4 AFSB is the Air Force Selection Board at Varanasi Cantt, Nadesar, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh 221002. If your AFSB call-up letter names Varanasi, you will be tested there for about six days, with boarding and lodging free during testing and a reporting point that your letter states. This guide follows the trip in order, from choosing the date to the last day, using the Indian Air Force’s AFCAT guidelines, its contact page and the current AFCAT notification.
GS India Defence Academy is a private academy in Dehradun and has no connection with the Indian Air Force or any selection board. The advertisement and your call-up letter are binding; this guide is only an aid for reading them.
Where is 4 AFSB and who is called there?
The Air Force has five boards: 1 AFSB at Dehradun, 2 AFSB at Mysuru, 3 AFSB at Gandhinagar, 4 AFSB at Varanasi and 5 AFSB at Guwahati. Candidates who qualify in the written AFCAT choose their own AFSB date and venue on the AFCAT website, which then generates the call-up letter. NCC Special Entry candidates and shortlisted GATE score entry candidates skip the written test and are called directly to an AFSB.
| Detail | As listed on the IAF contact page |
|---|---|
| Board | AFSB Varanasi (4 AFSB) |
| Address | Varanasi Cantt, Nadesar, Varanasi, UP 221002 |
| Telefax | 0542-2501995 |
| Telephone timings for the boards | Monday to Saturday, 7.30 am to 2.30 pm |
| Use the board for | Questions about the AFSB interview, including a change of date, which is allowed only on extreme grounds |
The contact page also lists a mobile number for some boards, but none for Varanasi, and numbers change. Use the contact details printed on your own letter if they differ. Our guide to 1 AFSB Dehradun covers the Dehradun board in the same way.
Your trip to Varanasi, step by step
- Choose the date. After the AFCAT result, log in at afcat.edcil.co.in and select the AFSB date and venue that you can actually reach. The letter is generated from that choice, so check the dates against your travel and your college calendar first.
- Print the call-up letter and your admit card. The guidelines say the two together are your authority to report, and that you hand both over on arrival.
- Fix your journey for the day before. Late comers are not admitted for the tests on any account, and the guidelines say this includes a late-running train. Arriving the evening before is a safeguard, not a luxury. Candidates who come earlier than the date and time on the letter make their own stay arrangements.
- Report at the point named in the letter. An Air Force representative in uniform meets candidates at the reporting point stated there.
- Day 1. Stage I: the Officer Intelligence Rating test and the Picture Perception and Discussion test. Those who clear it have their documents checked against the branch they applied for. Candidates who fail Stage I or do not meet eligibility are sent back on the first day. The psychological test follows in the evening after a rest of two to three hours, and you fill in the personal information form.
- Days 2 to 4. Interview and group tests, in the order the board decides.
- Day 5. Interview, group tests and the board conference. Recommended non-flying candidates complete their documents.
- Day 6. The Computerised Pilot Selection System for recommended flying-branch candidates, documents for recommended flying candidates, and the assessors’ reports.
The guidelines call the schedule normal for six days, depending on contingencies, so do not book a return ticket for day five.
What counts as an attempt at an AFSB?
This is the part of the guidelines that candidates tend to read too late. Three rules matter.
- Routed back after the psychology test. If you leave after the psychological test because of injury, medical unfitness, not meeting the eligibility criteria, indiscipline, personal reasons or any other reason, the attempt counts as complete for that cycle. You will not be given fresh AFSB dates in the same cycle. You must apply afresh for the next AFCAT or NCC Special Entry cycle.
- Second cut-off. The IAF may fix a second cut-off for a particular branch and call additional candidates in order of merit. Such a candidate is valid only for that branch, which must be among the choices filled in at registration, and sits below the first cut-off candidates in the overall merit order.
- CPSS is once in a lifetime. A candidate who failed the Computerised Pilot Selection System or the earlier Pilot Aptitude Battery Test, or a flight cadet suspended from flying training, is not eligible for the flying branch.
In practice this means that a minor problem you could have fixed beforehand, such as a missing document or an injury you ignored, can cost you a full cycle of six months.
Fitness, conduct and what to leave at home
The guidelines advise candidates to be physically fit when they report and to aim for an ability to run one mile (1.6 km) in 10 minutes, with 10 push-ups and 3 chin-ups. Treat that as a floor, not a ceiling. Run on varied ground for a few weeks beforehand and practise pull-ups with a full hang.
Conduct counts as much as fitness. Any act of indiscipline or misconduct leads to cancellation of the candidature, and the decision of the President of the Board is final. Trying to influence a member of the board directly or indirectly also cancels the candidature. If you have a relative on the board, the guidelines tell you to hold back your move and inform the Air Force of the particulars at once.
The board has no facility for safe custody of cash and valuables, and mobile phones, laptops and cameras are not permitted inside the premises. Leave valuables at home and carry little cash.
Stay, fare and contacting the board
Boarding and lodging are free during testing. Parents and guardians who accompany you make their own arrangements, so look for a guest house in Varanasi well before the date if a family member is travelling with you. The AFSB fare is reimbursed to and fro by the shortest route at AC 3-tier or AC chair car rates, or the normal bus fare, for a candidate appearing for the first time, and you must show the hard-copy ticket. If you want to talk through your preparation before you leave, we offer free counselling by phone or WhatsApp on +91 70170 31757.
Requests to change the date go by email only to the AFSB that sent the call, and Air Headquarters alone decides. For anything about the written test or your admit card, the AFCAT Cell helpdesk is the contact listed on the portal.
Sources for this guide
- Indian Air Force AFCAT portal: guidelines for candidates (reporting, boarding and lodging, schedule, attempts, conduct, fare)
- Indian Air Force AFCAT portal: contact page listing the five selection boards
- Indian Air Force AFCAT portal: selection process
- Indian Air Force: AFCAT 02/2026 notification (AFSB stages, NCC Special Entry and GATE score entry)
Frequently asked questions
FAQs
Questions parents ask us.
Can't find yours? Ask on WhatsApp; a counsellor usually replies within working hours.
Ask on WhatsAppWhere is 4 AFSB Varanasi?
The IAF contact page lists AFSB Varanasi at Varanasi Cantt, Nadesar, Varanasi, UP 221002. Your call-up letter names the exact reporting point.
Is stay free at AFSB Varanasi?
Boarding and lodging are free during the period of testing. If you arrive before the date and time on the letter, or bring a parent, you must make your own arrangements.
How many days does the AFSB take?
The guidelines describe a normal period of six days, depending on contingencies, with Stage I on the first day and the Computerised Pilot Selection System on the last day for flying candidates.
Can I choose Varanasi as my AFSB?
Yes, for AFCAT entry. Candidates who qualify in the written test choose the AFSB date and venue on the AFCAT website, subject to what is available.
What if I am sent back after the psychology test?
The attempt counts as complete for that cycle, and you would have to apply again in the next AFCAT or NCC Special Entry cycle. Fresh dates are not given in the same cycle.
What phone number does AFSB Varanasi have?
The IAF contact page lists a telefax of 0542-2501995 and telephone timings of Monday to Saturday, 7.30 am to 2.30 pm. Confirm it on the page or your letter before calling.
Preparing for the group tasks, the lecturette and the interview? Our classroom SSB training in Dehradun practises all three, with separate hostels and a mess for boys and girls. Call +91 70170 31757 or message us on WhatsApp for current batches.
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