Indian Army

So far, 162 cadets from the first eight AFPI courses have joined NDA or other service academies. Of these, 83 have earned their commission in the armed forces

Twelve alumni of the Maharaja Ranjit Singh Armed Forces Preparatory Institute (AFPI), Mohali, were commissioned as lieutenants in the Indian Army on Saturday after completing their training at the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun.

Cadets celebrate after their passing out parade at Indian Military Academy in Dehradun on Saturday. (PTI)

The parade was reviewed by Lieutenant General RP Singh, Army Commander of the Western Command. Due to Covid restrictions, parents of the cadets could not attend the parade.

So far, 162 cadets from the first eight AFPI courses have joined NDA or other service academies. Of these, 83 have earned their commission in the armed forces. As many as 68 have joined the Army; eight have gone to the navy and seven to the Air Force. Two more cadets are expected to join the Air Force on June 19, when the passing out parade of the Air Force Academy will be held.

These cadets had joined the Armed Forces Preparatory Institute, Mohali, in 2015 as part of the fifth AFPI course. They joined the National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla, in 2017 as part of the 138th NDA Course. On completion of three years of rigorous training at NDA, they joined the IMA for the final year of service training.

Punjab cadet stands third in order of merit

Academy cadet adjutant Loveneet Singh distinguished himself by winning the bronze medal for standing third in the overall order-of-merit of the passing out course. Loveneet belongs to Jalalabad east. His father Bhupinder Singh is a farmer and mother Parveen Kaur is a housewife. He will be joining the 7th Battalion of the Sikh Light Infantry.

Currently, three courses are undergoing training at AFPI. The ninth course of 39 cadets completed its two years of training recently. The selected cadets of this course will be joining the NDA shortly, once the merit list is released by UPSC. The tenth course of 50 cadets is now in Class 12 and will be appearing for the NDA entrance exam in September. The eleventh course of 42 cadets recently joined AFPI and commenced training last month.

Since March last year, all training has conducted online. The Institute has been able to send as many 28 cadets to NDA and other academies between January 2020 and May 2021.