National Defense Academy (NDA)

Title- National Defense Academy (NDA)- The Right Platform to Serve Your Country

If you are among those who are unstoppable; then the Indian Army is the best place for you. It certainly keeps you up to date giving you an opportunity to acquire a Bachelor’s degree in Arts, Science, and even Computer Science after the completion of the training. Engineering degree for graduation and post-graduation is also awarded from the best institutions to those candidates who are willing to take a technical stream. Defense Services Staff College Programme awards a Master of Science degree in Defense and Strategic Studies. In our country, few finest institutes and academies are run by the Indian Army and offer major degrees including engineering to medicine and management to armament, etc.

NDA 1 & 2 is the combined exam conducted by the UPSC to admit in Army, Navy, and Air Force wings. The candidates who are looking forward to building a career in Defense Forces have to go through this National level exam which is conducted twice a year. NDA (National Defense Academy) or NA (Naval Academy) can be taken in two steps; first candidates need to appear in the written exam then after qualifying, they are called for an interview which is conducted by Service Selection Board (SSB).

The major difference between NDA 1 and NDA 2:

NDA inducts cadets twice a year – January and July therefore, UPSC conducts the exam in two sessions NDA 1 and NDA 2.

• Both are two different sets of exam sessions which are conducted in different months a year.
• Eligibility Criteria in terms of age limit are different.
• Selection of candidates in both sessions, are completely different.
• The qualifying and cutoff marks are also diverse in both exams.

You can also check that even the dates of notification and application forms are different. Usually, NDA 1 is conducted in April and May while NDA 2 is conducted in September and October.

Recently, Supreme Court has also allowed women candidates to participate in NDA 1 and 2 exams and the first batch of women candidates appeared in 2021.
To go for the exam one has to follow certain eligibility criteria in terms of age limit, educational qualification, marital status, and physical standards.

Eligibility Criteria:

• Age Limit-16 ½ years to 19 years
• Educational Qualification – Candidates should have passed the 10+2 examination or equivalent
• Marital Status – Unmarried
• Physical Standards–For Air Force minimum height 157 cms, however certain exceptions are allowed to candidates based on the region they belong to and also there are standard height and weight totally based on the age group.

The question paper for NDA Exams consists:

• Objective Questions of Maths – 300 Marks
• General Ability – 600 Marks

The last but not the least question that comes to our mind is How to prepare for NDA examination. Practice is the only mantra that will take you to the next level. And one can find several sample papers available online which can easily be downloaded without any cost. One can choose from limitless options and have a bright future.

So, if you are really patriotic and wish to serve your country by doing worth then NDA can be the best option.