Government & Defence Entrance Exam

Candidates must have taken the Combined Defence Services (CDS) admission test; the candidates must be an Indian citizen, not more than the age of 24 years and should have a bachelor's degree from any University recognised by the Indian government. The application normally occurs between October and November while the examination takes place in February and September. The application has to be made online through the Union Public Service Commission's website for which general category candidates are required to pay INR 200 as fee and there is no fee for SC/ST/OBC candidates. The exam consists of 3 papers: The English Examination is 60 marks, General Knowledge is 100 marks and Elementary Mathematics will be 140 marks in total.

NDA preparation is a multidimensional approach imbibing academic knowledge with physical fitness and mental prepare. Here is a blueprint to get you started: 

Know the Exam Pattern and Syllabus: Well the NDA exam is divided into two papers:
Mathematics (300 marks)
General Ability Test (GAT) (600 marks), which includes:
English
General Knowledge (Physics, Chemistry, General Science, History, Geography, Current Affairs)
So, the first thing that you need to work upon is a clear and thorough understanding of the detailed syllabus for both these sections. You can refer to the official notifications by UPSC or trusted educational resources like Byju's or Gradeupudy Plan*:

Daily timetable with allocated time for every subject.
Revision and solving the previous years' question papers to get acquainted with question patterns and time management.
Focus on the weak areas, spend more time on preparation for such areas.
Mathematics Preparation:

Mathematics topics include Algebra, Trigonometry, calculus, and co-ordinate Geometry. These are very essential topics in terms of scoring marks.
Practice problem sets given in books like R.D. Sharma and M.L. Khanna.
Practicing continuously on online tests and solving problems of last year's papers build up the speed and helps gain accuracy really well .
General Ability Test (GAT):

English: Develop comprehension, vocabulary, and grammar. Grammar books by Wren & Martin and vocabulary books by Norman Lewis will help.
General Knowledge: Read newspapers, magazines, and online news sites. For static GK, read Lucent's GK or NCERT books on History, Geography, and General Science.
Physics and Chemistry: NCERT books for Classes 9 to 12 serve as a good base. For Physics also look at H.C. Verma.

For the latest Indian Coast Guard vacancy announcements and exam result updates for 2024, check the site of the official Indian Coast Guard. It keeps an updated upload on various recruitment notifications, exam dates, and results. The posts included in the Indian Coast Guard recruitment are Navik (General Duty) and Yantrik among many others in 2024. For instance, the assignments are across geographical areas like North, West, North East, and others.

The entire procedure is online and applications must be filled strictly according to the scheduled dates. The use of the same website by logging into your account will provide you with your exam results which are later added post the completion of the exam.

Subsequently, there will be a written exam followed by physical fitness tests and medical tests, and selected ones will enter into training.

Most of the time, it is not really a problem to pursue two degrees at the same time, one being the regular type and the other one attained through distance education. This however will still depend on the policies of the government or organisation to which you will apply.

Generally then, government jobs will not prevent applicants from holding different degrees as long as both degrees are valid and recognised by institutions. 

Of course, there are some fine points to keep in mind. Both regular and distance education degrees should be from UGC recognised institution or relevant government authority. Degrees as distance from institutions accredited by Distance Education Bureau shall be accepted. 

A few government job notifications, however, mention in their notifications an upper age or work experience requirement. Of course, it will be affected if the degrees were completed in a certain time frame. Hence ensure that the degrees do not reside in violation of any specific entry criteria related to these.