NDA Exam: Application Process, Eligibility Criteria, Admit Card, Exam Pattern, Result

National Defense Academy (NDA) -

Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) every year conducts NDA exam. To choose qualified applicants for admission to the Army, Navy, and Air Force wings of the National Defense Academy and Indian Naval Academy Course (INAC), the exam is administered twice a year. Both male & female candidates are eligible to apply.

NDA Application Process

It is necessary for candidates to apply online through the upsconline.nic.in website. Candidates must first register on the Commission website via the One Time Registration (OTR) platform, and only then may they proceed to complete the online application for the test. OTR registration is required just once throughout a lifetime. The candidates can do this at any time of the year. They can fill out the online application for the test right away if they have already registered. The candidates must pay the registration fee that is specified in conjunction with the registration procedure.

NDA Eligibility Criteria –

The candidates should be citizens of India, subjects of Nepal, or persons of Indian origin who have migrated from Pakistan, Burma, Sri Lanka, and the East African Countries of Kenya, Uganda, the United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi, Zaire, Ethiopia, or Vietnam with the intention of permanently settling in India.
Only unmarried male/female candidates can apply.
For the Army Wing of the National Defense Academy, a 12th—class pass of the 10+2 pattern of School Education or equivalent examination conducted by a State Education Board or a University is required.
For the Air Force and Naval Wings of the National Defense Academy and for the 10+2 Cadet Entry Scheme at the Indian Naval Academy:—12th Class pass with Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics of the 10+2 pattern of School Education or equivalent conducted by a State Education Board or a University.
Candidates who are appearing in the 12th Class under the 10+2 pattern of School Education or equivalent examination can also apply for this examination.
Candidates must be physically fit according to physical standards for admission to National Defense Academy and Naval Academy Examination.

NDA Non-Eligibility

A candidate who has resigned or withdrawn on disciplinary grounds from any of the Armed Forces training academies is not eligible to apply.

NDA Admit Card –

An electronic admit card will be sent to qualified applicants seven days prior to the exam's start. The UPSC website will have the e-Admit Card available. The admit card will not be mailed.

NDA Exam Pattern –

Penalty For Wrong Answers –

There is a negative marking for wrong answers marked by a candidate in the Objective Type Question Papers.

Online Question Paper Representation Portal (QPRep) –

The applicants have seven days (a week) to provide feedback to the Commission on the questions posed in the exam papers. This period runs from the day after the exam date until six o'clock on the seventh day. Submission of this kind of representation is restricted to the "Online Question Paper Representation Portal (QPRep)". No representation by email/post/hand or by any other mode is accepted. No representations are accepted under any circumstances after this window of 7 days is over.

NDA Exam Centers

Exams are held across centers in India. The centers are available across all states in India. Once the registration process begins the center list is announced.

NDA Announcement Of Results And Selection

The following process is followed for results and selection of candidates -

The Union Public Service Commission prepares a list of candidates who obtain the minimum qualifying marks in the written examination as fixed by the Commission at their discretion.
The candidates whose names appear on the list must appear before a Services Selection Board for an Intelligence and Personality Test. Those who want to join the Air Force must also pass the Computerized Pilot Selection System (CPSS). Candidates for the Army and Navy wings of the NDA and the 10+2 Cadet Entry Scheme of the Indian Naval Academy will be evaluated based on their Officer Potentiality.
If eligible for SSB and willing, candidates with the Air Force as one of their options would also go through CPSS.
At the Air Force, Navy, and Selection Centers, a two-stage selection process based on the Psychological Aptitude Test and Intelligence Test has been implemented.
The first day of reporting to the Air Force, Navy, or Selection Centers will see a stage-one test administered to all applicants.
Only those candidates who qualify at stage one will be admitted to the second stage/remaining tests.
The original certificates for each of the matriculation pass certificates or equivalents supporting the date of birth and the original 10+2 pass certificates or equivalents supporting the educational qualification must be submitted, along with one photocopy of each, for those candidates who make it to stage II.
Candidates who appear before the Services Selection Board and take the test there do so at their own risk. They are not entitled to any compensation or other relief from the Government for any harm they may suffer during or as a result of any of the tests administered to them there, whether that harm is the result of someone else's negligence or not. The candidates' parents or legal guardians must attest to this on a certificate.
Candidates must earn the minimum qualifying marks separately in (i) the Written examination, as determined by the Commission at its discretion, and (ii) the Officer Potentiality Test, as determined by the Services Selection Board at its discretion, in order to be considered for admission to the Army, Navy, Naval Academy, and Air Force.
In addition to applicants for the Air Force, all SSB qualifying candidates should also be eligible for the CPSS based on their willingness, eligibility, and choice for the flying branch of the Air Force.
The qualified applicants will subsequently be arranged in a single combined list according to these conditions based on the overall scores they received in the written examination and the tests administered by the Services Selection Board.
Subject to eligibility, medical fitness, and merit-cum-preference of the candidates, the final allocation/selection for admission to the Army, Navy, and Air Force of the National Defence Academy and the 10+2 Cadet Entry Scheme of the Indian Naval Academy will be made up to the number of vacancies available.