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 NameNational Defence Academy & Naval Academy Examination (NDA & NA)
OrganisationUnion Public Service Commission
Exam Level National 
Total vacancies406
Mode of ApplicationOnline
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 
  1. GAT: 150 Objective type questions
  2. Mathematics: 120 Objective type questions
Eligibility Unmarried Boys & Girls 
Language of ExamEnglish and Hindi 
Official websitewww.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 Exam Date 2025 Out - Click to Check

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.

EventsNDA-1 DatesNDA-2 Dates
NDA Notification 202511th December 202428th May 2025
NDA Application Form 202511th December 202428th May 2025
Last date to apply 31st December 202417th June 2025
Application WithdrawalTo be notifiedTo be notified
NDA Admit Card 2025April 2025September 2025
NDA Exam Date 202513th April 202514th 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
DepartmentVacancies
National Defence Academy Army208 (including 10 for female candidates)
Navy42 (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)
Total406

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 1 Application Form 2025- Click to Check Details

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.

CategoryApplication Fee
GeneralRs. 100/-
SC/ST candidates/female candidates/Wards of JCOs/NCOs/ORsExempted

NDA Previous Year Question Paper PDFs- Click to Download

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 RequirementMinimum heightMaximum height
Except states mentioned below157.5 cm--
Height for Gorkhas and individuals belonging to 
North Eastern regions of India and hilly regions of Uttarakhand
152.5 cm---
Candidates from Lakshadweep155.5 cm---
For Flying Duty
Height RequirementMinimum heightMaximum height
Sitting Height81.5 cm96 cm
Leg Length99 cm120 cm
Thigh Length---64 cm

Click for Detailed NDA Eligibility 2025

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:

  1. Written examination
  2. 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 
CodeSubjectMax. MarksDuration
1Mathematics3002.5 hours
2General Ability Test6002.5 hours
Total9005 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

Check Detailed NDA 2 Syllabus & Exam Pattern 2025

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

StageCut 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

StageCut 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 Cut Off [Previous Year]- Click to Check

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
AgartalaBilaspur
AgraChandigarh
AhmedabadChennai
AizwalCoimbatore
AligarhCuttack
AlmoraDelhi
AnanthapurDharwad
AurangabadDispur
BareillyFaridabad
BengaluruGangtok
JorhatGarwhal (Srinagar)
BhopalGautam Budh Nagar
GhaziabadGurgaon
GorakhpurGwalior
HyderabadImphal
IndoreItanagar
JabalpurJaipur
JammuJodhpur
KochiKohima
KolkataKozhikode
LehLucknow
LudhianaMadhurai
MysuruMumbai
NagpurSambalpur
Navi MumbaiShillong
Panaji (Goa)Shimla
PatnaSiliguri
Port BlairSrinagar
Prayagraj (Allahabad)Thane
PuducherryThiruvananthapuram
PuneTiruchirapalli
RaipurTirupati
RajkotUdaipur
RanchiVaranasi
VelloreVijayawada
VishakhapatnamWarangal
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NDA Exam 2025: FAQs

Ans. UPSC will conduct the NDA 1 exam 2025 on 13th April 2025 and NDA 2 will be conducted on 14th September 2025.

Ans. NDA 1 Notification 2025 pdf has been released on 11th December 2024 for the recruitment of Officers posts in Indian Army, Navy and Air Force.

The commission will conduct written examination followed by interview round to select candidates for defence jobs through NDA Exam.

Yes, the candidates have to score minimum qualifying marks in each subject of NDA Exam 2025.

NDA Exam comprises of two subjects: Mathematics & General Ability Test (English & General Knowledge).

Yes, unmarried girls are now eligible to appear in NDA Exam.

Candidates appearing for SSB interview for the first time for a particular type of Commission i.e. Permanent or Short Service, shall be entitled for AC III Tier to and fro railway fare or bus fare including reservation cum sleeper charges within the Indian limits.