Anangsha
Anangsha Patra
Deputy Manager – Editorial
Updated on May 15, 2025 15:08 IST

NDA Full Form: The full form of NDA is National Defence Academy. The exam is conducted to select candidates for the Army, Navy, and Air Force of the National Defence Academy. The selection process comprises a written exam and an SSB Interview. Another NDA full form is National Democratic Alliance which is a political party. Read below for more details on the NDA full form.

NDA full form

NDA full form

NDA Full Form stands for National Defence Academy. The exam is conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) to select candidates for admission to Army, Navy and Air Force wings of the National Defence Academy and Indian Naval Academy courses. Another NDA full form also stands for National Democratic Alliance. This is a group of political parties in India. UPSC NDA exam is conducted twice a year in April and September. Both male and female candidates are eligible to apply for the exam. Read below for more details on NDA full form.

Table of content
  • What is NDA Full Form?
  • NDA Full Form-Overview
  • UPSC NDA Full Form: Curriculum
  • UPSC NDA Eligibility
  • NDA Syllabus
  • NDA Salary
  • NDA Full Form: Admission Process
  • NDA Full Form: Exam Pattern
  • Functions of National Defence Academy
View More

What is NDA Full Form?

NDA full form is explained below in details:

National Defence Academy: One NDA full form stands for the National Defence Academy exam that is conducted by UPSC. The commission also conducts other exams for candidate who have passed Class 12 or graduation such as UPSC CSE or IAS, CDS, CAPF, UPSC ESE, UPSC CMS, etc. Candidates for NDA are selected through written exam and SSB interview that comprises general aptitude, psychological testing, team skills as well as physical and social skills, along with medical tests. Candidates are inducted in NDA for semesters starting in July and January. Applicants who join the Air Force through the flying branch also go through a test called Computerized Pilot Selection System or CPSS for short.

Cadets who are accepted and successfully complete the program are sent to their respective training academies for one year of training before granting of commission: army cadets go to Indian Military Academy (IMA) at Dehradun, air force cadets to Air Force Academy (AFA) at Dundigal, Hyderabad, and naval cadets to Indian Naval Academy (INA) at Ezhimala, Kerala.

National Democratic Alliance: Another NDA full form stands for National Democratic Alliance. In India, the NDA is an alliance of political parties. In 1998, the pary was created. The NDA was headed by the BJP (Bhartiya Janata Party) at its formation and had 13 constituent parties. The coalition came to power for the first time between 1998 and 2004. Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the first PM (prime minister) of the coalition. 

Also Read:

UPSC CDS UPSC CAPF
UPSC ESE UPSC CMS

NDA Full Form-Overview

Candidates can check below the overview of UPSC NDA exam.

Parameters  Details

Exam name

NDA and NA

NDA full form

National Defence Academy and Naval Academy Examination

Exam conducting authority

Union Public Service Commission (UPSC)

NDA eligibility criteria

NDA Age limit: 16.5 to 19.5 years

Educational Qualification: Class 12

Application mode

Online

Application fee

INR 100 for UR/OBC

Stages of exam

Written test (offline)

SSB interview

Exam mode

Offline

Number of papers

Paper 1: Maths

Paper 2: GAT

Total registration

5.3 lakh (As per 2020 data)

Total Test Takers

2.4 lakh (As per 2020 data)

UPSC NDA Full Form: Curriculum

National Defence Academy offer full-time, residential undergraduate program. Cadets are awarded a Baccalaureate degree (a Bachelor of Arts or a Bachelor of Science) and a Bachelor of Technology degree for Naval Cadets after three years of study. Naval cadets complete their fourth year of B Tech from Indian Naval Academy, while Air Force cadets complete their fourth year of B Tech from the Indian Air Force Academy. The cadets have a choice of two streams of study.

The Science stream offers studies in physics, chemistry, mathematics and computer science. The Humanities (Liberal Arts) stream offers studies in history, economics, political science, geography and languages. In both streams, academic studies are split into three categories.

In the compulsory course, candidates study English, Foreign Languages (Arabic, Chinese, French or Russian), physics, chemistry, mathematics, computer science, history, political science, economics and geography. All cadets are required to take basic classes in all these subjects except foreign language. Cadets then take advanced classes depending on their stream.

The Foundation course is mandatory and comprises military studies and general studies. Subjects such as military history, military geography, weapons systems and armaments, etc. are covered in military studies. Subjects such as geopolitics, human rights, laws of armed conflict and environmental sciences are covered in general studies.

The optional course comprises subjects specific to the cadet's chosen service-Army, Navy and Air Force. In the first four semesters, candidates study compulsory course and foundation course. The optional course is taken by candidates in the fifth and sixth semester. Candidates may also transfer to other service academies for the optional course.

Also Read: NDA Exam Pattern

UPSC NDA Eligibility

NDA eligibility criteria in terms of age, educational qualification and physical standard is given below:

  • For NDA 1 exam, both male and female candidates must have been born not earlier than July 2, 2003, and not later than July 1, 2006. For NDA 2 exam, both male and female candidates must have born not earlier than January 2, 2003, and not later than January 1, 2006
  • Both male and female candidates are eligible to apply for the exam
  • For Army Wing of National Defence Academy, candidates must have passed Class 12/HSC or equivalent from a recognised board or university
  • For Air Force, Navy, and Naval Academy of National Defence Academy, candidates must have passed Class 12/HSC with Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics
  • Candidates must be physically fit in terms of height, visual standards, etc

Also Read: NDA Age Limit

NDA Syllabus

UPSC NDA syllabus comprises topics and sub-topics from two papers-Maths and GAT. The level of NDA syllabus is of Class 10, 11, and 12 standards. The paper-wise NDA syllabus is given below.

Mathematics: Algebra, Calculus, Matrices and DeterminantsIntegral Calculus and Differential Equations, Trigonometry, Vector Algebra, Analytical Geometry Of Two and Three Dimension and Statistics and Probability

GAT: The GAT syllabus of NDA is divided into two parts. Part A comprises questions from English, while Part B carries questions from General Knowledge. Questions in English part are asked from Grammar and Usage, Vocabulary, Comprehension, and Cohesion. Questions in General Knowledge are asked from Physics, Chemistry, Social Studies, General Science, Geography, and Current Events.

Also Read: 

NDA Preparation Tips

NDA Books

NDA Question Papers

NDA Salary

Stipend given to Gentlemen Cadets during the entire duration of training in Service academies i.e. during training period at IMA is INR 56,100. After the successful training, the NDA salary of the Officer Commissioned will be fixed in the first Cell of Level 10. The period of training will not be treated as commissioned service and arrears on account of admissible allowances (as applicable) for the training period will be paid to cadets. 

Also Read:

NDA Salary

NDA Selection Process

NDA previous year question paper

NDA Full Form: Admission Process

NDA exam is conducted for admission to Army, Navy and Air Force wings of National Defence Academy and Indian Naval Academy Courses. The admission process of NDA include written exam and SSB interview. Based on the marks obtained in the written exam and SSB interview, all india merit list of candidates is prepared. 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. The candidates who are eligible to be admitted to multiple Services/Courses will be considered for allocation/selection with reference to their order or preferences and in the event of their final allocation/ selection to one Service/Course, they will not be considered for admission to other remaining Services/Courses. 

NDA Full Form: Exam Pattern 

The written exam of NDA comprises two sections- Mathematics and General Ability Test. The total marks of the written exam are 900. Candidates qualifying the written exam are called for SSB Interview for Psychological Aptitude and Intelligence. The SSB Interview carries 900 marks. Candidates are required to score a minimum of around 25 per cent marks in each subject to clear the NDA written exam. There are negative marks for wrong answers, 1/3 of the marks allotted to each question will be deducted for the incorrect answer. The SSB Interview is divided into two stages. Candidates qualifying the Stage 1 are called for the Stage 2 exam. Stage 1 of the SSB Interview comprises Officer Intelligence Rating (OIR) tests and Picture Perception and Description Test (PP&DT). Stage 2 comprises Group Testing Officer Tasks, Psychology Tests, and the Conference. The structure of the exam pattern is given below.

Papers Subject Maximum marks Duration

Paper 1

Mathematics

300

2 ½

Paper 2

GAT

600

2 ½

Total

900

5 hours

Functions of National Defence Academy

The functions of National Defence Academy are given below:

  • NDA trains the officers of all three forces i.e. Army, Navy and Air Force
  • National Defence Academy provides quality education to the cadets
  • National Defence Academy trains the cadets to develop leadership qualities
  • The Academy helps the officers to understand India's defence policy and international relations
  • NDA is the only academy which trains the officers of all three forces
About the Author
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Anangsha Patra
Deputy Manager – Editorial
A mass communication and journalism post-graduate, Anangsha has worked as a reporter and sub-editor and enjoys working in the education domain.
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Answered 3 weeks ago

NDA 1 application form 2026 will be made available on December 10, 2025. The last date to fill the application form is December 30, 2025. NDA 2 application form will be released on May 20, 2026. The last date for online registration is June 8, 2026. 

 

R

Raushan Pradhan

Contributor-Level 7

Answered 3 weeks ago

NDA 2026 exam dates have been announced. NDA 1 2026 exam will be held on April 12, 2026. The exam for NDA II 2026 will be held on September 13, 2026. 

A

Abhishek Kumar

Contributor-Level 7

Answered 3 weeks ago

NDA apply online link is acrivated on the official website of the exam conducting body. However, we will provide the direct link to register online for the exam. Only online applications are accepted for the exam.

B

Bhumika Arora

Contributor-Level 7

Answered a month ago

NDA 1 application form 2026 will be released on December 10, 2025. Interested candidates can fill the application form till December 30, 2025. The NDA 2 online form will be released on May 20, 2026. The last date to fill the application form is June 8, 2026.

 

R

Raushan Pradhan

Contributor-Level 7