NDA Exam 2021: Union Public Service Commission has announced the revised exam date for NDA-2 Exam to be held on 14th November 2021 (Sunday). Previously, the exam was scheduled for 05th September 2021 which was postponed due to COVID-19 pandemic. The candidates who have registered for NDA II Exam must prepare accordingly for the exam and those who are interested for upcoming NDA Exams must go through the below article for detailed information for UPSC NDA Exam.
NDA Exam is conducted twice every year for selecting the eligible candidates for the admission to Army, Navy and Air Force wings of NDA and Indian Naval Academy Courses (INAC) of the NDA for the 148th Course and for the 110th Indian Naval Academy Course (INAC) commencing from 02nd July 2022. National Defence. The selection will be done through Online Examination and SSB Interview.
To have an overview of UPSC NDA Exam, the candidates must refer to the below summary table including all important details for the exam.
| Exam Name | National Defence Academy & Naval Academy Examination (NDA & NA-II) |
| Organisation | Union Public Service Commission |
| Exam level | National |
| Total vacancies | 400 |
| Exam Date | 14th November 2021 |
| Frequency of exam | Twice a year |
| Exam stages | Written Test and SSB Interview |
| Exam mode | Offline |
| Exam duration | Five hours (Mathematics: 2 ½ hours, General Ability Test (GAT): 2 ½ hours) |
| Exam pattern |
|
| Language of Exam | English and Hindi |
| Exam Centres | 75 |
| Official website | www.upsc.gov.in |
Latest Update: On 18th August 2021, Supreme Court has passed an interim order declaring that from now onwards, "Female candidates are permitted to appear for the NDA and Naval Academy Examination which has been scheduled for 14th November 2021 and serve in Indian Armed Forces too".
NDA II notification 2021 (Advt No. 10/2021-NDA II) was released on www.upsc.gov.in on 09th June 2021 announcing 400 vacancies to be recruited for FY 2021-22 for National Defence Academy and Naval Academy. The direct link to download official notification has been provided below.
UPSC NDA II Notification 2021: Download PDF
The UPSC NDA II Online Written Examination has been rescheduled for 14th November 2021 which was earlier postsponed due to COVID-19 pandemic. Check the important dates for NDA-I & NDA-II 2021 from the below table and mark on your calendar so you do not miss out the exam dates.
| Events | NDA-1 Dates | NDA-2 Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Notification | 30 December 2020 | 09th June 2021 |
| Application form | 30 December 2020 | 09th June 2021 |
| Last date to apply | 19th January 2021 | 29th June 2021 |
| Application Withdrawl | 27th January to 02nd February 2021 | 06th to 12th July 2021 |
| Written exam | 18th April 2021 | 14th November 2021 |
| Admit card | 26th March 2021 | October 2021 |
| Declaration of written result | 30th June 2021 | December 2021/January 2022 |
| SSB Interview | July to Sept 2021 | January 2022 to April 2022 |
A total of 400 vacancies has been announced for National Defence Academy (NDA) and Naval Academy (NA) out of which 370 belongs to NDA and remaining 30 for NA. Check the below table for detailed vacancy distribution for NDA- II 2021.
| Academy | Vacancies |
| Naval Defence Academy | 300 (Army- 208, Navy- 42, Air Force- 120) |
| Naval Academy (10+2 Cadet Entry Scheme) | 30 |
| Total | 400 |
UPSC NDA is the examination process that is conducted by Union Public Service Commission to provide the oppostunity to the youth of the country who wish to join defence jobs. The selection for defence jobs through NDA 2 Exam 2021 will be conducted in two stages:
Written examination
Intelligence & Personality Test (SSB)
A candidate who qualify in written examination will be called for personality test which will be conducted to check the intelligence and personality. The candidates have to clear both the stages to get their names in the 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.
The candidates who are preparing for NDA II Exam 2021, must be familiar with the exam pattern that is followed by UPSC. We have discussed the details for NDA 2021 exam pattern below:
The exam will be conducted in an offline mode
The questions will be in Multiple Choice Questions
The questions will be asked in bilingual language (English & Hindi)
There will be a negative marking of 0.83 marks for Maths, 1.33 for English, and 1.33 marks for GK
Have a look at the detailed exam pattern for NDA II Online Examination
| Code | Subject | Max. Marks | Duration |
| 1 | Mathematics | 300 | 2.5 hours |
| 2 | General Ability Test | 600 | 2.5 hours |
| Total | 900 | 5 hours | |
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 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.
| Algebra |
| Calculus |
| Matrices and Determinants |
| Integral Calculus and Differential Equations |
| Trigonometry |
| Vector Algebra |
| Analytical Geometry Of Two and Three Dimension |
| Statistics and Probability |
The questions in this paper will be asked from English language and General knowlegde.
| Spotting Errors |
| Comprehension |
| Selecting Words |
| Ordering of Words in a Sentence |
| Sentence Improvement |
| Antonyms |
| Synonyms |
| Physics |
| Chemistry |
| General Science |
| History & Freedom Movement |
| Geography |
| Current Events |
The SSB Interview will be conducted for assessing the Intelligence and Personality Test tentatively in January 2022 to April 2022. The candidates who have qualified in the written exam have to appear in 2 stages interview process conducted by the officials. The candidates who qualify the interview round are required to submit a birth certificate and pass certificate. The merit list will be prepared on the basis of candidate's performance in the online examination and interview round.
The online application form for NDA II Exam 2021 was active from 09th June to 29th June 2021 on www.upsc.gov.in.
NDA II Online Application Form [Link Inactive]
The Application fee for General Category candidate is Rs 100/-
The fee can be deposited in any Branch of SBI by cash, or can be submitted by using net banking facility of 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.
Before filling the UPSC NDA II application form, the candidates must keep the following documents aside.
Scanned images of photograph and signature
Photo-identity card in PDF format (Aadhar Card / Voter Card/PAN Card/ Passport/ Driving License/ School Photo ID or any other photo ID Card issued by the State / Central Government)
Bank details to make an online transaction
Marksheet and admit card of Class 10 and 12
Visit the official website of www.upsc.gov.in and click on "Apply Online". The candidates have to complete their application form in two stages: Part I & Part II which has been detailed below:
Step-I The candidate must begin with the registration process and submit all the details correctly in the application form.
Step-II The next step is to choose the preferred branch you want to join in the Defence Army.
Step-III Enter your email id and phone number and verify the details.
Step-IV The last step to complete the registrtaion process is generation of Registration ID.
Step-I Pay the application fee for UPSC NDA II Exam as applicable.
Step-II Select the preferred city where you want your exam centre to be allotted.
Step-III Upload your photograph, signature, and photo-identy proof. The file should not exceed 300 kb and must be less than 20 kb
Step-IV Agree to the declaration and submit your application form for UPSC NDA Exam. Download a copy of application form for future reference.
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, Physical Standards.
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 who are appearing in the 12th Class under the 10+2 pattern of School Education or equivalent examination are too eligible to appear in UPSC NDA examination.
For UPSC NDA 1 Exam 2021, the candidates must have born not earlier than July 2, 2002, and not later than July 1, 2005. For UPSC NDA 2 Exam 2021, candidates must have born not earlier than January 2, 2003, and not later than January 1, 2006
The candidates must be unmarried male 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 January 1962 with the intention of permanently settling 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 with the intention of permanently settling in India
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
| 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 | --- |
| Height Requirement | Minimum height | Maximum height |
| Sitting Height | 81.5 cm | 96 cm |
| Leg Length | 99 cm | 120 cm |
| Thigh Length | --- | 64 cm |
It is expected that UPSC will release the NDA II Admit Card in the last week of October 2021 for the exam which has been rescheduled for 14th November 2021. The candidates who have registered for the exam can download their UPSC NDA II Admit Card from the official website @upsc.gov.in using their registration number and password generated at the time of UPSC NDA II Application Process.
The answer key for UPSC NDA II Exam will be released officially after the conduction of written test. The commission will be issuing provisional answer key first to which the candidates can submit their objections. After the assessment of provisional answer key and objections, the final answer key will be released.
The result of online test will be released tentatively in December 2021/January 2022 with the names of candidates shortlisted for interview round. The commission will be releasing the merit list of candidates selected for the admission to Army, Navy and Air Force wings of NDA and Indian Naval Academy Courses (INAC) of the NDA for the 148th Course and for the 110th Indian Naval Academy Course (INAC) after the SSB Interview process.
The cutoff for the written exam and final selection is released after the declaration of the final result. NDA cutoff 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 of written exam and 900 marks of SSB Interview). The minimum qualifying marks for each subject is 25%. The candidates can check the previous year cut off marks for NDA Exam from below.
| 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) | 719 |
| Stage | Cut off |
| Minimum qualifying standard at the written stage (out of 900) | 723 |
| Marks secured by last recommended candidate (Final Stage) (out of 1800) | 355 |
The candidates were given choice to choose their preferred cities for the exam centres while filling their application form. Below is the list of cities where UPSC NDA II Exam will be conducted on 14th November 2021.
| 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 |
Q1. What is the exam date of UPSC NDA II exam?
UPSC has rescheduled the NDA II Exam on 14th November 2021.
Q2. Are girls eligible to apply for NDA Exam?
No, only unmarried males are eligible to appear in NDA Exam.
Q3. What are the stages conducted for NDA II Exam?
The commission will conduct Online examination followed by interview round to select candidates for defence jobs through NDA Exam.
Q4. Is it necessary to secure the minimum qualifying marks in each subject of NDA II exam?
Yes, the candidates have to score minimum qualifying marks in each subject of NDA II Exam 2021.
Q5. Which subjects are included in NDA II Exam?
NDA II Exam comprises of two subjects: Mathematics & General Ability Test (English & General Knowledge).