Indian Airforce Agniveer Exam Pattern 2026-27: Marks, Time and Stages

The Indian Airforce Agniveer exam pattern has three phases: an online objective test, a physical and adaptability phase with document checks, and a medical examination. The Phase I paper you sit depends on your group. Science candidates take English, Physics and Mathematics, Other Than Science candidates take English and Reasoning and General Awareness (RAGA), and candidates who opt for both take one combined paper.

This page covers the Agniveervayu Intake 02/2027 pattern: marks, time, negative marking, normalisation and what the numbers mean for your strategy. Question counts and total marks come from the published model paper pattern, so we mark them tentative until you confirm them in the official notification.

Table of Contents

• Pattern at a glance

• Phase I online exam pattern

• Marking scheme and negative marking

• What the pattern means for you

• Normalisation of marks

• Phase II and Phase III

• Worked example

• Time management and exam-day strategy

Pattern at a glance

Enrolment depends on merit, medical fitness and available vacancies. There is no interview round in the notification summaries we checked.

Phase I online exam pattern

The section-wise question counts are tentative because we could not open the official model paper on the recruitment portal. The time limits and the subjects are consistent across the notification summaries we checked.

Language of the paper

For the previous intake, reports said the questions were bilingual in Hindi and English, except the English section. Check the instructions for your own admit card, since the language rule can change between intakes.

Marking scheme and negative marking

• Correct answer: 1 mark.

• Wrong answer: minus 0.25 marks. Marking more than one option is also treated as wrong.

• Unattempted question: no marks and no penalty.

A wrong answer costs a quarter of what a right answer earns. A guess pays off on average only when your chance of being right is better than one in five, so guess only after you have removed at least one or two options.

What the pattern means for you

• Every question is worth the same: A one-line grammar question gives the same mark as a long numerical, so start with the quick ones.

• Time per question is tight: The science paper gives about 51 seconds per question, and the non-science paper about 54 seconds. Practice speed matters as much as accuracy.

• Combined paper is demanding: The 85 minute paper has 100 questions, which is less than a minute each. Opt for both groups only if all four subjects are in good shape.

• Accuracy beats volume: A paper with 60 attempts at high accuracy usually scores better than 70 attempts with many errors.

Normalisation of marks

The Air Force runs the exam in multiple shifts and applies a normalisation scheme based on a Standard Deviation Model. According to the official scheme, shortlisting for Phase II and the final merit list use normalised marks, not raw marks. The process is purely mathematical, so the normalised score can be higher or lower than your raw score. You can read the scheme on the official normalisation scheme of marks document.

Phase II and Phase III

Phase II

Shortlisted candidates report for the Physical Fitness Test, Adaptability Test I and Adaptability Test II, followed by document verification. The reported physical standards include a 1.6 km run in 7 minutes for men and 8 minutes for women, along with push-ups, sit-ups and squats.

Phase III

The medical examination checks fitness to Air Force standards. Medical criteria are published in the notification, and the final decision rests with the medical board.

Worked example

Take the science paper with 70 questions. Suppose a candidate attempts 58 questions, gets 50 right and 8 wrong, and leaves 12 blank.

The raw score is then normalised across shifts, so use it only as a practice benchmark.

Time management and exam-day strategy

1. First pass: Answer English and the quick factual questions in the first 15 to 20 minutes.

2. Second pass: Move to numericals and puzzles, solving the ones you can finish in under a minute.

3. Final minutes: Return to skipped questions and guess only where at least one or two options are clearly wrong.

4. Avoid long stalls: If a question has taken more than a minute and a half, mark it and move on.

For the latest official updates, use the Indian Air Force recruitment portal.