In this guide
Six months is enough time to prepare properly for NDA — but only if the time is divided with some thought. Left to themselves, most candidates spend four months on maths, rush GK in the last few weeks and meet a full-length paper for the first time in the exam hall. The plan below spreads the work according to the marks: 300 for Mathematics, 400 for General Knowledge, 200 for English, and 900 for an SSB that starts soon after the written result.
It assumes about five to six hours a day, six days a week, which suits a candidate who has finished Class 12 or has a light school schedule. If you are still in school, keep the order of topics and stretch the timeline, or combine it with preparing for NDA alongside Class 12.
The principles behind the plan
- Maths every day. It is the largest single paper and speed only comes from volume.
- GK by weightage. The notification says Physics is about 25% of GK, Chemistry 15%, General Science 10%, History and polity 20%, Geography 20% and Current Events 10%. Time is divided roughly in that ratio.
- English little and often. Twenty to forty-five minutes a day, never skipped.
- Mocks from month three, and weekly analysis after each one.
- SSB and fitness throughout, not after the result.
Month by month
| Month | Mathematics | General Knowledge | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sets, relations, functions; logarithms; binary numbers; quadratic equations; AP, GP, HP | Physics: matter, motion, force, work and energy, gravitation | Grammar basics (tenses, articles, subject–verb agreement); daily reading |
| 2 | Complex numbers; permutations and combinations; binomial theorem; matrices and determinants | Physics: heat, sound, light, electricity, magnetism, everyday devices | Spotting errors; synonyms and antonyms |
| 3 | Trigonometry, inverse functions, heights and distances, properties of triangles | Chemistry; general science (biology) | Sentence improvement; ordering of sentences |
| 4 | 2D coordinate geometry; 3D geometry; vectors | History: ancient, medieval, modern; freedom movement; polity | Comprehension; fill in the blanks |
| 5 | Functions, limits, continuity, derivatives, maxima and minima; integrals, area, differential equations | Geography: physical, India, world; world history | Mixed sets; vocabulary revision |
| 6 | Statistics and probability; full revision; previous papers | Full GK revision; last six months of current affairs | Full English sections under time |
Calculus is given a whole month because it is dense and closely tied to the rest of the paper. If calculus is your strength from school, move it earlier and give month five to your weakest unit instead.
A weekly template
| Day | Main block (2.5 h) | GK block (1.5 h) | English (45 min) | Other |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | Maths: new topic | Physics or Chemistry | Grammar | News 30 min; exercise |
| Tuesday | Maths: practice set | History or polity | Vocabulary | News; exercise |
| Wednesday | Maths: new topic | Geography | Reading comprehension | News; exercise |
| Thursday | Maths: practice set | Physics or Chemistry | Error spotting | News; exercise |
| Friday | Maths: mixed timed set | General science | Sentence improvement | News; exercise |
| Saturday | Mock paper (from month 3) | Mock analysis | — | Exercise |
| Sunday | Revision of the week | Current affairs of the week | Word list revision | Rest; SSB reading |
The daily blocks add up to 2.5 + 1.5 + 0.75 + 0.5 = 5.25 hours, plus 30 minutes of exercise. That fits the five-to-six-hour budget with some room for breaks.
Mocks: when and how many
- Months 1–2: topic tests only, after each chapter, with a timer.
- Month 3 onwards: one full paper every Saturday, alternating Maths and GAT.
- Month 5: add one previous-year UPSC paper every week.
- Month 6: both papers on the same day every week, at the real exam times, with a proper answer sheet.
Previous UPSC papers are the best practice material you have. Keep the most recent two or three years for the final month, so that you can take them as true simulations. Our guide to mock tests explains how to analyse each paper.
Worked example: reading a mock score
Suppose that in a month-four maths mock a candidate attempts 85 questions and gets 70 right.
- Wrong answers = 85 − 70 = 15.
- Score = 70 × 2.5 − 15 × (2.5 ÷ 3) = 175 − 12.5 = 162.5 out of 300.
- Accuracy = 70 ÷ 85 ≈ 82%.
The lesson is not the score but the 12.5 marks lost to wrong answers. At this stage, the target for the next mock is fewer wrong answers, not more attempts.
SSB and fitness track (all six months)
| Months | Fitness | SSB readiness |
|---|---|---|
| 1–2 | Run three to four times a week, building distance gradually; push-ups, sit-ups, stretching | Read one newspaper daily; talk about one news item at home each day |
| 3–4 | Longer runs, pull-ups, and swimming if possible | Read about the SSB procedure; write a short self-description; practise speaking for two minutes on any topic |
| 5–6 | Maintain; do not start anything that risks injury | Practise group discussions with friends; list your honest answers to "why the armed forces?" |
Start reading about the SSB procedure around month three. The gap between the written result and the SSB date is often short, and there is no time then to build habits from zero.
Checkpoints
| When | You should be able to |
|---|---|
| End of month 1 | Solve 20 algebra questions in 25 minutes with most answers right; explain Newton's laws in your own words |
| End of month 2 | Solve 30 mixed algebra questions in 40 minutes with 80% accuracy |
| End of month 3 | Score steadily in physics and chemistry quizzes; finish a timed English section |
| End of month 4 | Take a full GAT paper without running out of time |
| End of month 5 | Finish a full maths paper within time, attempting only questions you are reasonably sure of |
| End of month 6 | Clear the reported qualifying marks in each paper comfortably, in several mocks in a row |
When you fall behind
You will fall behind at some point. Plan for it instead of panicking.
- Behind by a few days: use Sunday's revision block to catch up; do not cut English or exercise.
- Behind by two weeks or more: drop the lowest-weight topic in that month's GK list to a one-page summary, and keep maths on schedule.
- Mock scores flat for a month: stop adding new topics for a week and do only error-log revision and timed sets on weak units.
- Ill or away: restart with the weekly template, not with an attempt to "make up" every missed hour.
Your first week
- Download the current notification and read the scheme and syllabus.
- Write the month-by-month table into your notebook, adjusted for your strengths.
- Set up an error log and a mock score sheet.
- Buy or download previous UPSC papers.
- Fix your exercise time and do it four times this week.
In the final month, switch to the last-month plan, which drops new topics and focuses on full papers and revision.
A note on dates and numbers. Exam patterns, vacancies and schedules change from year to year. Always confirm the current details in the latest notification on the Union Public Service Commission website .
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