How to Join & Prepare for NDA/NA in 2020

NDA is the National Defence Academy of India. This is the place where the candidates who wish to join the Indian Armed Forces come to. NDA is the academy that provides training for the three categories of forces: The Indian Military Force, The Indian Air Force, and The Indian Navy Force. 

The candidates can apply for NDA during their 10+2 exam (the candidate cannot give an exam in their 11th grade) and after the 10+2 exam. The age limit for the candidates is roughly 16.5 years to 19.5 years. The notification regarding the exam is given on the website of UPSC and the candidate has to apply for the exam online on the same official website. The NDA exam is conducted twice a year. Only unmarried candidates can apply. To apply for the Indian Army, the candidate must have cleared 10+2 or equivalent exam by a recognized board or central board or university. The candidates willing to join the Indian Navy/ Air Force are also required to have 10+2 or equivalent cleared from recognized state board/ central board and should have maths and physics compulsory.

There are two subjects for the written exam, mathematics which is carrying  300 marks and the duration of the exam is two and a half hours. The other one is a general ability test which carries 600 marks and the duration for the exam is again two and a half hours. The speed of solving maths problems plays a vital role. The more the speed the better are the chances of clearing the exam. The SSB Test/Interview is also conducted, evaluation of which is done internally. The papers in all the subjects will comprise objective type questions only. The papers of mathematics and general ability will be set bilingually in Hindi and English. So even the candidates of the Hindi medium can give the exam without any problems. The answers are to be filled up using the Black Ball Point pen only in the OMR sheet. Calculators are not allowed. No mathematical or log table use is permitted.

Prepare for NDA After 10Th

The Maths syllabus for the exam includes algebra, vector algebra, matrices and determinants, 2D and 3D geometry, trigonometry, calculus- differential and integral, and statistics and probability. The general ability test syllabus includes two parts.

  • Part A the English whose weightage is 200 marks. Part B consists of General Knowledge whose weightage is 400 marks. There are sections in part B, Sec A is for physics (25% of weightage), Sec B for Chemistry (15%), Sec C for General Science (10%), Sec D for History (20%), Sec E for Geography (20%) and Sec F for Current Events (10%). After giving the exam and clearing the written exam, the Intelligence and Personality Test is conducted by SSB. 
  • This is a two-stage process- Stage 1 and Stage 2. 
  • Stage 1 includes the Officer Intelligence Rating (OIR), Picture Perception, and Description Test (PPDT). 
  • Stage 2 includes the Interview, Group Tasks, Psychology Tests, Conference. The evaluation of these tests would be done individually by the concerned officers.

The physical issues to take care of are as follows: wax in the ears, deviated nasal septum, phimosis, undersized chest, overweight/underweight, piles, gynecomastia, tonsillitis, and varicocele. These issues are to be taken care of, these problems are to be avoided. The candidate can compare the height and weight to the chart provided by the UPSC to check if the requirements are matched or not.

Source: Examgyani