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The UPSC NDA exam is one of the toughest competitive exams that is done to recruit interested and capable into the National Defense Academy and Indian Naval Academy. The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) conducts this national level exam two times a year. The interested and eligible participants must have cleared 10+2 exams to be able to appear for the NDA exam. UPSC NDA is a written offline examination conducted in two parts – Mathematics paper and GAT (General Ability Test). Once the candidates clear the written exams, the qualifying participants will be invited for an interview with the SSB which is the short form for Service Selection Board
It is a golden opportunity for aspirants. If you are a candidate who fulfills all the necessary eligibility clauses, you are in the right place. The present article is all information that you’ll need to know about examination and various aspects regarding the same. Updates will be made accordingly. The interested candidates are expected to follow up the same. Once the candidate is fully aware about the examination they can start preparing accordingly.
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NDA Exam Dates 2024-Insights
The National Defense Academy (NDA) is one of the prestigious joint defense service training institutes of the Indian Armed Forces, where eligible candidates of the three services that are, the Indian Army, the Indian Navy, and the Indian Air Force train together before they enroll on to their respective service academy for future pre-commission training.
- The NDA is situated in Khadakwasla, Pune, Maharashtra.
- It is the first Tri-service academy in the world.
- The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) conducts this national level exam twice every year.
- The NDA has produced 27 chiefs of staff to date. At present, the chief of staff of all three services is NDA alumni.
- The NDA provides only a full-time, residential undergraduate program.
- The recruited candidates are awarded a Baccalaureate degree ,a Bachelor of Arts or a Bachelor of Science) and a B.Tech (Bachelor of Technology) degree for Naval Cadets after 3 years of study.
- The Naval cadets complete their fourth year of BTECH from Indian Naval Academy.
- The Cadets further have a choice of two streams of study.
- The Science stream offers studies in physics, chemistry, mathematics and computer science.
- The Liberal Arts or the Humanities stream offers studies in history, economics, political science, geography and languages.
Academics and Training:
Listed below are few pointers that states important insights regarding the academics and training aspects of the NDA examination. The candidates can go through the pointers and have an idea regarding the various aspects of the examination.
The academics mainly consist of two broad divisions namely, compulsory course and foundation Course.
- In the Compulsory Course, the candidates must study English language and an additional Foreign Language
- The foreign language can either be Arabic, Chinese, French or Russian.
- Basic courses such as physics, chemistry, mathematics, computer science, history, political science, economics and geography must be chosen by the candidates
- It is important that the candidate must be aware that they must take basic classes in all these subjects except foreign languages , then take advanced classes depending on their chosen stream.
- The Foundation Course on the other hand is mandatory
- The course comprises of Military Studies and General Studies.
- Subjects such as military history, military geography, weapons systems and armaments, etc. are major topics discussed under the Military Studies.
- Subjects such as geopolitics, human rights, Laws of Armed Conflict and environmental sciences are major topics studied in General Studies.
- The Optional Course aims on subjects specific to the candidate’s chosen Service.
The training aspects which comes soon after the recruitment process are listed below.
- All the candidates joining the NDA after their 10+2 examination are trained in the Academy for three years culminating in graduation with BA(or)BSc or BCs (Computer Science) degree of Jawaharlal Nehru University.
- The first degree course to be awarded was the 46th course in 1974.
- Apart from academic training, the candidates are also trained in outdoor skills, like Drill, PT and games.
- Along with the academic training one of the foreign languages is also taught, which is up to the lower B1 level, according to the international standards
- The candidates spend the first four semesters on the Compulsory Course and the Foundation Course.
- The candidates must take the Optional Course during the fifth and sixth semesters.
- Candidates have the privilege’s to transfer to other Service academies for the optional courses.
NDA Exam Dates 2024 – NDA I and II Exam Schedule
Events |
NDA 1 2024 Exam Dates |
NDA 2 Exam Dates 2024 |
NDA exam 2024 notification |
December 20, 2023 |
May 15, 2024 |
Start date of UPSC NDA application form 2024 |
December 20, 2023 |
May 15, 2024 |
Last date to submit the application form |
January 9, 2024 |
June 4, 2024 |
Last date of fee payment online |
TBA |
TBA |
Last date of offline fee payment |
TBA |
TBA |
UPSC NDA application form withdrawal window |
TBA |
TBA |
Admit Card |
TBA |
TBA |
UPSC NDA 2024 Exam date |
April 21, 2024 |
September 1, 2024 |
UPSC NDA result for written test |
TBA |
TBA |
Final NDA result 2024 |
TBA |
TBA |
NDA Exam Dates 2024-Highlights
The National Defense Academy (NDA) is one of the prestigious joint defense service training institutes of the Indian Armed Forces, where eligible candidates of the three services that are, the Indian Army, the Indian Navy, and the Indian Air Force train together before they enroll on to their respective service academy for future pre-commission training. Listed below is a table consisting of highlights regarding the NDA Examination.
SI No | Insights | Descriptions |
1 | Full-Form of NDA |
National Defence Academy Exam
|
2 | Conducting Body |
Union Public Service Commission (UPSC)
|
3 | Frequency | Twice a Year |
4 | Exam Type |
National Level
|
5 | Eligibility Criteria |
Unmarried Male/Female candidates who have passed Class XII from a recognized board
|
6 | Mode of Application | Online |
7 | Exam Mode | Offline |
8 | Duration |
Mathematics: 2 hours 30 minutes
General Ability Test: 2 hours 30 minutes |
9 | Number of cities for exam centres | 75 |
10 | Selection Process |
Written Test
SSB Interview |
11 | Official Website |
NDA Exam 2024-Exam Pattern
The National Defense Academy (NDA) is one of the prestigious joint defense service training institutes of the Indian Armed Forces, where eligible candidates of the three services that are, the Indian Army, the Indian Navy, and the Indian Air Force train together before they enroll on to their respective service academy for future pre-commission training. The interested and eligible candidates must have cleared 10+2 exams to be eligible for the NDA exam. This is a written offline examination conducted in two parts – mathematics paper and GAT (General Ability Test ). Once the written exams are done, the qualifying candidates will be invited for an interview with the SSB (Service Selection Board). The written test and the interview each will be of 900 marks .
SI No | Paper | Mathematics |
General Ability Test (GAT)
|
1 | Exam Duration | 2 hours and 30 minutes |
2 hours and 30 minutes
|
2 | No. of Sections | 1 |
2 (English and General Knowledge)
|
3 | Total no. of Questions | 120 | 150 |
4 | Total Marks | 300 |
600 (English (200) + GK (400))
|
5 | Medium | English and Hindi |
English for the English section. English and Hindi for the GK section
|
6 | Type of Questions | Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs) |
Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs)
|
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