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Applicants interested in making their career with the National Defense Academy must be aware of the UPSC NDA exam pattern 2025. The Union Public Service Commission conducts the exam twice every year and applicants can sit for any of them as per their preparation. The UPSC NDA 2025 Exam is scheduled to be held on Apr 13, 2025. Applicants must be fully aware of the UPSC NDA marking scheme, negative marking, total questions, sectional weightage, etc before attempting the examination.
The UPSC NDA exam is divided into two parts: a written exam followed by an SSB interview. The NDA written exam consists of questions from the Maths and General Ability Test (GAT) for 900 marks. There will be 270 questions to be solved in 5 hours. The NDA sectional cut off is 25%. The UPSC NDA negative marking is also applicable and thus candidates must be aware while attempting them. Candidates who pass the written examination are further called for the NDA SSB interview which is further classified into two stages. The first stage consists of the OIR and PP & DT tests, while the second stage consists of the psychology tests and the conference. The SSB interview total marks is 900. Further details on the UPSC NDA paper pattern, marking scheme, etc are provided below.
UPSC NDA 2025 Exam Highlights
The important details of the UPSC NDA exam 2025 are as follows:
| Exam Name | UPSC NDA |
| Full Form | Union Public Service Commission National Defence Academy |
| Conducting Body | Union Public Service Commission |
| Exam Periodicity | Twice a year |
| Exam Mode | Online |
| Exam Type | National Level |
| Application Mode | Online |
| Exam Purpose | To recruit candidates as Commissioned Officers in the Indian Army, Navy & Air Force. |
| Official Website | upsc.gov.in |
UPSC NDA Exam Pattern for Written Paper
The UPSC NDA written exam pattern has been delineated in the table below. Applicants are advised to go through the total questions and the exam duration for their reference.
| Category | Mathematics (Paper I) | General Ability (Paper II) |
| Total No. of Questions | 120 | 150 |
| Total No. of Marks | 300 | 600 |
| UPSC NDA Exam Duration | 2 Hours 30 Minutes | 2 Hours 30 Minutes |
NDA Subject Wise Exam Pattern
The exam syllabus for the NDA exam paper with marks distribution is as follows:
| Subject | No. of Questions | Total Marks | Correct Answer | Wrong Answer |
| Mathematics | 120 | 300 | +2.5 | -0.83 |
| English | 50 | 200 | +4 | -1.33 |
| General Ability | 100 | -- | +4 | -1.33 |
| Physics | 100 | |||
| Chemistry | 60 | |||
| General Science | 40 | |||
| History, Freedom Movement, etc. | 80 | |||
| Geography | 80 | |||
| Current Events | 40 | |||
| Grand Total | 270 | 900 | -- | -- |
The candidates need to consider the following important notes:
- Calculators are not permitted inside the exam centres, thus the candidates are advised not to use the calculator in the preparation also.
- Candidates who can clear the written exam will proceed to the SSB Interview. Candidates clearing the SSB will proceed to Medicals.
- UPSC will have the full discretion of the qualifying marks for UPSC NDA 1 2025.
UPSC NDA SSB Interview Pattern
SSB Interview is a 5-day process, in which multiple tests are conducted. The test includes a Psychological test, an Interview, and Group testing. Based on all three tests, on the 5th day, the selection is made. A candidate who got recommended by the SSB will proceed for Medicals.
| Second Round | Duration | Maximum Marks |
| SSB Interview | 5 days | 900 |
UPSC NDA Marking Scheme 2025
The applicants must have a clear understanding of the UPSC NDA marking scheme before attempting the main exam. The details for the same have been provided below for the candidate's reference.
| Subject | NDA Negative Marking |
|---|---|
| GAT | -1.33 |
| Maths | -0.83 |
UPSC NDA Exam Duration 2025
The UPSC NDA 2025 exam is scheduled to be held in two shifts, morning and afternoon. The applicants can find their NDA exam shift timing mentioned on their admit cards. There are two papers in the NDA exam and each paper is held for 2.5 hours. The details are as follows:
| NDA Shift | NDA Exam Timing |
|---|---|
| Morning | 10.00 am to 12:30 pm |
| Afternoon | 2.00 pm to 4:30 pm |
