UPSC National Defence Academy (NDA)- Exam Pattern, Syllabus and Topics covered

National Defence Academy (NDA) Exam Pattern

• The National Defence Academy (NDA) exam is conducted in the conventional pen and paper form and has multiple-choice questions.
• Especially in the GAT section, one has to be careful as there is a higher negative marking.

NDA Syllabus

The syllabus for NDA written test will comprise two sections – Mathematical Ability and General Ability. 

The questions in NDA 2021 will be asked from topics and concepts of the 10+2 level. The following are the topics from the Mathematical Ability and General Ability sections covered as a part of the NDA Syllabus.

NDA Syllabus for General Ability Topics from the English and General Knowledge will be covered in the General Ability section of NDA.  General Ability section will comprise of the following:

Selection Process of NDA 2021

The selection process in the National Defense Academy is a two-stage process. Stage-1 is the written examination i.e. NDA test and stage-2 is the SSB interview stage. The complete recruitment process in the NDAs judged based on marks scored out of 900 collectively in both stages of recruitment.

After the declaration of NDA 2021 Results, qualified candidates will have to register themselves at joinindianarmy.nic.in within two weeks. Allotment of selection centres and dates will then be notified on the registered email ID.

SSB Interview comprises two stages- Stage 1 (OIR and PPDT) and Stage 2- (Interview, Group Tasks, Psychology Test, and Conference). After stage-2 is completed, a final merit list is generated by the UPSC which gives the final recruited candidates. 

SSB Interview Stages

NDA Document Verification

After a personal interview round the eligible candidates will have to appear for the verification round. The qualified candidates must bring the required original documents along with 1 set of photocopy/xerox of the required documents at the Services Selection Centre (SSC).

Below is the set of required original documents to be carried for the NDA Document Verification:

• Qualification Certificate
• Proof of Identity (Pan card, Voter ID, Aadhar Card, etc.)
• Birth Certificate
• Passport Size Photographs
• Category certificate for the Reserved category candidates
• Proof of Residence

Medical examination

A medical examination is a final round in the Selection process. The candidates will be referred to the Board of Service Medical officers by the SSB for medical examination. Candidates shall be deemed eligible for recruitment if and only if they are found to be medically fit by the medical officers.

Cut-off Marks

Below chart shows the historical cut-off marks for UPSC National Defence Academy (NDA) / Naval Academy (NA) Exam