New Delhi/Guwahati, Apr 17 (IANS): The Indian Army is conducting its first online common entrance examination for Agniveer recruitment across the nation, officials said on Monday.

This marks a major shift in the recruitment procedures of the Indian Army.

Army PRO at Guwahati, Lt. Col. Mahendra Rawat said, "The technological threshold in the nation has improved significantly and with enhanced digital awareness, the youth is now empowered to undertake online exams."

According to an official release, from this year onwards, the recruitment will be carried out in three stages. In stage one, all candidates will undergo the online common entrance examination.

In stage two, the shortlisted candidates will be called for recruitment rallies at locations decided by respective Army Recruitment Office for Physical Fitness Test and Physical Measurement Test.

Finally, the selected candidates will undergo a Medical Test in stage three. Thereafter, the final merit list of the successful candidates will be declared, the official statement added.

The online common entrance exams are being conducted at 375 examination centres at 176 locations all over India from April 17 to 26.

In the northeast, the exams are being conducted at 26 centres across 14 cities - Naharlagun in Arunachal Pradesh, Dibrugarh, Guwahati, Jorhat, Silchar and Tezpur in Assam, Imphal, Ukhrul and Churachandpur in Manipur, Shillong in Meghalaya, Aizawl in Mizoram, Dimapur and Kohima in Nagaland and Agartala in Tripura.