NDA/NA Exam Study Notes available

Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has issued the notification of National Defence Academy NDA I Exam 2023, all the candidates who are interested in this recruitment exam and fulfill the eligibility can apply online from 21 December 2022 to 10 January 2023.

NDA/NA Exam 2023 Notification pdf click here

Remember these dates

Application Begin : 21/12/2022
Last Date for Apply Online : 10/01/2023 Upto 06:00 PM Only
Pay Exam Fee Last Date : 10/01/2023
NDA I Exam Date : 16/04/2023


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National Defence Academy (NDA) is an national level entrance exam conducted by Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) for recruiting candidates to the Indian Defence forces that includes Indian Army, Indian Navy and Indian Air Force.

NDA Application Form 2023 Eligibility Criterias

Eligibility criterias for the National Defence Academy application Form 2023 are following.

Candidates must be residents of India or Nepal.
Candidates must be unmarried (Applicable for both Male & Female).
Candidates DOB must not before 02 July 2004 and after 01 July 2007.
Candidates must have passed the intermediate examination from a recognised board or university. (For National Defence Academy)
Candidates must have passed the intermediate with Physics, Chemistry & Mathematics from a recognised board or university. (For Naval Academy)

Nationality:

Apart from Indian origin, candidates from other countries can also appear for NDA exam. For the same the candidate must either be

An India citizen

A citizen of Bhutan or,

A citizen of Nepal

Tibetan refugees who came over to India before January 1, 1962 with the intention of permanently settling in India are also eligible to appear for NDA exam.

An Indian origin migrated from Pakistan, Burma, Sri Lanka and East African Countries of Kenya, Uganda, the United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi, Zaire and Ethiopia or Vietnam with the intention of permanently settling in India are also eligible to appear for NDA exam.

Note: The candidate from other countries other than India must possess a certificate of eligibility issued by the Government of India.

As per Age Limit:

Minimum Age: 16.5 years

Maximum Age: 19.5 years

The date of birth will be calculated as mentioned on the Matriculation or Secondary School Leaving Certificate or in a certificate recognised by an Indian University as equivalent to Matriculation.

Physical standard:

Candidates willing to appear for NDA exam must be physically and mentally fit, according to the prescribed physical standards of the conducting authority i.e. SSB (Services Selection Board). A candidate recommended by the SSB will undergo a medical examination by a Board of Service Medical Officers.

The candidate must possess a good physical and mental health and free from any disease/disability which is likely to interfere with the efficient performance of Military duties. The candidates selected by the authority will be admitted to the academy for further training.

Minimum height required is 157 cm for Army, Navy and Naval Academy while 162.5 cm for Air Force. A leverage of 5 cm is provided to Gorkhas and individuals belonging to hills of North-Eastern regions.

Other Factors:

Marital Sex: Candidates must be unmarried in order to appear for the NDA exam.

Gender: Only male candidates are eligible to apply for NDA exam.

Height and Weight Requirements

Army and Air Force

Candidates must note that the minimum height measurement specified is 157 cms (162.5 cms for Air Force). There are exceptions for certain candidates based on the region they hail from. The details in this regard are discussed below.

HEIGHT (IN CMS)	WEIGHT (IN KGS)
	16-17 years	17-18 years	18-19 years
152	42.5	44.0	45.0
155	43.5	45.3	47.0
157	45.0	47.0	48.0
160	46.0	48.0	49.0
162	48.0	50.0	51.0
165	50.0	52.0	53.0
167	51.0	53.0	54.0
170	52.5	55.0	56.0
173	54.5	57.0	58.0
175	56.0	59.0	60.0
178	58.0	61.0	62.0
180	60.0	63.0	64.5
183	62.5	65.0	66.5

For Gorkhas and those belonging to hills of North-Eastern areas of India, Garhwal and Kumaon, the minimum height will be 5 cms less than the usual figure. On the other hand, for candidates belonging to Lakshadweep islands, the minimum height standard may be reduced by 2 cms.

Navy

The standards are different for Navy posts and the particulars are summarised below:

HEIGHT (IN CMS)	WEIGHT (IN KGS)
	16 years	18 years	20 years
152	44	45	46
155	45	46	47
157	46	47	49
160	47	48	50
162	48	50	52
165	50	52	53
167	52	53	55
170	53	55	57
173	55	57	59
175	57	59	61
178	59	61	62
180	61	63	64
183	63	65	67

In case the candidate wishes to be pilot in the Air Force, the following requirements will have to be kept in mind, due to constraints of the flying vehicle:

Leg Length: Minimum of 99 cms and Maximum of 120 cms
Thigh Length : Minimum is not applicable while Maximum of 64 cms
Sitting Height : Minimum of 81.50 cms and Maximum of 96 cms

Spinal Conditions

Presence of any of these conditions will disqualify the candidate immediately:

Granulomatous disease of spine
Arthritis / spondylosis (Rheumatoid arthritis and allied disorders / Ankylosing spondylitis / Osteoarthrosis, spondylosis and degenerative joint disease / Non articular rheumatism (e.g. lesions of the rotator cuff, tennis elbow, recurrent lumbago etc.) & Miscellaneous disorders including SLE, polymyositis, vasculitis.
Spondylolisthesis / spondylolysis.
Compression fracture of vertebrae.
SC Heuerman’s disease (Adolescent kyphosis)
Loss of cervical lordosis when associated with clinically restricted movements of cervical spine.
Unilateral / Bilateral cervical ribs with demon stable neurological or circulatory deficit.
Scoliosis more than 15 degree as measured by Cobb’s method.
Degenerative Disc. Disease.
Presence of Schmorl’s nodes at more than one level.
Atlanto-occipital and atlantoaxial anomalies.
Hemi vertebrae and/or incomplete block (fused) vertebrae at any level in cervical, dorsal or lumbar spine and complete block (fused) vertebrae at more than one level in cervical or dorsal spine.
Unilateral Sacralisation or lumbarisation (Complete or incomplete) at all levels and bilateral incomplete sacralisation or lumbarisation.
Any other abnormality if so considered by the specialist.

X-Ray Exam

There will be a separate presence of any of the following conditions will disqualify the applicant for posts of Armed Forces:

Granulomatous disease of spine.
Arthritis / spondylosis
Scoliosis more than 15 degree as measured by Cobb’s Method (10 degree for Army and Navy).
More than mild Kyphosis/Lordosis
Spondylolisthesis / Spondylosis / Spondylolysis
Herniated nucleus pulposes.
Compression fracture of Vertebra.
Sacralisation Disease
Cervical ribs with demonstrable neurological or Circulatory deficit.
Presence of Schmorl’s node at more than one level.
Atlanto-occipital and atlanto-axial anomalies.
Incomplete Sacralisation Unilateral or Bilateral
Spina Bifida other than SV 1 and LV 5 if completely Sacralised
Any other abnormality, if so considered by specialist

Visual Standards

The distance vision (corrected) of the candidate should be 6/6 in the better eye and 6/9 in the worse eye. Myopia should not be more than 2.5 D and hyper metropia not more than 3.5 D, including Astigmatism.

It must be remembered that an internal examination of the eye will be done by means of an ophthalmoscope to rule out any possibility of eye diseases. Candidate must possess good binocular vision. The colour vision standard for Army is (CP-III).

The ability to recognize red and green colours is vital. Certificate that neither the candidate nor any member of his family has suffered from congenital night blindness, will have to be produced.

Another noteworthy point is that candidates who have undergone Radial Keratotomy, to improve their visual acuity, or Laser Surgery, will be permanently rejected for all Services. The details of eyesight levels for different posts are provided below:

CONDITION	NAVAL	AIR FORCE
Uncorrected without glass	6/6	6/6, 6/9
Corrected with glass	6/6	6/6 (only for Hypermetropia)
Limits of Myopia	-0.75	Nil
Limits of Hypermetropia	+1.5	+2.00 D Sph
Limits of Colour Perception	I	Nil
Binocular Vision	III	Nil
Manifest Myopia	N.A.	Nil Re
Tinoscopic Myopia	N.A.	0.5
Colour Vision	N.A.	CP-I (MLT)
Astigmatism	N.A.	+0.75 Cyl (within + 2.0 D.Max)
Near Vision	N.A.	N-5 each eye

Other miscellaneous conditions

There are few other physical conditions besides the above mentioned criteria that candidates should fulfil. These criteria are specific to specific wings of defence forces.

No symptoms of weak constitution or bodily defects.
A well-developed chest; fully expanded chest should not be less than 81cms. The minimum range of expansion after full inspiration should be 5 cms.
No mal-development or impairment of function of the bones or joint.
No past history of mental breakdown or fits.
Normal hearing capabilities - Candidate should be able to hear a forced whisper with each ear at a distance of 610 cms. in a quiet room.
No impediment of speech.
Normal Blood Pressure with no signs of functional or organic disease of the heart and blood vessels.
No enlargement of liver or spleen.
No abnormality in urine examination
No presence of any kind of skin disease, likely to cause disability or disfigurement
No abnormalities in USG abdomen examination
Sufficient number of natural and sound teeth. A minimum of 14 dental points will be accepted.
Routine ECG for Air Force candidates must fall within normal limits.

Penalty for wrong answers

Candidates should note that there will be penalty (negative marking) for wrong answers marked by a candidate in the objective type question papers.

NDA Exam Selection Procedure

The Union Public Service Commission shall prepare a list of candidates who obtain the minimum qualifying marks in the written examination as fixed by the commission at their discretion.

Such candidates shall appear before a Services Selection Board for Intelligence and Personality Test where candidates for the Army/Navy wings of the NDA and 10+2 Cadet Entry.

Scheme of Indian Naval Academy will be assessed on Officers Potentiality and those for the Air Force in Pilot Aptitude Test and for Officers Potentiality.

PABT applicable to candidates with Air Force as first choice would also be conducted for all SSB qualified candidates with one of the choice as Air Force subject to their eligibility and if they are so willing.

Two-stage selection procedure based on Psychological Aptitude Test and Intelligence Test has been introduced at Selection Centers/Air Force Selection Boards.

All the candidates will be put to stage one test on first day of reporting at Selection Centers/Air Force Selection Boards.

Only those candidates who qualify at stage one will be admitted to the second stage/remaining tests.

Those candidates who qualify stage II will be required to submit the original certificates along with one photocopy each of (I) original matriculation pass certificate or equivalent in support of date of birth, (ii) original 10+2 pass certificate or equivalent in support of educational qualification.

The candidates applying for the examination should ensure that they fulfil all eligibility conditions for admission to the examination.

Their admission at all the stages of the examination will be purely provisional subject to satisfying the prescribed eligibility conditions.

Scheme of NDA Entrance Examination

The subjects of the written examination, the time allowed and the maximum marks allotted to each subject will be as follows:

a) Mathematics (01) - 2-½ Hours (300 Marks)

b) General Ability Test (02) - 2-½ Hours (600 Marks)

Total 900 Marks

NDA Exam Marking Scheme

NDA Exam consists of two sections- Mathematics and General ability test.

In Mathematics section, there will be total 120 questions of 300 marks.
All questions will carry 2.5 marks each, which will only be allotted for choosing the correct answer. 0.83 Marks will be deducted for each incorrect answer.
General ability test will comprise 600 marks; 200 marks are allotted to English and 400 marks in total are allotted to General Knowledge.
In this section, there will be total 150 questions, 50 from English and 100 from General Knowledge.
Candidates will be awarded 4 marks for each correct answer in this section.
A deduction of 1.33 Marks will be there for each wrong answer. There will be no mark for unanswered questions.

NDA Exam Pattern for Mathematics and General Ability Test

NDA 2019 was conducted in offline mode and all the questions was of MCQ type. The exam is held in both English and Hindi language. Candidates are asked to attempt two sections- Mathematics and General Ability Test.

Other details related to exam pattern from both the sections have been tabulated below:

Subject	Paper	No of Questions	Duration of Exam	Maximum Marks
Mathematics	1	120	2 ½ Hours	300
General Ability Test	2	150	2 ½ Hours	600
Total	--	270	900	--

NDA Exam Pattern Highlights

Exam Mode and Medium	Offline (Pen Paper Based) in English and Hindi
Number of sections	2
Question Paper Type	Objective or MCQ
Total Number of Questions	270 Questions (120 from Mathematics and 150 from General Ability Test)
NDA 2019 Total Marks for Entrance Test	900 Marks (300 Marks for Mathematics and 600 Marks for General Ability Test)
Exam duration	2.30 hours (Each Section)

The papers in all the subjects will consist of objective type questions only. The question papers (Test Booklets) OF MATHEMATICS AND PART "b" OF GENERAL ABILITY TESTS WILL BE SET BILINGUALLY IN HINDI AS WELL AS English.

Given below is the bifurcation of both the sections of NDA Exam. Marks allotted to each section and sub-sections have been expounded below :

Subjects	Number of Questions	Marks	Marking scheme	Negative Marking
Mathematics	120	300	+2.5	-0.83
English	50	200	+4	-1.33
General Knowledge	100	--	+4	-1.33
Physics	--	100	--	--
Chemistry	--	60	--	--
General Science	--	40	--	--
History, Freedom Movement, etc.	--	80	--	--
Geography	--	80	--	--
Current Events	--	40	--	--
Grand Total	270	900	--	--

In the question papers, wherever necessary, questions involving the metric system of Weights and Measures only will be set.

Candidates must write the papers in their own hand. In no circumstances will they be allowed the help of a scribe to write answers for them.

The Commission have discretion to fix qualifying marks in any or all the subjects at the exam .

The candidates are not permitted to use calculator or Mathematical or logarithmic table for answering objective type papers (Test Booklets). They should not therefore, bring the same inside the Examination Hall

The paper will be of both language Hindi & English. Answering Method: Each question will have four optional answer candidates have to choose the right one only.

There will be negative marking for incorrect response given by candidates in the objective type questions. Candidates use only black ball pen to mark answers.

NDA Exam Syllabus

Mathematics

PAPER I- MATHEMATICS
Total Marks	300 Marks
Total No. of Questions	120
Marks awarded for Correct answer	2.5 marks
Marks deducted for wrong answer	-0.85
Exam Duration	2.5 Hours

NDA Syllabus for Mathematics

Algebra

Matrices and Determinants

Trigonometry

Analytical Geometry of Two and Three Dimensions

Differential Calculus

Integral Calculus and Differential Equations

Vector Algebra

Statistics and Probability

General Ability

PAPER II- GENERAL ABILITY
Total Marks	600 marks
Total No. of Questions	150
No. of questions in English Section	50
No. Of questions in General knowledge Section	100
Maximum Marks for English	200 marks
Maximum Marks for G.K.	400 marks
Marks for Correct Answer	4 marks in both sections
Marks for Incorrect Answer	-1.33 marks in both sections
Exam Duration	2.5 Hours

NDA Syllabus for General Ability Test

Paper 2 in NDA i.e. the General Ability Test judges a candidate’s basic awareness and English proficiency. This section is further divided into two parts, English and General Knowledge.

Total marks awarded to Paper 2 are 600.
This paper must be completed in 2.5 hours.
Here is the subject-wise NDA Syllabus for Paper 2.

Part A- English

The English portion of the entrance test is designed in a way to judge a candidate's knowledge of the basic grammar and vocabulary.
It judges a candidate’s ability to form correct sentences and use of words.
The syllabus of the English paper ranges from various aspects like the knowledge and usage of grammar, vocabulary, comprehension, and his mental ability to remember and place the meaning of words in their proper places.
Marks allotted to this section are 300.

Part B- General Knowledge

The question paper on General Knowledge will cover current affairs, questions from Physics, Chemistry, General Science, Social Studies, Geography and Current Events. NDA syllabus of each topic is given below. The paper aims to check knowledge and intelligent understanding of the subject.

Physics Section syllabus

The table below includes the important topics asked in Physics section of the General Ability Test:

States of Matter and its properties Light and Sound (properties)

Motion and Laws of Motion Magnet and its properties

Work, Energy and Power Current and Electricity

Modes of Transfer of Heat and its effect General Principles of Working of Simple Pendulum, Pulleys, Siphon, Levers, Balloon, Pumps, Hydrometer, Pressure Cooker, Thermos Flask, Gramophone, Telegraphs, Telephone, Periscope, Telescope, Microscope, Mariner’s Compass; Lightening Conductors, Safety Fuses

Chemistry Section syllabus

The basic knowledge of Chemistry and various chemicals is tested in the chemistry section. The topics to be considered for preparation are given below:

Physical and Chemical Changes Properties of Oxygen, Hydrogen etc. with Oxidation and Reduction

Air and Water (properties) Carbon and its forms

Chemical equations and Laws of Chemical Combination Atom and its structure (details)

Elements, Compounds and Mixtures Fertilizers

Acid, Bases and Salts Use of materials for preparation of different chemicals

General Science Section syllabus

The topics for general science are tabulated below. The candidates must prepare according to the NDA Syllabus to obtain a good score in the NDA exam.

Basic Unit of Life: Cell Reproduction in Plants and Animals

Living and Non-Living Things Human Body and Life processes

Epidemics: causes and preventions Food and Balanced Diet

Solar System Achievement of Eminent Scientists

History Section syllabus

The important topics covered in the history section of the general ability test in NDA is given in the table below:

Indian History: Culture and Civilisation

Constitution and Administration of India

Nationalism in India

Government of India at various levels

Five Year plans of India

Renaissance and Discovery

French, Russian and Industrial Revolution United nations and Concept of one world

Democracy in India Teachings of Mahatma Gandhi

Geography Section syllabus

Candidates must prepare the following topics thoroughly for Geography section in NDA 2019:

Earth and its Origin and Movement (latitudes and longitudes) Tides and Oceanic Currents
Rocks and Its classification Atmosphere and Atmospheric Pressure

Types of Climate Regional Geography of India

Agricultural and Industries Transportation and Trading routes of India

Imports and Exports of India

Current Affairs Section syllabus

Candidates must follow the latest newspapers and magazines with information about the current events across the country and the world both. The topics to be prepared to qualify in this section with good marks are tabulated below:

Important and Recent Events in India Current and Important World Events

Important Indian or Non-Indian Personalities related to Cultural Activities and Sports.

NDA Interview

After qualifying the NDA entrance test, all candidates have to appear for NDA Interview. Details are as below:

Second Round	Duration	Maximum Marks
SSB Interview	4-5 days	900

Candidates are advised to go through the syllabus of the examination along with NDA Exam Pattern. It will help them to have better preparations for both Entrance Test as well as Interview.