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NDA Exam Pattern 2025: The NDA exam is conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) of India. It is conducted twice a year to help students get into the National Defence Academy (NDA) and Indian Naval Academy (INA). There are different stages in which you have to get into the academy. In today’s blog, let’s look at the NDA exam pattern, including the marking scheme and exam duration. It will help the candidates to prepare for the exam accordingly.
Table of Contents
NDA Exam Pattern 2024
The NDA exam is divided into 2 parts, which are mentioned below:
- Written Exam
- SSB Interview
NDA Written Exam Pattern 2024
The written section of NDA is itself divided into two further sections.
- Mathematics
- GAT (General Ability Test): The GAT section is divided into Part A (English) and Part B (General Knowledge).
- All the questions in the exam are objective type.
- There are a total of 150 questions in GAT and 120 questions in Mathematics.
- Each GAT and mathematics section will be held for 2 ½ hours.
- The GAT section will carry 600 marks and the Mathematics section will carry 300 marks.
Below you can check out the NDA written exam pattern in detail.
| Paper | Subject | No. of Questions | Maximum Marks | Duration |
| Paper 1 | Mathematics | 120 | 300 | 2 ½ hours |
| Paper 2 | GAT | 150 | 600 | 2 ½ hours |
| Total | 270 | 900 | 5 hours |
Also Read: NDA Exam Pattern – Check 2020 Paper Pattern
NDA GAT Exam Distribution
You can check the distribution of the questions of questions in the General Ability Test (GAT).
| Sections | Maximum marks | |
| Part A – English | 200 | |
| Part B – General Knowledge(Physics) | 100 | |
| Chemistry | 60 | |
| General Science | 40 | |
| History, Freedom Movement, etc. | 80 | |
| Geography | 80 | |
| Current Events | 40 | |
| Total | 600 | |
NDA Marking Scheme – Written Exam
There are NDA negative markings for incorrect answers. 1/3 marks will be deducted for every incorrect answer. Although, there will be no deduction for the unattempted questions.
| Subject | NDA Negative Marking |
| GAT | -1.33 |
| Maths | -0.83 |
Exam Duration – NDA Exam
Below you can find out the NDA exam shift timings. The total exam duration is 5 hours and each exam is held for 2 ½ hours.
| Shift | NDA Exam Timing |
| Morning | 10.00 am to 12:30 pm |
| Afternoon | 2.00 pm to 4:30 pm |
NDA Exam Pattern 2025 for SSB Interview
The SSB interview is divided into two stages.
- Students who clear Stage 1 are eligible to go for the Stage 2 exam.
- Stage 1 includes Officer Intelligence Rating (OIR) tests and Picture Perception and Description Test (PP&DT).
- Stage 2 includes Group Testing Officer Tasks, Psychology Tests, and the Conference. This stage carries 900 marks.
You can check out the SSB interview pattern below.
| Stages | Tests |
| Stage 1(Screening Test) | –Verbal and non-verbal tests. –PPDT |
| Stage 2 (Psychological Test) (Group Testing Officers Test) | –Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) –Word Association Test (WAT) –Situation Reaction Test (SRT) –Self-Description Test (SD) |
| –GD –GPE –PGT –HGT –IOT –Command Task –Snake Race/Group Obstacle Race –Individual lecture –FGT | |
Also Read: NDA Exam Syllabus 2024: Subject-wise Syllabus
NDA Medical Exam
After clearing the written examination pattern and the interview round, you will be called for the NDA medical exam. The process is completed in 4 stages.
Stage 1: The medical test is conducted in two stages.
- In the first stage, you need to undergo a preliminary medical examination. Stage 1 includes a general physical checkup, urine analysis, and blood tests.
- In stage two, you need to undergo a physical examination. Stage 2 includes vision test, hearing test, chest X-ray, and other specialized tests.
Stage 2: You also need to pass a physical fitness test, in which various exercises like running, push-ups, sit-ups, and pull-ups are performed to assess the fitness level of the aspiring officer.
Stage 3: Once the test is completed, a medical report is prepared. Medical Report includes details like
- Candidate’s physical and mental health.
- Medical history.
- Any medical conditions or ailments.
Stage 4: After all these, the medical report is reviewed by a Medical Board, that includes qualified medical professionals.
- The board reviews and assesses whether the candidate is fit to serve as an officer in the Indian Armed Forces.
- If they find any medical condition that disqualifies a candidate, they will declare the candidate unfit for admission to the NDA.
The NDA Medical Test is a rigorous and thorough examination that assesses your physical and mental fitness.
NDA Merit
This is the last stage where the NDA list t is prepared on the basis of the candidate’s performance in the written exam and SSB interview. The merit list is released in the PDF format. In 2023, almost 628 candidates have qualified in the National Defence Academy and Naval Academy examinations.
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FAQs
There are two papers in the NDA exam, Mathematics and General Ability. Wherein, the Mathematics paper carries 300 marks and the General Ability test includes 600 marks.
The minimum qualifying mark for the NDA written exam is 25% in each subject and in total.
There is a written examination in the NDA exams, for a duration of 5 hours.
This was all about the “NDA Exam Pattern 2025 – Marking Scheme, Exam Mode and Exam Duration”. For more such informative blogs, check out our Defense Exams Section, or you can learn more about us by visiting our Indian exams page.