National Defence Academy and Naval Academy Examination

Key facts

Conducting body

Union Public Service Commission

Eligible class

Class-12

Exam level

National

Exam areas

Defence

Typical exam month

Conducted twice a year, typically in April (NDA I) and September (NDA II)

Academic year

2026-2027

Primary goal

Admission into the Army, Navy, and Air Force wings of the National Defence Academy (NDA) and for the 10+2 Cadet Entry Scheme at the Indian Naval Academy Course (INAC)

Syllabus subjects

General Ability Test, Mathematics

Exam structure

The exam is conducted via offline (pen and paper) mode over a single day. The written examination consists strictly of objective-type questions and is split into two papers: Paper-I: Mathematics (2.5 hours) and Paper-II: General Ability Test (2.5 hours). The Mathematics paper and Part 'B' of the General Ability Test are set bilingually in Hindi and English. The use of calculators or mathematical/logarithmic tables is strictly prohibited.