NDA Exam - Syllabus, Eligibility and Exam Pattern

NDA an Exam conducted by the Union Public Service Commission for admission to the Army, Navy and Air Force wings of the NDA for the 139th Course, and for the 101 Indian Naval Academy Course (INAC) in the last week of April commencing from January of following year.

However, candidates joining Indian Naval Academy need to undergo 4 years B.Tech course and would be given also an opportunity to join Executive and Technical Branches of the Navy National Defense Academy:355 (208 for Army, 55 for Navy and 92 for Air Force) - (Tentative).

How to get the NDA Application Form – 

• The application form of the NDA will be filled and submitted via online process through the official site of UPSC.
• From mid of January, the application form will be available for both (NDA I) and (NDA II).
• Remember, no change will be permitted after final submission the application form.
• Also, candidates should keep ready the scanned images of photograph & signature in prescribed size and format before filling the application form.
• However, February first week is the last date of filling application form for NDA (I) and June last week is for for NDA (II). 
• Candidates should keep in mind that there is no need to send the printed application form to the authority.

Eligibility Criteria – 

• Candidates who are Indian citizens / a subject of Bhutan/ a subject of Nepal/ a Tibetan refugee who came over to India before 1st January, 1962 with the intention of permanently settling here.
• Unmarried male candidates are only eligible for this post.
• For exam NDA I, candidates born not before 2nd July, 1998 and not later than 1st July, 2001 are eligible to apply.
• For exam NDA II, students not born before 2nd January, 1999 and not later than 1st January, 2002 are eligible to apply.
• However for Air Force and Naval Wings of National Defense Academy and for the higher secondary Cadet Entry Scheme at the Indian Naval Academy: Candidates must have passed higher secondary or equivalent examination with Physics and Mathematics subjects from any State Education Board or a University.

Details on NDA Exam Pattern - 

• In two subsequent sections, the NDA entrance examination will be held with written test and intelligence & personality test.
• Here, the question paper of written test will contains objective type questions and sectioned in code 1 & 2.
• However, Code 1 will comprise of Mathematics questions of 300 marks while code 2 will comprise of general ability questions of 600 marks.
• Also, Code 2 will be divided in 2 sections as A & B. In section A, it will cover Math of 200 marks while section B will cover general knowledge of 400 marks.
• To make it easy, the paper will be of both language Hindi & English.
• Each question will have at least four optional answer candidates have to choose the right one only.
• Keep in mind, there will be also a negative marking for incorrect response given by candidates.
• To mark the answers candidates can use only black ball pen.
• The NDA exam paper here will be consisted of two parts i.e. - Mathematics and General Ability Test.
• The paper will be held through only offline mode.

TIPS: How to prepare for NDA Exam – 

Interested candidates should do the NDA preparation in a well-planned and organized way. 

Must prepare for the exam as per the syllabus. 

Try to include the best preparation books and earlier years question papers too in your study materials. 

Don’t forget that to clear NDA exam, written test is not the only key, you should be physically and mentally fit to clear the selection process (SSB).

Have a look on the NDA Syllabus - 

The NDA exam is being divided into two sections i.e. - Mathematics and General Ability Test. 

Whereas, the General Ability Test section will contain questions from different topics such as English, General Knowledge, Physics, Chemistry, General Science, Geography and Current Events. 

Also for the better preparations interested candidates can prepare for the exam from the above mentioned topics.