Defence
NDA preparation
National Defence Academy and Naval Academy entry after Class 12.
24 free guides·Conducted by Union Public Service CommissionOfficial website
About the NDA exam
The National Defence Academy and Naval Academy exam is UPSC’s entry for young men and women who want to become officers straight after Class 12. It is usually held twice a year. One exam leads to the Army, Navy and Air Force wings of the NDA at Khadakwasla and to the 10+2 Cadet Entry Scheme at the Indian Naval Academy, Ezhimala.
Selection has two halves of equal weight. The written exam is a 300-mark Mathematics paper and a 600-mark General Ability Test covering English and general knowledge. Both are objective, and a wrong answer costs a third of the question’s marks. Candidates who clear the written exam go to a Services Selection Board for several days of intelligence and psychology tests, group tasks and an interview, worth another 900 marks. The final list adds the two halves, out of 1,800. Recommended candidates must also pass a medical examination.
Read the Start here guides first: the pattern, eligibility and syllabus, preparing alongside Class 12, a six-month plan, negative marking, merit and the SSB overview. After that, go subject by subject. Physics and chemistry have their own guides because together they are about 40 per cent of GK, and science students can earn those marks from school work. Start fitness and SSB preparation early, not after the result.
| Written exam | Mathematics 300 + General Ability Test 600 (English 200, GK 400) = 900 |
|---|---|
| Duration | 2½ hours per paper; objective, no calculators |
| Negative marking | ⅓ of the question’s marks; marking two options counts as wrong |
| SSB | 900 marks |
| Final merit | Written + SSB = 1,800; separate lists for men and women |
| Qualifying marks | Fixed by UPSC. Check the latest notification |
Patterns change. Confirm details in the latest notification on the official website.
Start here
New to NDA? Read these first, in this order.
- 1The NDA exam pattern explainedTwo written papers — Mathematics and the General Ability Test — then a two-stage SSB. The NDA pattern explained in plain language, with marks, negative marking, qualifying rules, the GK weightage and how the final merit list is made.
- 2NDA eligibility: age, education and physical standardsNDA has strict eligibility — a narrow birth-date window, rules on marital status, PCM for the Navy and Air Force, a one-time pilot aptitude test and medical standards. What to check, how to count your attempts, and what trips candidates up.
- 3The NDA syllabus, analysedClass 11–12 mathematics, an English section on grammar, vocabulary and comprehension, and a GK paper whose weightage the notification itself spells out. The syllabus section by section, the topics people miss, priorities and a tracker.
- 4Preparing for NDA alongside Class 12Most NDA candidates prepare while in Class 12 — an advantage, because much of the maths and science overlaps. How to turn board study into NDA marks, what needs separate work, a weekly routine and a year-long calendar around board exams.
- 5A six-month NDA planSix months is a good window to prepare seriously for the written exam while building SSB readiness. A month-by-month plan for maths, GK and English, a weekly template, mock-test schedule, checkpoints and what to do when you fall behind.
- 6Negative marking and accuracy in NDAIn NDA, a wrong answer costs one-third of the question's marks. That makes blind guessing pointless and careless mistakes expensive. The arithmetic of guessing, when an informed guess pays, a three-pass method for the paper and habits that raise accuracy.
- 7How NDA merit and cut-offs workTo reach the SSB you must clear a minimum in the written exam, and to be selected you must clear the SSB too. The final merit list adds both. How each hurdle works, how ties are broken, how services are allotted, and how to set a sensible target score.
Subject by subject
Strategy
Guides on the pattern, eligibility, life at the Academy, preparing alongside Class 12, study plans, negative marking, merit and the entry for women. UPSC fixes qualifying marks at its discretion, so treat any per-paper minimum you read online as unconfirmed.
- The NDA exam pattern explained
- NDA eligibility: age, education and physical standards
- Life and training at the National Defence Academy
Mathematics
Paper I is worth 300 marks over two and a half hours, broadly at Class 11–12 level. It covers algebra, matrices, trigonometry, coordinate geometry, calculus, vectors, statistics and probability. Recent papers have had 120 questions, and calculators aren’t allowed, so speed matters as much as method.
All 12 Mathematics guides