The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) is an organizing body that conducts the National Defence Academy & Naval Academy Examination (NDA & NA). The NDA 1 2025 Notification PDF announcing 406 vacancies for unmarried boys & girls to be recruited for FY 2025-26 for the National Defence Academy and Naval Academy. The selection of eligible males & females will be done through written Examination and SSB interviews. The NDA 1 Exam 2025 is scheduled for 13th April 2025. For details information regarding the NDA 1 Exam refer to the article.
NDA 1 Exam 2025
The NDA Exam is a national-level defense exam conducted twice every year to select eligible candidates for admission to the Army, Navy and Air Force wings of NDA and Indian Naval Academy Courses (INAC). Unmarried male and female 12th pass candidates aged between 16.5 and 19.5 years are eligible can submit their application forms for NDA 1 Exam 2025. This exam is a gateway to joining the Indian Army, Navy, and Air Force as an officer.
NDA 1 2025 Notification
NDA 1 2025 Notification pdf for the NDA I Exam has been released by the UPSC at www.upsc.gov.in for the recruitment of 406 vacancies for the National Defence Academy and Naval Academy for FY 2025-26. UPSC conducts The NDA exam twice a year for admission to the Army, Navy and Air Force wings of the Indian Defence Forces. The official NDA 1 notification 2025 pdf link is provided below.
Click to Download NDA 1 Notification 2025 PDF
NDA Exam 2025
To get an overview of the UPSC NDA 1 2025 exam, candidates must refer to the summary table below, which includes all important details for the exam. Now, eligible girls can also apply for the National Defence Academy and Naval Academy Examination.
| UPSC NDA Exam 2025 | |
| Exam Name | National Defence Academy & Naval Academy Examination (NDA & NA) |
| Organisation | Union Public Service Commission |
| Exam Level | National |
| Total vacancies | 406 |
| Mode of Application | Online |
| Frequency of exam | Twice a year |
| Exam stages | Written Test and SSB Interview |
| Exam mode | Offline |
| Exam duration | Five hours (Mathematics: 2½ hours, General Ability Test (GAT): 2½ hours) |
| Exam pattern |
|
| Eligibility | Unmarried Boys & Girls |
| Language of Exam | English and Hindi |
| Official website | www.upsc.gov.in |
NDA Exam Date 2025 Out
The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) is going to conduct the National Defence Academy & Naval Academy Examination (NDA & NA-1) on 13th April 2025 and NDA & NA-2 on 14th September 2025 as per UPSC Calendar 2025. The exam will be held in two shifts. Paper 1 for Mathematics will be held from 10 am to 12:30 pm and the second paper for the General Ability Test (GAT) will be held from 2 pm to 4:30 pm. All exam-related information will be released along with the admit cards.
NDA 2025- Important Dates
The important dates has already been released by the UPSC for NDA 1 and 2 exams along with the UPSC Calendar 2025. The UPSC NDA-1 2025 Notification pdf has been released on 11th December 2024. Check the important dates for NDA 1 2025 from the below table and mark them on your calendar so you do not miss out on the exam dates.
| Events | NDA-1 Dates | NDA-2 Dates |
| NDA Notification 2025 | 11th December 2024 | 28th May 2025 |
| NDA Application Form 2025 | 11th December 2024 | 28th May 2025 |
| Last date to apply | 31st December 2024 | 17th June 2025 |
| Application Withdrawal | To be notified | To be notified |
| NDA Admit Card 2025 | April 2025 | September 2025 |
| NDA Exam Date 2025 | 13th April 2025 | 14th September 2025 |
NDA Exam Vacancy 2025
The total number of vacancies to be recruited through the NDA 1 2025 exam has been released along with the official NDA 1 Notification 2025 of the UPSC NDA/NA 1 2025 exam on 11th December 2024. This year, NDA 1 Recruitment 2025 will be conducted for 406 vacancies. Check the below table for detailed vacancy distribution for this year's vacancy.
| NDA 1 Vacancy 2025 | ||
| Department | Vacancies | |
| National Defence Academy | Army | 208 (including 10 for female candidates) |
| Navy | 42 (including 06 for female candidates) | |
| Air Force | (i) Flying – 92 (including 02 for female candidates) (ii) Ground Duties (Tech) – 18 (including 02 for female candidates) (iii) Ground Duties (Non-Tech) – 10 (including 02 for female candidates) |
|
| Naval Academy (10+2 Cadet Entry Scheme) |
36 (including 05 for female candidates) | |
| Total | 406 | |
NDA 1 Online Form 2025
The online registration dates for the NDA 1 Application filling have been already released along with the annual calendar. The candidates can submit their NDA 1 Online Forms at www.upsc.gov.in from 11th December 2024 onwards. The last date for submission of the application form was 31st December 2024. Click on the below link to check all details for the application forms
NDA 2025 Application Fee
The Application fee for a General Category candidate is Rs 100/-
The fee can be deposited in any Branch of SBI by cash or can be submitted by using the net banking facility of the State Bank of India or directly by using Visa/ MasterCard/ Rupay Credit/ Debit Card.
Candidates belonging to SC/ ST candidates/ Sons of JCOs/ NCOs/ ORs are exempted from payment of the fee.
| Category | Application Fee |
| General | Rs. 100/- |
| SC/ST candidates/female candidates/Wards of JCOs/NCOs/ORs | Exempted |
NDA PREVIOUS YEAR QUESTIONS TEST SERIES - CHAPTER WISE
UPSC NDA 2025 Eligibility Criteria
The candidates must hold the minimum qualification to be eligible for Defence Jobs. Below we have mentioned the details for Education Qualification, Age Limit, Nationality, and Physical Standards.
NDA Education Qualification
For Army Wing of National Defence Academy: The candidate should be 12th pass/HSC or equivalent examination from a State Education Board or a University
For Air Force and Naval Wings of National Defence Academy and for the 10+2 Cadet Entry Scheme at the Indian Naval Academy: The candidate should have completed their 12th Class/HSC or equivalent with Physics and Mathematics from a State Education Board or a recognised University
NOTE: The candidates appearing in the 12th Class under the 10+2 School Education or equivalent examination are too eligible to appear in the UPSC NDA examination.
NDA Age Limit
Only unmarried male/female candidates born not earlier than 2nd July 2006 and not later than 1st July 2009 are eligible to apply for the NDA 1 Exam 2025.
Nationality
The candidates must be unmarried male/female and should be:
a Citizen of India, or
a Subject of Bhutan, or
a Subject of Nepal, or
a Tibetan refugee who came over to India before the 1st of January 1962 to permanently settle in India, or
a person of Indian origin who has migrated from Pakistan, Burma, Sri Lanka and East African Countries of Kenya, Uganda, the United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi, Zaire and Ethiopia or Vietnam to permanently settle in India
NDA Physical Standards
The candidates must be physically fit as per the physical standards for National Defence Academy and Naval Academy. They should be able to fulfill the following criteria:
(a) Running: 2.4 km in 15 minutes
(b) Skipping
(c) Pushups & Sit-ups: Minimum 20 each
(d) Chin-ups: Minimum 08
(e) Rope Climbing: 3.4 meters
NDA Height Requirements
| For Ground Duty | ||
| Height Requirement | Minimum height | Maximum height |
| Except states mentioned below | 157.5 cm | -- |
| Height for Gorkhas and individuals belonging to North Eastern regions of India and hilly regions of Uttarakhand |
152.5 cm | --- |
| Candidates from Lakshadweep | 155.5 cm | --- |
| For Flying Duty | ||
| Height Requirement | Minimum height | Maximum height |
| Sitting Height | 81.5 cm | 96 cm |
| Leg Length | 99 cm | 120 cm |
| Thigh Length | --- | 64 cm |
UPSC NDA Selection Process 2025
UPSC NDA 2 is the examination process that is conducted by the Union Public Service Commission to provide the opportunity to the youth of the country who wish to join defense jobs. The NDA will be conducted in two stages:
- Written examination
- Intelligence & Personality Test (SSB)
A candidate who qualifies in a written examination will be called for a personality test which will be conducted to check the intelligence and personality. The candidates have to clear both stages to get their names on the merit list. The merit list/final result will be generated by UPSC with the cumulative score of the Written Exam and the SSB will be considered for final selection.
NDA 2025 Exam Pattern
The candidates who are preparing for NDA I Exam 2025, must be familiar with the exam pattern that is followed by UPSC. We have discussed the details for NDA-1 Exam Pattern 2025 below:
1. The exam will be conducted in an offline mode
2. The questions will be in Multiple Choice Questions
3. The questions will be asked in bilingual languages (English & Hindi)
4. There will be a negative marking of 0.83 marks for Maths, 1.33 for English, and 1.33 marks for GK
5. Have a look at the detailed exam pattern for NDA I Examination
| NDA 1 2025 Exam Pattern | |||
| Code | Subject | Max. Marks | Duration |
| 1 | Mathematics | 300 | 2.5 hours |
| 2 | General Ability Test | 600 | 2.5 hours |
| Total | 900 | 5 hours | |
NDA Exam 2025 Syllabus
There would be two subjects Mathematics & General Ability Test for which the candidates have to be well-prepared. The candidates are advised to not skip any topic for the NDA Exam and begin their preparation along with the detailed syllabus. There will be questions from English (200 marks) and General Knowledge (400 marks) in the General Ability Test.
Topics covered under Mathematics
| Algebra |
| Calculus |
| Matrices and Determinants |
| Integral Calculus and Differential Equations |
| Trigonometry |
| Vector Algebra |
| Analytical Geometry Of Two and Three Dimension |
| Statistics and Probability |
Topics covered under the General Ability Test
The questions in this paper will be asked from the English language and General knowledge.
Topics covered under English
| Spotting Errors |
| Comprehension |
| Selecting Words |
| Ordering of Words in a Sentence |
| Sentence Improvement |
| Antonyms |
| Synonyms |
Topics covered under General Knowledge
| Physics |
| Chemistry |
| General Science |
| History & Freedom Movement |
| Geography |
| Current Affairs/ Events |
NDA SSB Interview 2025
The SSB Interview will be conducted to assess the Intelligence and Personality Test. The candidates who have qualified in the written exam have to appear in 2nd stage i.e. interview process conducted by the officials. The candidates who qualify for the interview round are required to submit a birth certificate and pass certificate. The merit list will be prepared on the basis of the candidate's performance in the written examination and interview rounds.
The SSB interview for the candidates who qualified in the written examination is likely to be held from January to April, 2025.
NDA Admit Card
UPSC will release the NDA Admit Card on around 2 days before the exam date. The candidates who are going to register for the exam can download their UPSC NDA II Admit Card from the official website @upsc.gov.in using their required credentials.
NDA Answer Key
The answer key for UPSC NDA Exam will be released officially after the conduction of the written test. The commission will be issuing a provisional answer key first to which the candidates can submit their objections. After the assessment of the provisional answer key and objections, the final answer key will be released.
NDA Exam Result
The result of the written test will be released around a month later after the conduction of the NDA 2025 Exam with the names of candidates shortlisted for the interview round. The commission will be releasing the merit list of candidates selected for admission to Army, Navy and Air Force wings of the NDA and Indian Naval Academy Courses (INAC) of the NDA for the 155th Course and for the 117th Indian Naval Academy Course (INAC) after the SSB Interview process.
UPSC NDA Cut Off
The cutoff for the written exam and final selection is released after the declaration of the final result. NDA cut-off marks for the written exam will be calculated out of 900. The final cutoff marks are calculated on the basis of marks scored by the last recommended candidates out of 1800 marks (900 marks for the written exam and 900 marks for the SSB Interview). The minimum qualifying mark for each subject is 25%. The candidates can check the previous year's cut off marks for NDA Exam below.
NDA (II) 2021 Cutoff
| Stage | Cut off |
| Minimum qualifying standard at the written stage (out of 900) | 343 |
| Marks secured by last recommended candidate (Final Stage) (out of 1800) | 726 |
NDA (I) 2021 Cut Off
| Stage | Cut off |
| Minimum qualifying standard at the written stage (out of 900) | 355 |
| Marks secured by last recommended candidate (Final Stage) (out of 1800) | 709 |
UPSC NDA 2025 Exam Centres
The candidates were given the choice to choose their preferred cities for the exam centers while filling out their application forms. Below is the list of cities where the UPSC NDA I Exam 2024 will be conducted on 13th April 2025.
| NDA 1 2025 Exam Centres | |
| Agartala | Bilaspur |
| Agra | Chandigarh |
| Ahmedabad | Chennai |
| Aizwal | Coimbatore |
| Aligarh | Cuttack |
| Almora | Delhi |
| Ananthapur | Dharwad |
| Aurangabad | Dispur |
| Bareilly | Faridabad |
| Bengaluru | Gangtok |
| Jorhat | Garwhal (Srinagar) |
| Bhopal | Gautam Budh Nagar |
| Ghaziabad | Gurgaon |
| Gorakhpur | Gwalior |
| Hyderabad | Imphal |
| Indore | Itanagar |
| Jabalpur | Jaipur |
| Jammu | Jodhpur |
| Kochi | Kohima |
| Kolkata | Kozhikode |
| Leh | Lucknow |
| Ludhiana | Madhurai |
| Mysuru | Mumbai |
| Nagpur | Sambalpur |
| Navi Mumbai | Shillong |
| Panaji (Goa) | Shimla |
| Patna | Siliguri |
| Port Blair | Srinagar |
| Prayagraj (Allahabad) | Thane |
| Puducherry | Thiruvananthapuram |
| Pune | Tiruchirapalli |
| Raipur | Tirupati |
| Rajkot | Udaipur |
| Ranchi | Varanasi |
| Vellore | Vijayawada |
| Vishakhapatnam | Warangal |
