JCO Catering Recruitment 2024: Eligibility, Dates, Exam & Vacancy

Do you want to join the Indian Army after 10+2? If yes, this article will be of help to you. Here, I’ve provided important details about the JCO (Catering) recruitment held by the Indian Army. This article covers topics such as – age limit, eligibility criteria, educational qualifications, test, syllabus, application process, important dates and selection process.

JCO stands for Junior Commissioned Officer. It is not an Officer’s post. JCO is a rank that is below Officer’s rank. Catering JCO takes care of catering services within Indian Army’s training institutes, canteens and messes.

The size of the Indian Army is very large. The Indian Army consists of numerous training institutes, canteens and messes. Our soldiers deserve the best of everything. When it comes to food, no compromise must be made! The main task of Catering JCOs is to operate canteens/messes and feed Indian Army’s personnel.

Each day, a large number of soldiers and trainee candidates approach canteens and messes to eat food. The food provided to them must be of best quality. It should satisfy their nutritional requirements. To feed such a large strength of personnel daily is not an easy task.

A Catering JCO basically has to run a canteen/mess. He must take care of the inventory, cooks/staff, daily menu and day to day operations. To thrive in this post, he must be a well trained in cooking/catering service.

In short, 10+2 passed male candidates (unmarried) are eligible to apply for the post of JCO Catering. Candidates must be trained in catering services/cooking.

Let us check out the eligibility criteria in detail –

Eligibility criteria

Educational qualifications required –

10+2 or equivalent exam and Diploma / Certificate Course of a duration of one year or more in Cookery / Hotel Management and Catering Technical from a recognized University / Food Craft Institute. AICTE recognition is not mandatory.

Age limit –

21 to 27 years.

Physical standards-

Height: Western Himalayan Region (166 cms), Eastern Himalayan Region (160 cms), Western Plains Region (170 cms), Eastern Plains Region (169 cms), Central Region (168 cms), Southern Region (166 cms).

Chest: Western Himalayan Region (77 cms), Eastern Himalayan Region (77 cms), Western Plains Region (77 cms), Eastern Plains Region (77 cms), Central Region (77 cms), Southern Region (77 cms).

Weight: Western Himalayan Region (48 Kg), Eastern Himalayan Region (48 Kg), Western Plains Region (50 Kg), Eastern Plains Region (50 Kg), Central Region (50 Kg), Southern Region (50 Kg).

Medical standards –

• A candidate should have robust physique and good mental health.
• Chest should be well developed having minimum 5 cms expansion.
• Should have normal hearing with each ear and good binocular vision in both eyes. He should be able to read 6/6 in distant vision chart with each eye. Colour vision should be CP – III (able to recognize white, red and green signal colors correctly as shown by Martin’s Lantern at 1.5 mtrs).
• Should have sufficient number of natural healthy gum and teeth i.e. minimum 14 dental points.
• Should not have diseases like deformity of bones, hydrocele and varicocele or piles.
• Soldier General Duty for infantry should have 6/6 eye sight.

Recruitment process

JCO Catering recruitment is carried out through ZRO (Zonal Recruitment Office). Your district falls under a specific ZRO in your state. Your application will be processed by the relevant ZRO.

Here’s a list of ZROs –

• Ambala
• Bangalore
• Chennai
• Danapur
• Jabalpur
• Jaipur
• Jalandhar
• Kolkata
• Lucknow
• Pune
• Shillong
• GRD Kunraghat Gorakhpur
• IRO Delhi Cantt

Under the supervision of ZROs, AROs (Army Recruiting Office) carry out recruitment rallies and CEE (Common Entrance Test).

Here are the steps involved (starting from application to the last stage of the test)-

1. Apply
2. Document verification
3. Physical Fitness Test
4. Medical test
5. CEE (Common Entrance Test)
6. Publication of final merit list

Recruitment rally dates

ZROs conduct recruitment rallies throughout the year. They conduct open rally system to recruit candidates. Dates of such rallies and CEE are usually advertised in local newspapers and on the Join Indian Army website.

Also read:

Soldier Clerk Recruitment

Soldier Tradesman Recruitment

Open Rally Schedule

Readers are advised to keep an eye on the official Join Indian Army website and leading dailies. For example, watch out for JCO catering recruitment for the year 2024 on the website and newspapers.

Exam and syllabus

To become a Catering JCO, one must appear for the following tests –

• Physical Fitness Test
• Medical Test
• CEE (Common Entrance Test)

The PFT (Physical Fitness Test) comprises of –

• 1.6 Km run
• Pull ups
• Balance
• 9 feet ditch

CEE is a written test that tests the candidate’s knowledge in subjects such as – GK, Mathematics and Science. Questions asked in the CEE exam will be of 8th, 9th, 10th and 10+2 standard level.

Final selection

The final selection will be merit based. Based on the marks scored by candidates in Physical Fitness Test, Medical Test and CEE, a merit list will be made. If your name features in the merit list, you will be selected to undergo further training!

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Sreedharan ES

Career counselor at Courses After 10th

Sreedharan is a journalist with over 25 years of work experience. He writes on topics such as - career, job hunting, government jobs in India & current affairs.

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