NEET, CUET, ITI, PSC… Here is what each short form on our roadmaps means, in plain words. On any roadmap, tap an underlined word to see this too.
Exam for graduates to become officers in the Indian Air Force.
Exam a law graduate must pass to work as a lawyer in court.
Central body that approves engineering, management and other technical colleges and courses.
Top government medical colleges and hospitals; admission is through the national medical entrance test.
Entrance test for law courses at National Law University, Delhi.
Entrance test for admission to Sainik Schools in Class 6 and Class 9.
A shorter nursing course after Class 12, to work as a health worker in villages and health centres.
India's traditional systems of medicine, each with its own doctor's degree.
Degree to become an architect, who designs buildings.
College degree in commerce: accounts, business, tax and economics.
College degree in design, such as fashion, products, communication or interiors.
Teacher-training degree after graduation, needed to teach middle and higher school classes.
Degree about medicines, how they are made, tested and sold; leads to pharmacist jobs.
College degree in science subjects like physics, chemistry, biology or maths; also nursing and agriculture.
The main engineering degree after Class 12, usually through an engineering entrance test.
College degree in arts subjects like history, Hindi, political science or economics.
Degree to become an Ayurveda doctor; admission is through the national medical entrance test.
College degree in running a business: management, marketing, accounts and people.
College degree in computers and programming, a common choice after Class 12.
Degree to become a dentist; admission is through the national medical entrance test.
Degree to become a homoeopathy doctor; admission is through the national medical entrance test.
College degree in journalism and media: news, television, radio and advertising.
Government label for very poor families; it brings extra help and benefits.
Armed police force that guards India's land borders.
Degree to become a vet, a doctor for animals.
Professional who handles accounts, audit and tax; you can start the course after Class 12.
Central police forces like the Border Security Force and Central Reserve Police Force.
National school board that holds Class 10 and Class 12 board exams for many schools.
An exam you take on a computer at a test centre, not on paper.
Exam for graduates to become officers in the Army, Navy or Air Force.
A shared entrance test, often run by a state, for college admission or for shortlisting job applicants.
Staff Selection Commission exam for graduates, for central government office and inspector jobs.
Staff Selection Commission exam after Class 12, for clerk and data entry jobs.
Armed police force that guards airports, metro stations and big government plants.
Entrance test after Class 12 for law degrees at most National Law Universities.
Professional who works on costs, budgets and business accounts; the course can start after Class 12.
Staff Selection Commission exam for graduates to become Sub-Inspector in Delhi Police and central police forces.
India's largest armed police force; it helps states keep law and order.
Professional who makes sure a company follows the law; the course can start after Class 12.
Aptitude paper in the first stage of civil services exams; you only need to pass it.
Government group of science labs; its national test leads to research fellowships.
National test that makes you eligible to teach in central government schools.
One entrance test after Class 12 for admission to central universities and many other colleges.
Teacher-training course after Class 12, to teach primary classes.
Pharmacy diploma after Class 12 that lets you work as a registered pharmacist.
Free government skill training with job placement for rural young people from poor families.
Government office that approves merchant navy institutes and certifies seafarers.
Government office that controls flying in India and issues pilot licences.
Free government app and website with textbooks, lessons and videos for school students.
A senior police officer post, often filled through state civil service exams.
Reservation category for low-income families who are not in the other reserved categories.
Test that doctors who studied medicine abroad must pass to work in India.
Exam after an engineering or science degree, for master's admission and many government company jobs.
The ordinary soldier or constable post, as in the army or the constable exam.
Job in a village post office, given on Class 10 marks without a written exam.
Nursing diploma after Class 12, to work as a staff nurse.
Top civil service; its officers run districts as collectors and lead government departments.
Body that holds exams for clerk and officer jobs in government banks.
Official body that runs the chartered accountant course and exams.
Central body for farm research and agricultural universities; it runs farm-science admissions.
Government open university where you can study for a degree from home.
Government hotel management colleges; admission is through a national hotel management entrance test.
Institutes focused on computers and information technology, many run with government support.
India's top science research institute, in Bengaluru; it also offers a science degree after Class 12.
Science institutes offering a combined bachelor's and master's in science after Class 12.
India's top engineering institutes; admission is through the advanced joint entrance exam.
Official body that sets rules for nursing courses and approves nursing colleges.
Government science programme with scholarships and awards for science students.
Top police service; its officers lead the police in districts and states.
Armed police force that guards India's mountain border with China.
One course after Class 12 that gives a college degree and teacher training together.
Institutes that teach hands-on trades like electrician, fitter or welder, mostly after Class 10.
Test after a science degree for admission to a master's in science at top institutes.
Government engineering job for diploma or degree holders, for example in the railways.
National engineering entrance test after Class 12; Main for most colleges, Advanced for the top institutes.
Common counselling that gives seats in top government engineering institutes by entrance test rank.
A monthly stipend for doing doctoral research, won through national tests.
Free government residential schools for girls from poor and disadvantaged families.
Body that runs Kendriya Vidyalayas (central government schools) and hires their teachers.
Law degree needed to become a lawyer; taken after Class 12 or after graduation.
Master's degree in a science subject, after a science bachelor's degree.
Master's degree in business management, after graduation.
The basic degree to become a doctor; admission is through the national medical entrance test.
Central committee that gives seats in many medical colleges by entrance test rank.
Specialist degree after the basic doctor's degree, in fields like medicine, children's care or radiology.
Specialist surgery degree after the basic doctor's degree; in science it can also mean Master of Science.
Staff Selection Commission job after Class 10, for office helper work.
Government scheme for small business loans given through banks.
Government scheme for paid apprenticeships, where you learn a trade on the job with a stipend.
Drawing and aptitude test for admission to architecture degrees.
Military-style training for school and college students; it helps in some defence entries.
Central body that makes school textbooks and guides the school syllabus.
Central council for government hotel management colleges; it runs their joint entrance exam.
Free government website for jobs and career counselling.
Official body that approves teacher-training courses and colleges.
Exam after Class 12 to train as an officer in the Army, Navy or Air Force.
National entrance test after Class 12 for doctor, dentist and other medical courses.
Test to become a college lecturer or to win a research fellowship.
Top government design institutes, with their own design entrance test.
Government fashion and design institutes, with their own entrance test.
Government open school: study for Class 10 or 12 from home, at any age.
Top government engineering institutes; admission is through the main joint entrance exam.
Top government law universities; most admit students through the common law admission test.
Official body that sets rules for medical education and approves medical colleges.
Scholarship for bright Class 8 students from low-income families, paid through the higher classes.
Free online courses from top engineering institutes; you can sit an exam for a certificate.
One government website to apply for many central and state scholarships.
Central agency that holds the big national entrance tests for medical, engineering and university admission.
Railway exam for non-technical jobs like clerks and station masters; next to GAIL or ONGC it means the government power company.
Body that runs the free residential Navodaya schools and hires their teachers.
Reservation category for communities that are socially and educationally backward.
The Class 11–12 science subjects needed for medical courses.
Official body that approves pharmacy courses; in journalism, PCI also means the Press Council of India.
The Class 11–12 science subjects needed for engineering.
A state's own civil service, filled through the state's public service commission exam.
Study after a first degree, such as a master's degree.
Teacher for Classes 11 and 12; needs a master's degree and teacher training.
The highest research degree, done after a master's degree.
Free government skill-training courses with certificates for young people.
Entry-level officer job in banks, through bank exams.
State entrance test after Class 10 for polytechnic diploma courses.
Teacher for the primary classes; needs elementary teacher training and the teacher eligibility test.
Body that holds exams for government jobs; each state has its own.
A government-owned company, for example in power, oil or steel.
People with at least the set level of disability; they get reservation and other concessions.
India's central bank; it makes banking rules and hires through its own exams.
Official body for courses in disability support, special education and clinical psychology.
Boards that hold the exams for railway jobs.
Law that gives children free schooling, including some free seats in private schools.
Government body that runs sports training centres and schemes for athletes.
Reservation category for communities that have faced caste discrimination.
Government website to complain about sexual harassment at work; your name is kept private.
Police officer post above constable; often leads a small team or a police post.
The multi-day interview that selects officers for the armed forces; in police pages, SSB means Sashastra Seema Bal.
Central body that holds exams for many central government jobs.
The Class 10 board exam certificate in some states, such as Karnataka and Kerala.
Reservation category for tribal communities.
Free government website with online courses from school to university level.
Free government mental health helpline, open day and night, in many languages.
Test you must pass to become a school teacher; there are central and state versions.
Teacher for the middle and secondary classes; needs a degree and teacher training.
Entrance test after Class 12 for design degrees at top engineering institutes.
National disability card that proves disability for benefits anywhere in India.
The first college degree after Class 12, such as a bachelor's degree.
Official body that recognises universities and sets rules for degrees.
Central body that holds exams for top government jobs, like civil services and defence officers.
A region run directly by the central government, such as Chandigarh or Lakshadweep.
Official body for veterinary education; it fills a share of vet college seats through national counselling.
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