NDA 1 2020 Notification Out ! (Age Limit, Vacancy, Pattern, Syllabus)

Hello defence aspirants. NDA Notification 2020 is released and we have analysed the UPSC NDA Notification released by Union Public Service Commission to give you A to Z Details of the upcoming exam. NDA Notification pdf is of more than 50 pages. So, it becomes cumbersome to read complete details provided in notification. So, this article will contain only important points related to NDA 1 2020 Exam which you must know. We have divided NDA Notification into different sections for ease of understanding. 

This detailed guide will give you A to Z important details about upcoming NDA exam 2020 like NDA exam age limit, Exact number of attempts, Medical criteria, Pattern overview, etc which will give you bird’s eye view of the NDA exam. Before starting the preparation, you must be aware about exact pattern of written exam, cutoff analysis, number of attempts and also some important things regarding SSB interview and medical criteria so that you are well prepared before time. This article will be one stop solution for all  your NDA exam requirements.

Let us begin with most important detail, that is, NDA exam date:

NDA 1 2020 Exam will be conducted on 19th of April 2020 all over India. Exam will be held on Sunday, at exam center mentioned in your NDA Admit Card 2020 (In Offline Format)

NDA 2 2020 Exam will be conducted on 6th of September 2020 all over India. Exam will be held on Sunday, at exam center mentioned in your NDA Admit Card (In Offline Format)

These are the following criteria’s of NDA exam, in terms of age limit:

1. Unmarried male candidate between age of 16.5 and 19.5 years
2. He must have passed / appearing in Class 12 (10+2) while giving NDA exam, and must have cleared the 12th Boards before joining National Defence Academy. 

For example: Age limit for NDA 1 2020: He must be born between July 2001 and July 1, 2004

Read detailed article on NDA Age Limit for more details.

Very common questions among NDA aspirants is “How many attempts do I have for NDA exam?”

Answer of this question is easy. NDA exam is conducted two times in a year. You can give your first attempt when you are 12th appear and your age is also between 16.5 to 19.5 when you are 12th appear. 

So, 2 attempts in 12th standard, and 2-3 attempts after 12th board result depending on your age. (Generally many aspirants do not give NDA exam after they have taken admission to degree college)

So, every NDA aspirants gets at least 4 NDA attempts if there is no year gap or any other issue.

(Please don’t waste time researching on it. You just need 2-3 serious attempts (Maximum) to clear all stages of NDA exam)

In case of NDA Eligibility, you need to be in above given age limit and must be 12th appearing/ passed aspirant. Moreover:

1. If you are from Humanities Background, you can apply only for Indian Army branch of NDA. Navy and Airforce branch needs compulsory Physics and Maths at 10+2 level.
2. If you are a Diploma aspirant, are not eligible for NDA examination.

Just fulfilling above criteria’s is not sufficient to join NDA. You also need to be competent enough to be an officer. For that you will need to study hard from detailed NDA exam strategies which are made available to you. Follow below 3 articles if you want to score 450+ marks in NDA written exam:

Stage one exam, that is, Written exam will be of 900 marks (300 for Maths and 600 for General Ability Test paper) where you need to clear Individual paper cutoff as well as overall cutoff to qualify for next stage. Checkout detailed article on NDA exam cutoff analysis for more clarity.

Next stage is of SSB interview which will be scheduled 2-2.5 months from announcement of written exam result. SSB interview is a 5 days long process which is a test of psychology and officer like qualities which is done through multiple tests divided over 5 days. Read article on SSB interview preparation for more details.

1. You will be screened out (Unable to clear Stage 1 of SSB interview)
2. You will be Conference out (Unable to clear stage 2 of SSB interview)
3. You will clear SSB interview (Recommended)

If you will clear the SSB interview, then you will have to stay back at SSB centre for few more days for your Medical tests (depends on your SSB centre).

1. You will clear the Medical tests
2. You will get temporary rejection on some medical criteria and will be given time period to report again with that particular parameter repaired. (For example= Extra weight)
3. You will get permanent rejection based on some medical criteria’s.

If you have cleared the Medical test, then you will have to wait for final merit list which will be released on www.upsc.gov.in after completion of SSB interviews of all aspirants of that particular attempt. 

These are the written exam papers you need to face:

To clear NDA exam cutoff,

1. You need to score minimum 30% marks in each paper to clear the individual paper cutoff.
2. You need to clear the overall cutoff too (calculated out of 900 marks)

Generally, overall NDA exam cutoff can be cleared if you score 42-45 % marks. (Cutoff depends on difficulty of paper, number of vacancies and number of aspirants who gave the exam)

Total number of vacancies through NDA exam 415 out of which 370 vacancies are for National Defence Academy and remaining 45 Vacancies for Naval Academy. 

Out of 370 vacancies for National defence academy,

• 208 vacancies are for Indian Army
• 120 vacancies are for Indian Air force (Including 28 ground duty vacancies)
• 42 Vacancies are for Indian Navy

It is seen that sometimes these vacancies are not filled and sometimes there can be addition in these vacancies (given in NDA notification).

Let us begin with the most important parameter,that is Height to weight ratio. I am giving this medical criteria of NDA exam at first position because it is in your hand to maintain your weight as per your height. Lets see the chart wise comparison. 

Height/weight Standard for Army and Airforce: 

(Height relaxation up to 2.5 cm may be allowed where the medical board certifies That candidate is likely to grow and come up to required standard on completion of training)

Height/weight Standard for Indian Navy: 

Some special requirement for Air force Pilot (NDA exam):

Will focus on some important medical parameters you must focus on:  

Believe me, many medical parameters can be improved if you work on it with full dedication. Some parameters may take long period to improve (even 1 year), but it’s possible to improve your medical condition. That’s the reason to make a detailed section of NDA exam medical and Physical criteria.:

1. Candidate must be physically and mentally fit as well as free from any type of disease or even disability. 
2. Aspirant must not have any type of mental breakdown record in the past history. 
3. Wax in ears, fungal infection of skin, refractory error of Eyes must be addressed before reporting the SSB interview board. (precautions can be taken)
4. Weight of the aspirant must be within the limit as specified in the “weight-height chart“(given above) 
5. Functional or organic disease of the heart will be checked. Your blood pressure should be in given range (normal). 
6. Hernia will make a candidate unfit. If your hernia is operated, then this should have been done at least one year prior to the present examination.
7.  Hydrocele, varicocele for piles is not allowed. 
8. Urine checkup is done to check any abnormity, which can be a cause for rejection. 
9. Aspirant must not have knock knees or flat foot. (can be resolved with some exercises)
10. Aspirant must not have digital tremors. 
11. Aspirant must not have hyperhidrosis: Excessive sweating in any part of the body is called as “silent handicapped” of a person. It is also a ground for rejection in NDA medical test.
12. Aspirant should not have any disease of bone or joints of the body.

All things can be left aside for some time, but we cannot neglect written exam (especially NDA Syllabus). Because if you fail to clear the Written exam, everything will start again from zero. 

So, now we will have a look over Subject- wise weightage of NDA Maths paper and NDA GAT paper.

Let’s begin with NDA Maths paper which is stage 1 of written exam:

I have made this simplified analysis for you. Now it’s your duty to utilize it in your NDA preparation.

Let’s have a look over NDA GAT paper Chapter-wise weightage:

There are many aspirants who are working hard, but working smart can bring huge difference. Study the subjects as per their weightage and manage time as per preference.

I have explained major terms like NDA exam age limit, Number of attempts for NDA exam, NDA exam pattern overview, NDA exam medical requirements and many more things to give you a holistic picture of NDA exam. Now, it’s your turn to work hard on your dreams by studying 7-8 hours daily for upcoming NDA Exam. 

I have worked hard to make detailed strategy for NDA written exam (Maths + GAT). Now it depends on how dedicated you are to complete the strategy with self-study approach to achieve your ultimate aim of joining National Defence Academy. 

And make sure that you share this article on “NDA Notification 2020” with your friends on whatsapp and other platforms. No needy aspirant must be left out. 

Our team is waiting for your reviews and opinion on this article. So, that we can bring changes accordingly. 

Jai Hind !