PSEB SS NCC cheat sheet

The National Cadet Corps is a tri-service organisation under the Ministry of Defence, India, open to school and college students as a voluntary youth movement.

NCC headquarters is at DG NCC, New Delhi; below it are 17 State Directorates, each headed by a Deputy Director General (DDG) of the rank of Major General equivalent.

A Directorate controls Group Headquarters, each commanded by a Group Commander (Colonel equivalent); Groups control independent units and subunits.

A battalion (Army wing) is commanded by an Officer Commanding of Colonel/Lt Col equivalent rank, assisted by Associate NCC Officers (ANOs) and Permanent Instructional (PI) staff.

The three wings are Army, Navy and Air Force; girls are enrolled in all wings, with separate girls' subunits where numbers warrant.

Cadet ranks from junior to senior: Cadet, Lance Corporal, Corporal, Sergeant, Senior Under Officer; appointments include Company/Platoon/Section Commander.

The NCC is funded by the Central Government with shared expenditure on some items by state governments and educational institutions.

Senior Division/Senior Wing (SD/SW) cadets are college-level; Junior Division/Junior Wing (JD/JW) cadets are school-level (Class VIII upwards).

Motto: 'Unity and Discipline' - unity across regions, religions and languages, and discipline as the foundation of cadet training.

Aim (as stated in NCC charter): to develop character, comradeship, discipline, secular outlook, spirit of adventure and the ideals of selfless service among youth.

Secondary aim: to create a human resource of organised, trained and motivated youth to provide leadership in all walks of life and be always available for the service of the nation.

A further stated aim: to provide a suitable environment to motivate youth to take up a career in the Armed Forces.

NCC Day is celebrated on the fourth Sunday of November each year.

NCC Raising Day is the first Sunday of November (or the last Sunday of October in some years), marking the corps' raising in 1948.

The NCC was raised in 1948 under the NCC Act of 1948; the first Director General was Maj Gen Mohan Singh.

Words of command have two parts: the cautionary part (drawn out, preparatory) and the executive part (sharp, on which the movement is executed).

Position of attention: heels together and in line, toes at about 30 degrees, knees straight, body erect, arms hanging with palms facing inwards and thumbs at the seam of the trousers.

Stand at ease: feet remain in the attention position; hands are placed behind the back, right hand over left, fingers straight, elbows slightly bent.

Salute (hand salute without arms): right hand raised with palm to the front, fingers straight and together, tip of the middle finger touching the right eyebrow, elbow in line with the shoulder.

Turnings: 'Right Turn' is executed on the right heel and left toe; 'Left Turn' on the left heel and right toe; 'About Turn' is a 180-degree turn to the right.

Marching paces: quick march at 120 steps per minute with a 30-inch pace; double march at 180 steps per minute with a 30-inch pace.

Saluting on the march is done by turning the head and eyes towards the person saluted while continuing to march, the salute being given with the hand.

Dismiss: on the command, the squad turns to the right, salutes (if under a commander) and breaks off.

Turnout essentials: clean and pressed uniform, polished boots, correct headgear, badges and name plate in place, hair neatly cut and shaved face for male cadets.

Saluting is done with the right hand; a cadet salutes all officers, JCOs and cadets senior in rank, and returns salutes from juniors.

In uniform, a cadet does not smoke, chew, or put hands in pockets, and does not walk with a civilian companion while in uniform without permission.

The NCC flag has three vertical stripes: red (Army), dark blue (Navy) and light blue (Air Force), with the NCC emblem in the centre.

The NCC crest/emblem consists of three intertwined letters 'NCC' within a wreath of lotus and a scroll bearing the motto 'Unity and Discipline'.

Ceremonial parades include the Guard of Honour, Colours presentation, Republic Day Camp (RDC) parade and Prime Minister's Rally at Delhi.

During the National Anthem, cadets stand at attention; during the National Flag hoisting, the salute is given as the flag is unfurled.

Medals and decorations: NCC awards include the NCC Best Cadet, the Raksha Mantri's Commendation Card and the DG NCC Commendation Card.

The .22 Deluxe rifle and the 5.56 mm INSAS rifle are the standard small arms used in NCC training; the .303 rifle is used for ceremonial and some range firing.

Safety rules: treat every weapon as loaded, never point a weapon at anyone, keep the finger off the trigger until ready to fire, and unload before handing over.

The four basic parts of a rifle: barrel, bolt/action, magazine and stock (furniture).

Range commands: 'Load', 'Ready', 'Fire'; a misfire is reported by keeping the weapon pointed downrange and raising the hand.

The 5.56 mm INSAS rifle has a magazine capacity of 30 rounds; the .22 Deluxe has a 5-round magazine.

Firing positions: standing, kneeling, sitting and lying (prone); the prone position with a sling gives the most stable aim.

Aiming: align the foresight centrally in the U of the backsight with the target (correct sight picture), and squeeze the trigger steadily, do not jerk.

Field craft covers camouflage and concealment, observation, judging distance, field signals, and movement by day and night.

Camouflage principles: avoid regular shapes, use natural materials of the area, break the outline of the body and equipment, and keep still when the enemy is near.

Judging distance methods: unit of measure, appearance method, section of ground, halving and bracketing; each has limited accuracy and is checked by more than one method.

Field signals are silent hand signals: e.g. 'enemy seen' (arm extended, fist clenched), 'advance' (arm swung forward), 'halt' (arm raised, palm forward).

A section in attack moves by fire and movement: one group fires to suppress while the other bounds forward, then they reverse roles.

Patrolling: a patrol has a scout group, a commander's party and a support group; a reconnaissance patrol gathers information, a fighting patrol engages the enemy.

Night movement: keep low, move slowly and silently, use the balls of the feet, and halt frequently to listen.

A map is a scaled representation of the ground seen from above; the scale is the ratio of map distance to ground distance.

Scale types: statement (1 cm = 1 km), representative fraction (1:50,000) and graphical (a bar scale).

Grid references: a four-figure reference gives a 1 km square (eastings then northings); a six-figure reference gives a 100 m square.

On a map, north is normally at the top; the three norths are true north, magnetic north and grid north, and the difference is magnetic variation.

Contours join points of equal height; closely spaced contours mean steep ground, widely spaced mean gentle ground.

A prismatic compass is used to take bearings; the bearing is read against the lubber line and corrected for magnetic variation.

Adventure activities in NCC include trekking, rock climbing, rappelling, river rafting, parasailing and mountaineering courses at recognised institutes.

National integration means bringing together people of different regions, religions, languages and cultures into a single national identity.

The NCC promotes integration through mixed camps (e.g. Republic Day Camp, National Integration Camp), where cadets from all states live and train together.

National Integration Camps (NICs) are held at various locations and include cultural programmes, debates, group discussions and visits to places of national importance.

The unity of India in diversity is symbolised by the National Flag, the National Anthem, the National Song and the national emblem (Lion Capital of Ashoka).

Cadets are taught secular values: respect for all religions, equal treatment of all citizens, and rejection of caste, creed and regional prejudice.

Social harmony activities include blood donation, tree plantation, anti-drug campaigns, cleanliness drives and disaster relief assistance.

Social service activities: Swachh Bharat cleanliness drives, tree plantation, blood donation camps, adult literacy, and awareness campaigns on drugs, AIDS and road safety.

Cadets assist the civil administration during disasters (floods, earthquakes, cyclones) in rescue, relief distribution and traffic control.

Cadet welfare includes scholarships, free uniform and training, medical facilities at camps, and insurance cover for cadets during NCC activities.

The NCC provides 'C' certificate holders with reserved seats in some courses and preference in certain government jobs and defence recruitment.

Cadets are eligible for the NCC 'A', 'B' and 'C' certificates after prescribed training and camp attendance; the 'C' certificate is the highest.

Cadet welfare also covers messing and accommodation at camps, travel concessions for authorised NCC movement, and awards such as the Best Cadet trophy.