Punjab reclaims lost ground, Mohali cadet tops NDA list

CHANDIGARH: Moving towards reclaiming the tag of Punjab being the "sword arm of the nation", the state government's Maharaja Ranjit Singh Armed Forces Preparatory Institute (AFPI) at Mohali is not only emerging as the largest feeder institution for

National Defence Academy

but has also started producing toppers in the prestigious examination.

Cadet Shashank Sharma of AFPI Mohali has topped the All India Merit list for the National Defence Academy released on Wednesday by UPSC. Another cadet of the same institute, Cadet Armaandeep Singh has secured the eighth position.

Of the 25 cadets selected from the institute this time, 12 figure in the top-100 list. While Shashank is from Ropar, Armaandeep comes form Muktsar district.

Around 5 lakh students had appeared for the NDA entrance examination held in September last year. Those who cleared the exam were called for interviews by the Services Selection Boards and the final merit list was prepared taking into account the performance of candidates in the entrance exam and the interview. Only one in 1500 candidates makes the cut.

It is for the second time that a cadet from the AFPI, which was started in 2011 in views of the abysmal dip in number of Punjabi youths joining the NDA, has topped the entrance examination. In January 2015, Cadet

Gurvansh Singh Gosal

had achieved the first rank in the all-India merit list for the 133 NDA Course.

The institution, also known as 'Mini NDA' of Punjab has so far sent 63 cadets to various military academies and another 25 are expected to join in July.


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