The online application for National Defence Academy 2018 entrance exam has already been released on January 15. One of the most sought after examination for students who wish to pursue career in Indian Army is NDA examination. It basically a gateway of Defence Forces like Army, Navy and Air Force. NDA exam is a national level examination and is being organized twice in a year – NDA I and NDA II. The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) conducts the NDA exam in various cities across the country. NDA 2018 Exam Schedule for Paper-I & Paper-II is now available on the official website of the UPSC. Candidates are required to apply online by using the website upsconline.nic.in. The Online Applications can be filled upto 05^th February, 2018 till 6.00 PM. According to UPSC, the eligible candidates will be issued an e-Admit Card three weeks before the commencement of the examination.  The e-Admit Card will be made available on the UPSC website for being downloaded by candidates.  No Admit Card will be sent by post.  All the applicants are required to provide valid & active e-mail id while filling up online application form as the Commission may use electronic mode for contacting them.

Examination will be conducted by the Union Public Service Commission on 22^nd April, 2018 for admission to the Army, Navy and Air Force wings of the NDA for the 141^th Course, and for the 103^rd Indian Naval Academy Course (INAC) commencing from 2^nd  January, 2019.

NDA 2018 Exam Dates

NDA 2018 Vacancy

National Defence Academy: 360 (208 for Army, 60 for Navy and 92 for Air Force)

Naval Academy: 55 (10+2 Cadet Entry Scheme)

Total: 415

NDA 2018 Examination Centres

The Examination will be held at the following Centres: Agartala, Ahmedabad, Aizawl, Allahabad, Bengaluru, Bareilly, Bhopal, Chandigarh, Chennai, Cuttack, Dehradun, Delhi, Dharwad, Dispur, Gangtok, Hyderabad, Imphal, Itanagar, Jaipur, Jammu, Jorhat, Kochi, Kohima, Kolkata, Lucknow, Madurai, Mumbai, Nagpur, Panaji (Goa), Patna, Port Blair, Raipur, Ranchi, Sambalpur, Shillong, Shimla, Srinagar, Thiruvananthapuram, Tirupati, Udaipur and Vishakhapatnam.

Applicants should note that there will be a ceiling on the number of candidates allotted to each of the centres except Chennai, Dispur, Kolkata and Nagpur. Allotment of Centres will be on the first-apply-first-allot basis and once the capacity of a particular centre is attained, the same will be frozen. Applicants, who cannot get a centre of their choice due to ceiling, will be required to choose a Centre from the remaining ones. Applicants are, thus, advised that they may apply early so that they could get a Centre of their choice.

NDA 2018 Eligibility Criteria

 Nationality : A candidate must either 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.

NDA 2018 Age Limits, Sex and Marital Status

Only unmarried male candidates born not earlier than 02^nd July, 1999 and not later than 1^st July, 2002 are eligible.

The date of birth accepted by the Commission is that entered in the Matriculation or Secondary School Leaving Certificate or in a certificate recognised by an Indian University as equivalent to Matriculation or in an extract from a Register of Matriculates maintained by a University which must be certified by the proper authority of the University or in the Higher Secondary or an equivalent examination certificates.

NDA 2018 Educational Qualifications

For Army Wing of National Defence Academy :—12th Class pass of the 10+2 pattern of School Education or equivalent examination conducted by 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 :—12th Class pass of the 10+2 pattern of School Education or equivalent with Physics and Mathematics conducted by a State Education Board or a University.

Candidates who are appearing in the 12th Class under the 10+2 pattern of School Education or equivalent examination can also apply for this examination.

NDA 2018 Physical Standards

Candidates must be physically fit according to physical standards for admission to National Defence Academy and Naval Academy Examination (I), 2018.

NDA 2018 Fees

Candidates (excepting SC/ST candidates/Sons of JCOs/NCOs/ORs who are exempted from payment of fee) are required to pay a fee of Rs. 100 either by depositing the money in any Branch of SBI by cash, or by using net banking facility of State Bank of India/State Bank of Bikaner & Jaipur/State Bank of Hyderabad/State Bank of Mysore/State Bank of Patiala/State Bank of Travancore or by using Visa/MasterCard/Rupay Credit/Debit Card.

Applicants who opt for “Pay by Cash” mode, should print the system generated Pay-in-slip during Part-II registration and deposit the fee at the counter of SBI Branch on the next working day only.  “Pay by Cash” mode option will be deactivated at 23.59 hours of 04.02.2018 i.e. one day before the closing date; however, applicants who have generated their Payin-slip before it is de-activated may pay at the counter of SBI Branch during banking hours on the closing date.  Such applicants who are unable to pay by cash on the closing date i.e. during banking hours at SBI Branch, for reason whatsoever,  even if holding a valid Pay-in-Slip, will have no other offline option but to opt for online Debit/Credit Card or Internet Banking Payment mode on the closing date i.e. till 6.00 P.M. of 05.02.2018.

How to Fill NDA 2018 Form

Candidates are required to apply Online by using the website upsconline.nic.in. The applicants are advised to submit only single application; however if due to any unavoidable situation, if he submits another/multiple applications, then he must ensure that application with the higher RID is complete in all respects like applicants' details, examination centre, photograph, signature, fee etc.

NDA 2018 Results

The NDA 2018 written examination results is likely to be declared in the month of July 2018.  All the candidates who have successfully qualified in the written examination are required to register themselves online on Directorate General of Recruiting website www.joinindianarmy.nic.in. E-mail ID as provided to UPSC while filling UPSC online application should invariably be used while registering on www.joinindianarmy.nic.in.  These candidates would then be allotted Selection Centres through the aforesaid website.

The Union Public Service Commission will prepare a list of candidates who obtain the minimum qualifying marks in the written examination as fixed by the Commission at their discretion. Such candidates shall appear before a Services Selection Board for Intelligence and Personality Test where candidates for the Army/Navy wings of the NDA and 10+2 Cadet Entry Scheme of Indian Naval Academy will be assessed on Officers Potentiality and those for the Air Force in Computerised Pilot Selection System (CPSS) and Pilot Aptitude Test (which forms the whole PAB Test) and for Officers Potentiality. PABT applicable to candidates with Air Force as First choice would also be conducted for all SSB qualified candidates with one of the choice as Air Force subject to their eligibility and if they are so willing.

NDA 2018 Selection Procedure

NDA 2018 selection is based on two-stage selection procedure based on Psychological Aptitude Test and Intelligence Test has been introduced at Selection Centres/Air Force Selection Boards/Naval Selection Boards. All the candidates will be put to stage-one test on first day of reporting at Selection Centres/Air Force Selection Boards/Naval Selection Boards. Only those candidates who qualify at stage one will be admitted to the second stage/remaining tests. Those candidates who qualify stage II will be required to submit the Original Certificates along with one photocopy each of : (i) Original Matriculation pass certificate or equivalent in support of date of birth, (ii) Original 10+2 pass certificate or equivalent in support of educational qualification.

To be acceptable, candidates for the Army/Navy/Naval Academy and Air Force should secure the minimum qualifying marks separately in (i) Written examination as fixed by the Commission at their discretion and (ii) Officer Potentiality Test as fixed by the Services Selection Board at their discretion. Over and above candidates for the Air Force, and all the SSB qualified candidates as per their willingness, eligibility and preference for Air Force, should separately qualify the PABT.

Subject to these conditions the qualified candidates will then be placed in a single combined list on the basis of total marks secured by them in the Written Examination and the Services Selection Board Tests. The final allocation/selection for admission to the Army, Navy, Air Force of the National Defence Academy and 10+2 Cadet Entry Scheme of Indian Naval Academy will be made upto the number of vacancies available subject to eligibility, medical fitness and merit-cum-preference of the candidates.

NDA 2018 examination patterns

The subjects of the written examination, the time allowed and the maximum marks allotted to each subject will be as follows:—

The paper in all subjects will be objective only. In the question papers, wherever necessary, questions involving the metric system of Weights and Measures only will be set. Candidates must write the papers in their own hand. In no circumstances will they be allowed the help of a scribe to write answers for them. The Commission have discretion to fix qualifying marks in any or all the subjects at the examination. The candidates are not permitted to use calculator or Mathematical or logarithmic table for answering objective type papers (Test Booklets). They should not therefore, bring the same inside the Examination Hall. Candidates should note that there will be penalty (Negative Marking) for wrong answers marked by a candidate in the Objective Type Question Papers.

NDA 2018 Syllabus

 Paper-I: Maths, 300 Marks

Paper II: General Ability Test, 600 Marks

NDA 2018 Mathematics Syllabus

The Mathematics paper covers the following chapters and topics:

Trigonometry: Trigonometrical ratios,properties of triangles, Angles and their measures in degrees and in radians, Inverse trigonometric functions, Trigonometric identities Sum and difference formulae, Applications – Height and distance, Multiple and Sub-multiple angles.

Algebra: Complex numbers – basic properties, modulus, Conversion of a number in decimal system to binary system and vice-versa, Arithmetic, argument, cube roots of unity, Geometric and Harmonic progressions, Solution of linear inequations of two variables by graphs, Representation of real numbers on a line, Binary system of numbers, Binomial theorem and its application, Quadratic equations with real coefficients, Permutation and Combination, Logarithms and their applications.

Differential Calculus: Composite functions, one to one, onto and inverse functions, geometrical and physical interpretation of a derivative – applications, increasing and decreasing functions, Continuity of functions – examples, algebraic operations on continuous functions, Application of derivatives in problems of maxima and minima, Concept of a real valued function – domain, range and graph of a function, Notion of limit, Standard limits – examples, geometrical and physical interpretation of a derivative – applications, Derivative of a function at a point, Derivatives of sum, product and quotient of functions, derivative of a function with respect of another function, derivative of a composite function and Second order derivatives.

Vector Algebra: Vectors in two and three dimensions, scalar multiplication of vector, scalar product or dot product of two-vectors, Applications-work done by a force and moment of a force, and in geometrical problems, magnitude and direction of a vector, Unit and null vectors, addition of vectors, Vector product and cross product of two vectors.

Integral Calculus and Differential equations: Integration by substitution and by parts, trigonometric, Definition of order and degree of a differential equation, formation of a differential equation by examples, exponential and hyperbolic functions, solution of first order and first degree differential equations of various types – examples, standard integrals involving algebraic expressions, Evaluation of definite integrals – determination of areas of plane regions bounded by curves – applications, General and particular solution of a differential equation, Integration as inverse of differentiation, Application in problems of growth and decay.

Matrices and Determinants: Types of Matrices, Determinant of a matrix, adjoin and inverse of a square matrix, operations on matrices, Applications – Solution of a system of linear equations in two or three unknowns by Cramer's rule and by Matrix Method, basic properties of determinant.

Analytical Geometry of two and three dimensions: Distance formula, Equation of a circle in standard and in general form, Ellipse and hyperbola, Angle between two lines, Rectangular Cartesian Coordinate system, Equation of a line in various forms, Standard forms of parabola, Distance of a point from a line, Eccentricity and axis of a conic.

Point in a three-dimensional space, distance between two points, Equation of a plane and a line in various forms, Equation of a sphere, Direction Cosines and direction ratios, angle between two lines and angle between two planes.

Statistics: Frequency distribution, Classification of data, cumulative frequency distribution – examples Graphical representation – Histogram, Measures of Central tendency – mean, median and mode, Pie Chart, Frequency Polygon – examples, Variance and standard deviation – determination and comparison, Correlation and regression.

Probability: outcomes and associated sample space, Binomial distribution, Random experiment, examples of random experiments giving rise to Binominal distribution, events, mutually exclusive and exhaustive events, Bayes' theorem – simple problems, impossible and certain events, Complementary, elementary and composite events, Union and Intersection of events, Definition of probability – classical and statistical – examples, Conditional probability, Random variable as function on a sample space, Elementary theorems on probability – simple problems, Binomial distribution, examples of random experiments giving rise to Binominal distribution.

General Ability Syllabus
The general ability section comprises of two parts which are mentioned below:

Part A
English: The English syllabus covers the topics like vocabulary, Grammar and usage, comprehension and cohesion in extended text to test the candidate's proficiency in English.

Part B
General Knowledge: The question paper comprises of general knowledge and covers the subjects that include Physics, Chemistry, Social Studies, General Science, Geography and Current Events.

Section A – Physics

Motion of objects, Newton's Laws of Motion, Force and Momentum, Parallelogram of Forces, Stability and Equilibrium of bodies, Gravitation, elementary ideas of work, Velocity and Acceleration, Power and Energy, Sound waves and their properties, Simple musical instruments, Natural and Artificial Magnets, Properties of a Magnet, Earth as a Magnet, Siphon, Levers, Balloon, Pumps, Hydrometer, Pressure Cooker, Thermos Flask, Gramophone, Telegraphs, Telephone, Periscope, Telescope, Microscope, Mariner's Compass; Lightening Conductors, Safety Fuses, Simple Pendulum.

Simple Pulleys, Physical Properties and States of Matter, Mass, Weight, Volume, Density and Specific Gravity, Principle of Archimedes, Pressure Barometer, Effects of Heat, change of State and Latent Heat, Modes of transference of Heat, Rectilinear propagation of Light, Reflection and refraction. Spherical mirrors and Lenses. Human Eye, Static and Current Electricity, Measurement of temperature and heat, conductors and Non-conductors, Ohm's Law, Simple Electrical Circuits, Heating, Lighting and Magnetic effects of Current, Measurement of Electrical Power, Primary and Secondary Cells, Use of X-Rays.

Section B – Chemistry

Preparation and Properties of Hydrogen, Oxygen, Nitrogen and Carbon-Di-oxide, Oxidation and Reduction, Material used in the preparation of substances like soap, Glass, Ink, Paper, Cement, Paints, Safety Matches, and Gun-Powder, Carbon – different forms, Physical and Chemical changes. Symbols, Formulas and simple Chemical Equations, Law of Chemical Combination (excluding problems). Properties of Air and Water, Acids, bases and salts, Elements, Mixtures and Compounds, Fertilizers – Natural and Artificial, Elementary ideas about the Structure of Atom, Atomic, Equivalent and Molecular Weights, Valency.

Section C – General Science

Basis of Life – Cells, Protoplasms and Tissues, Constituents of food, Balanced Diet, Achievements of Eminent Scientists, Difference between the living and non-living, Elementary knowledge of human Body and its important organs, Food – Source of Energy for man, Growth and Reproduction in Plants and Animals, Common Epidemics, their causes and prevention, The Solar System – Meteors and Comets, Eclipses.

Section D – History

Freedom Movement in India, Bhoodan, Sarvodaya, National Integration and Welfare State, Basic Teachings of Mahatma Gandhi, A broad survey of Indian History, with emphasis on Culture and Civilisation, Elementary knowledge of Five Year Plans of India, Elementary study of Indian Constitution and Administration, Panchayati Raj, Forces shaping the modern world; Renaissance, Exploration and Discovery; War of American Independence, French Revolution, Industrial Revolution and Russian Revolution, Impact of Science and Technology on Society, Concept of one World, United Nations, Panchsheel, Democracy, Socialism and Communism, Co-operatives and Community Development, Role of India in the present world.

Section E – Geography

Origin of Earth, Weathering – Mechanical and Chemical, Earthquakes and volcanoes, Atmosphere and its composition, Temperature and Atmospheric Pressure, Rocks and their classification, Planetary Winds, cyclones and Anti-cyclones, Humidity, Condensation and Precipitation, Major Natural regions of the World, Important Sea ports and main sea, land and air routes of India. Main items of Imports and Exports of India, Types of Climate, The Earth, its shape and size, Lattitudes and Longitudes, Concept of time, International Date Line, Movements of Earth and their effects, Ocean Currents and Tides, Regional Geography of India – Climate, Natural vegetation. Mineral and Power resources, location and distribution of agricultural and industrial activities.

Section F – Current Events

Current important world events, Knowledge of Important events that have happened in India in the recent years, prominent personalities – both Indian and International including those connected with cultural activities and sports.

It is not compulsory that the topics mentioned above will surely come in the examination. The question paper does not remain consistent, it changes every year. It may happen that the question paper will consists of the topic not discussed here.

Intelligence and Personality Test

The SSB procedure consists of two stage Selection process – stage I and stage II.  Only those candidates who clear the stage I are permitted to appear for stage II. Stage I comprises of Officer Intelligence Rating (OIR) tests are Picture Perception, Description Test (PP&DT).  The candidates will be shortlisted based on combination of performance in OIR Test and PP&DT.

Stage II Comprises of Interview, Group Testing Officer Tasks, Psychology Tests and the Conference.  These tests are conducted over 4 days.  The details of these tests are given on the website joinindianarmy.nic.in.

The personality of a candidate is assessed by three different assessors viz. The Interviewing Officer (IO), Group Testing Officer (GTO) and the Psychologist.  There are no separate weightage for each test.  The mks are allotted by assessors only after taking into consideration the performance of the candidate holistically in all the test.  In addition, marks for Conference are also allotted based on the initial performance of the Candidate in the three techniques and decision of the Board.  All these have equal weightage.

The various tests of IO, GTO and Psych are designed to bring out the presence/absence of Officer Like Qualities and their trainability in a candidate.  Accordingly candidates are Recommended or Not Recommended at the SSB.

NDA Pay Scale