NDA Entrance Exam: All you need to know

Every nation around the world has their own Defence Ministry. The officials of this department are appointed to defend the country’s interests from any kind of foreign attack. In our country, every year, the National Defence Academy, one of the major recruiting organisations for defence personnels, conducts entrance exams in two parts in collaboration with the UPSC to appoint officials. 

National Defence Academy Exam (NDA) exam is held for the admission of army, navy and air force employees in the academy. This test is said to open the doors for young individuals who aspire to join the defence services of India. This national entrance exam is conducted two times annually as NDA I and NDA II. While NDA I was conducted in June 2021, the NDA II is scheduled to happen on November 14 and has tentatively 413 vacancies. Here’s everything else you need to know about this crucial entrance test. 

Eligibility Criteria 

• The candidate should either be an Indian national or a subject from Nepal or Bhutan or a Tibetan refugee whose family shifted to India on or after January 1962 and now has a permanent citizenship. 
• The candidate must be of Indian origin who has shifted from a selected Asian and Africa country with the intention of permanently residing in India. 
• The candidate must have successfully passed the 10+2 board exams from any recognised school. Air force and navy applicants should have had Physics and Mathematics as part of their curriculum in high school. 
• Students studying in Class XII but yet to appear for their final exams are also eligible. However, if selected, they need to submit provisional marksheets of the relevant exams. 
• Individuals previously disbarred by the Ministry of Defence are not eligible. 
• Unmarried male candidates born between January 2000 and January 2004 are eligible, as per the current guidelines. 
• Female candidates who fulfil the above-mentioned criteria can for the first time sit for NDA exam in November 2021, as declared by the Supreme Court on August 18.  
• Candidates must also have a sound physical and mental health fulfilling all the height, weight and vision standards laid down by NDA and UPSC. 

Exam pattern  
The NDA exam comprises of two steps. The candidates first need to write the theory exams. If they qualify, they need to sit for an interview or a personality test conducted by the SSB (Service Selection Board). The theory exam has two papers, paper 1 has Mathematics and paper 2 has English and General Knowledge.  

Marking scheme 
Paper 1 has 120 objective questions having 300 marks. Paper 2 has 150 objective questions having 600 marks (200 for English and 400 for GK). The syllabus is everything up to Class XII.  

Mode and duration 
The exam is conducted offline through OMR sheets. The students can choose to answer in either English or Hindi. The combined duration of both the papers is 5 hours (2.5 hours each) with half an hour break in between. 

Benefits 
If selected, the candidates will earn INR 21000 per month as stipend for three years as long as they’re in the training academy in Pune. The degrees offered are either JNTU in Computer Science or B.A. in Defence or 4 years B. tech in case of navy.