Cracking UPSC, NDA Exam and Joining the National Defence Academy

National Defence Academy (NDA)

National Defence Academy or NDA as it is popularly called is an institution of prime excellence and trains the selected youth of our country for the defense forces (army, air force, and navy). It is a cradle of leadership where leaders of tomorrow are trained and molded to lead the defense forces and the nation at times of crisis be it external or internal

NDA Campus NDA is located at Khadakwasla with the nearest city being Pune. The Pune railway station is 24 km away. The map on the NDA website will give you an idea of the exact location.

Training at NDA Rigorous training is carried out at the National Defence Academy to cover both Academics as well as service training for the respective service viz army navy and airforce. The young untrained boy who comes to the academy leaves after three years as a polished, physically fit, mentally alert, morally straight man. In short, he becomes a gentleman. The duration of training at NDA is three years which is broken up into six terms of six months each. At the end of the training, cadets pass out of the academy and the occasion is called the passing out parade. Before the passing out parade the cadets are given a bachelor's degree in Science/Arts/Computer Applications. He is thereafter put on a platform to pursue a career in his respective service after a short training at the respective service academies.

How to Join NDA

The Union Public Service Commission conducts a combined written entrance exam for NDA and NA twice a year. The exam is held in the months of April and August. Notification for the exam appears in all major national dailies in the month of Dec/Jan for the Apr exam and in the months of Apr/May for the Aug exam. After the notification, the candidates have to fill the form which can be obtained from any major GPO. The form can also be filled online at the Union Public Service Commission website. For submitting the form online you would require a scanned photo and a copy of your signatures scanned. Before the examination candidates are sent admit cards indicating their examination center. The cards come a month before the exam and contain the roll number and exam venue. In case of non-receipt of admit cards/hall tickets or any other problem, the candidates should call the Union Public Service Commission helpline number given on the website. Admit cards, roll number and exam venue can be checked from the Union Public Service Commission website based on your application number(offline form submission) and registration number(online registration) Before dispatching their application form, the candidates must keep a photocopy of the same for their own records. Also, the receipt status of the application can be checked on the Union Public Service Commission website. All students who want to join NDA have to take the written exam. There is no short cut to this and no direct SSB. NDA should not be confused with the Technical Entry Scheme (TES) which is only for technical arms/services and there are limited vacancies. As of now, Girls are not eligible to join NDA. It is for boys only... if things change at a later date the same would be updated.

Conditions of Eligibility for NDA written Exam AGE: 16 and a half to 19 years. This age is calculated on the date of joining the NDA. EDUCATION: plus 2 qualified or appearing are eligible to sit for NDA written exam. For Air Force and Navy, the NDA exam aspirants must have physics and mathematics as subjects. Students with arts and commerce can also apply for NDA. SEX: Only male candidates can sit for the NDA written exam. Women are currently not eligible.

Scheme of Examination The NDA written exam consists of two papers, One on General Abilities and the other on Mathematics. Both the papers of the NDA written exam are held on the same day and each paper is of two and a half hours each. The maths paper is for 300 marks and the General Abilities paper of the NDA written exam is of 600 marks. The level of difficulty of questions is from medium to high.

Syllabus of the Examination The exam tests the all-round knowledge of the candidates in diverse fields like Maths, Polity, Economics, History, Geography, Current Affairs, General Knowledge, English, Physics, Chemistry, Life Sciences, etc. Detailed Syllabus can be seen at the link under Useful Information.

Results of NDA Written Examination The result of the NDA written exam is declared by the Union Public Service Commission three to four months after the written exam. It is available on the Union Public Service Commission website after being declared. As far as passing the exam is concerned, it is a competitive exam and there is no fixed cut off percentage for passing. Call Letters for interviews are sent to the candidates who comparatively perform better than others. For an idea on the interview questions, you can see the link "Tips for Interview" under useful information. After the SSB interviews, the final result of candidates based on merit is prepared and displayed on the Union Public Service Commission website. Based on vacancies joining instructions are sent to candidates as per the merit list.

How to Prepare for the NDA Exam A candidate has two options to prepare. First is self-study after buying a book from the various books available in the market. The second option is to take coaching from an Academy which is regularly preparing the students for the exam. Please check the credentials of the Academy before joining as there are many operators in the market out to make a quick buck. Avoid academies offering one-month coaching as the syllabus is vast and cannot be digested in this short time. You may end up wasting your time and money. A time plot of two months is more practical. Coaching offers the following advantages

• Coaching Institutes have prepared their own books after analysis of the exams.

• Students can take advantage of the vast experience of the tutors.

• Students get into a regular study cycle which is not possible in the self-study model.

• Knowledge is exchanged with other students.

• Coaching Institutes put the students through regular tests on the NDA pattern.

• Coaching Institutes provide mock tests at the end of the entire syllabus.

• Doubts in the student's mind can be cleared instantaneously

• Coaching institutes provide previous question papers and answer keys.

Success Tips

• Be deliberate about your preparation. Half-hearted preparation will lead to half-hearted results.

• Be consistent in your effort. Don't lose focus after a couple of days or weeks of effort. • Revise old question papers.

NDA Website You can view the NDA official website homepage at http://www.nda.nic.in/. From the home page, you can see other details.

Sponsor Ads

• Ad Space Available - Rent it Now!

Report this Page

Created on Jun 5th 2020 08:45. Viewed 395 times.

Share on APSense

Comments