NDA 2020: NDA 1 & 2 Exam on 06 Sep, Get Preparation Tips, Syllabus Here

NDA 2020: In the backdrop of the COVID-19 crisis, the UPSC has decided to conduct a common entrance exam for NDA & NA (I) and NDA & NA (II) admissions this year. The common NDA 2020 exam is scheduled to be held on September 06, 2020. After publishing the official notice and conducting the application process of NDA & NA (I), the Commission has now released the official notice for NDA & NA (I) exam at upsc.gov.in. It advertised 418 vacancies to be filled up by NDA (I) and 413 vacancies to be filled up by NDA (II) exams this year. The online application process of NDA (II) 2020 is over now. Eligible candidates were able to apply online for NDA (II) only at the official UPSC website between June 16 to July 06, 2020. Know about all the important and ongoing events of the NDA 2020 exam here in this article. Read on to know about NDA Admit Card 2020, exam pattern, syllabus, and more.

Latest:
>>Last date for NDA 2020 Application Form Withdrawal is July 19, 2020. Check details here

>> NDA (II) 2020, a list of fictitious candidates is available now. Click here to know.

NDA 2020

UPSC conducts the National Defence Academy and Naval Academy examinations biannually. However, this year has been different and the Commission is going to conduct a common entrance exam for NDA (I) and NDA (II) selections. Applicants of NDA (I) can also apply for the NDA (II) exam. However, the results for the two exams are going to be published separately. Get all the important dates of NDA 2020 in the dates table below.

NDA & NA (I) 2020 exam

NDA & NA (II) 2020 exam

Latest Updates on NDA 2020

NDA (II) 2020 Notification Release

Union Public Service Commission has notified the release of NDA & NA (II) 2020 Notification on June 16, 2020.

NDA (I) 2020 New Exam Date Announced

Union Public Service Commission has released the new exam date of NDA & NA (I) 2020. The exam is now scheduled to take place on September 06, 2020. Check the new dates from the image provided below.

Overview of NDA 2020

NDA 2020 or NDA & NA 2020 is an exam for admission to the Indian Defense Forces. Essentially, this exam is conducted twice a year by the Union Public Service Commission. This year, due to the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, a common entrance exam will be conducted for admission through the NDA (I) and NDA (II) exams. In this article, we have covered all the aspects of the NDA (I & II) 2020 exam. However, before we jump on to the more details, check out the main features of the NDA exam at a glance below.

NDA 2020 Eligibility Criteria

Candidates who wish to apply for NDA & NA (II) 2020 exam are advised to check the eligibility criteria before applying. The admission to any stage of the selection is provisional until the document verification is done. So one must go on to fill up the NDA (II) 2020 application form only after ensuring that they fulfill all eligibility criteria. Check out the complete eligibility conditions for NDA (II) 2020 below.

Ciitizenship

• Candidate should be citizen of India
• Subject of Bhutan or Nepal
• Tibetan refugee who have moved to India before January 01, 1962, in order to settle down here on a permanent basis

Age

• Only male candidates who are unmarried and born not before January 02, 2002 and after January 01, 2005, can apply

Educational Qualification

• Candidate must have passed the 10+2 exam to apply for Army Wing of National Defence Academy. 
• Candidate must have passed 12th standard with Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics to apply for Air Force and Naval Wings of NDA and the 10+2 Cadet Entry Scheme at the INA. 

Physical Standards

• It is mandatory for the candidate to be physically fit and meet the specified standards to apply for NDA. The detailed standards are available in the official notification.

NDA 2020 Application Form

The application process for NDA & NA (II) 2020 is conducted online only. UPSC releases the NDA 2020 Application Form at the official website i.e upsconline.gov.in. Follow the steps mentioned below to fill the application form online. 

#1: Go to the UPSC website, upsc.gov.in

#2: Click on the link ‘Online Application for various exams’.

#3: You will be asked some details to fill the NDA application form like personal details, educational qualification.

#4: Once done with details, you have to pay the application fee and upload your scanned image of the signature and photograph.

#6: Click on the ‘Submit’ button to submit your application form.

#7: Take a print out of the application form for future reference. 

Application fee

NDA 2020 Application fee is payable through online or offline modes. Check out the available modes of application fee payment below.

Check the application fee for various categories below.

NDA 2020 Application Form Withdrawal

UPSC conducts NDA 2020 application form withdrawal as per schedule mentioned in the dates table. Candidates unwilling to appear in the NDA 2020 exam are able to withdraw their application forms. Window to withdraw the form will remain open only during the specified schedule. Check out the screenshot below to know the detailed procedure of the NDA & NA (II) application form withdrawal.

NDA 2020 Exam Pattern 

NDA 2020 exam consist of two subjects viz. mathematics and general ability test. It is for a total of 900 marks. 2020 NDA aspirants can check out the exam pattern below.

• Language: Hindi & English.
• Mode of examination: Offline exam
• Total duration: 2 hours 30 minutes.
• Total Marks: 900 marks
• Negative Marking: 0.33 marks deducted for every incorrect answer.

Check out marks distribution of NDA 2020 exam below

NDA 2020 Syllabus

The NDA 2020 Syllabus is of the higher secondary level and consist of topics from mathematics and general studies. UPSC has published the detailed syllabus through the official notification. We have provided the key topics of the NDA 2020 Syllabus below.

General Ability Test

• English grammar, comprehension & cohesion in extended text
• Physics
• Chemistry
• General science
• Social studies (History, freedom movement, etc)
• Geography
• Current events

Mathematics

• Algebra
• Matrices & Determinants
• Trigonometry
• Analytical Geometry of two and three dimensions
• Differential calculus
• Integral calculus
• Differential equations
• Vector algebra
• Statistics and probability

NDA Admit Card 2020

The NDA Admit Card 2020 is published online through the UPSC website 03 weeks before the exam. One must enter the registration ID and date of birth to download the admit card when released. Applicants can also use the date of birth and roll number or date of birth, father’s name, and name of the applicant to login and download NDA Admit Card 2020. If in any case, a candidate does not receive the admit card prior to the exam, they must immediately contact the Commission.

Incidentally, the admit card contains important information about the candidate and exam center. Check out the list of information provided through the NDA 2020 admit card below.

• Examination’s Name and year.
• Registration ID of the candidate.
• Candidate’s roll number.
• Applicant’s name.
• Applicant’s address.
• Examination center and complete address of the exam.
• Examination’s date and time.

NDA 2020 Preparation Tips

Although NDA 2020 exam dates are available now, the situations are still very sensitive and one must maintain social distancing and try to stay at their homes unless it is extremely necessary. A positive aspect here is that candidates can utilize the time left to prepare better. Like a silver lining to a black cloud, the lockdown period brings a time for preparing for the exam away from all distractions. Watch this video to know some quick and easy preparation tips for the upcoming NDA exam.

NDA 2020 Preparation Tips

Being a national level competitive exam, the NDA 2020 is by no means easy to crack. Besides, the syllabus is of the senior secondary level. As such, NDA 2020 preparations can be time-consuming and exhaustive due to the vast syllabus. Candidates often start preparations as early as one year before. However, it is possible to ace the NDA 2020 exam with the time that is left now. We provide here some important preparation tips for the NDA 2020 exam. Read on to get all the necessary help.

• Start studying from previous year questions from day 1. NDA questions are often repeated from previous years.
• Solve the mock test. Managing the exam duration to complete the paper within time is important. Therefore, solving mock tests can help candidates know the exam pattern better and manage time effectively.
• Identify typical maths questions from previous years and solve these in separate rough workbooks. This will help aspirants solve the mathematics section faster.
• Refer to newspapers, recent current affairs books and internet sources to keep themselves updated on recent events. Research on facts of recent events.
• In the social studies section of NDA 2020 exam, make short notes of important dates in history and freedom struggle.
• Focus on Indian rivers, mountain ranges and other important geographic features of India for the geography section.

Suggested Books for NDA 2020 Preparation

While a wide variety of guide books are available in the market, it can be difficult to choose the best books to study. However, we have come across some select few books. Candidates can refer to the books given below to prepare for NDA 2020.

NDA 2020 Selection Procedure

UPSC adopts a two-stage selection process for NDA 2020 exam. Eligible applicants are issued admit cards to appear in the written exam. Subsequently, NDA 2020 qualifiers are called for the SSB interview which has two stages. Read on below for a brief description of the main selection stages of NDA 2020 below.

1. Written examination

The written exam is held throughout the country on a scheduled date for all eligible candidates. The question paper is a higher secondary level and objective type. All candidates must qualify in the exam by securing the minimum marks to be eligible for the SSB interview. The duration of the written examination is 2 hours and 30 minutes for each section. This year, a common exam is conducted as per schedule for both NDA (I) & NDA (II) admissions.

2. SSB Interview

NDA 2020 qualifiers are called up for the SSB interview. The interview is conducted for 05 days and consists of different personality tests.

Stage 1 of the SSB Interview consists of officer intelligence rating (OPR) test and picture perception and description test. The candidates are shortlisted based on the performance in OPR test and picture perception and description test. It is conducted on the first day of SSB interview.

Stage 2 of the SSB Interview consists of group testing officer tasks, interview round, psychology test, and the conference. These rounds are organized to test the officer like qualities of the candidates. These tests are conducted for over 4 days.

NDA Answer Key 2020

Once the entrance exam of NDA 2020 is over, UPSC releases the answer key of the examination online at the UPSC website. Candidate has to visit the website, upsc.gov.in to download the answer key as per the set. One must ensure that they download the correct set of the answer key. The answer keys can be used to calculate the estimated score in the examination as they consist of all the correct answers to the set of questions provided in the exam.

To download the answer key, one may follow the simple steps given below.

#1: Go to the official UPSC website at upsc.gov.in

#2: Under the “Examination” tab, click on Answer Key.

#3: From the list of exams, click on the answer key download link for NDA & NA (I) 2020 exam to get the answer key.

NDA Result 2020

On the official website of UPSC, the result for NDA 2020 is declared. The candidate can check the result by visiting the official website, usc.gov.in. Although a common exam is held for NDA (I) and NDA (II) applicants in 2020, the results are released separately. UPSC releases result in the Merit list form. There will be two merit lists. One only has roll number and the other consists of the name along with the roll number of the selected candidates. Name of the candidate, candidate’s roll number is on the result. Candidates can use the find feature (CTRL +F) to check whether their name is on the merit list or not. 

SSB Interview of UPSC NDA & NA exam

Once a candidate qualifies in the NDA & NA exam, the next step is the SSB interview. As the name suggests, the interview is conducted by the Services Selection Board (SSB). Now that aspirants know about the stages of the SSB interview, check out how they can appear in the SSB interview after qualifying in NDA 2020 exam.

After qualifying in the written exam, as soon as you get selected in the final results, log on to the following websites (as per preference) to get the date, schedule and venue of SSB interview.

joinindianarmy.nic.in
joinindiannavy.gov.in
careerindianairforce.cdac.in

Those candidates who are recommended for the SSB interview must address enquiries or requests to the following addresses after 20 days from the declaration of the results.

For candidates with Army as first choice

Army Headquarters, AG’s Branch, RTG (NDA Entry),
West Block-III, Wing-1, R.K. Puram, New Delhi – 110 066
Phone: 26275473
Website: joinidianarmy.nic.in

For candidates with Navy/Naval Academy as first choice

Naval Headquarters, Directorate of Manpower & Recruitment,
O.I & R Section, Room No. 204, C Wing,
Sena Bhawan, New Delhi – 110011
Phone: 23010097
Email: [email protected]
Website: joinindiannavy.gov.in

For candidates with Air Force as first choice

Air Headquarters, Directorate of Personnel (Officers)
PO 3 (A), Room No. 17, J Block,
Opp. Vayu Bhawan, Motilal Nehru Marg, New Delhi – 110106
Phone: 23010231 Extn. 7645/7646/7610
Website: careerindianairforce.cdac.in

Important Tips for SSB Interview of NDA 2020

The SSB interview is an extremely important stage of the NDA 2020 selection process. It tests the personality and cognitive competence of the candidate. Therefore, just having excellent academic performance is not enough to help aspirants crack the SSB interview. Consider the following tips and tricks to do better in the SSB interview.

• Be confident about yourself. NDA aspirants seek more than just a well-paying job. Their aspirations often culminate from a childhood passion to wear the defence uniform. The interviewers must be able to see the passion.
• Participation in group tasks is important. Do not be shy when participating in group tasks such as group discussion, progressive group tasks etc. Provide inputs and try to make the impression prominent among other group members.
• Do not lie because most likely you will be caught. One aspect of the SSB interview is to test the officer-like qualities among the candidates. Lying is not one of them.
• To know you better, SSB interviewers tend to ask personal questions like hobbies, family members etc. Be careful to answer these as honestly as possible. Your answers reflect your personality and choices you make.
• Often, candidates are asked to name three or more of their strengths and weaknesses. Once named, the interviewer might choose one of the strengths (or weaknesses) to ask more questions based on it. Therefore, it is wiser to be prepared for this.

NDA 2020 Exam Center

UPSC conducts the NDA & NA (I) 2020 exam throughout India in centres identified by the Commission. Besides, the examination centers are mentioned in the NDA Admit Card 2020. Check out the complete list of NDA 2020 exam centers below.

NDA 2020 Vacancy Details

UPSC has advertised 418 vacancies for the 2020 NDA & NA (I) admission. On the other hand, for NDA & NA (II) admission, 413 vacancies are announced. The vacancies are distributed across the defense academy and naval academy. Check out the details below.

Vacancy Details of NDA & NA (I)

Vacancy Details of NDA & NA (II)

About UPSC

Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), is India’s central recruitment agency for government vacancies. It takes care of the appointments and examination to All India Service and Group A and Group B of Central Services. The Commission was formed on October 1, 1926. UPSC headquarters are located at Dholpur House, New Delhi while it functions through its own secretariat. 

Official website: upsc.gov.in

For more information about NDA (I) 2020, download notification.
For more information about NDA (II), 2020, download notification.

UPSC NDA Exam