NDA Exam Pattern

NDA Exam Pattern 2024:

The NDA Exam 2024 will be conducted offline, i.e., pen and paper-based. NDA Exam 2024 will have two papers. Paper 1 will be a mathematics test and Paper 2 will be General Ability Test. Both the papers will have Objective type questions. Candidates will be provided 2 hours and 30 minutes for each test. NDA Exam Pattern 2024 will be bilingual i.e., questions will be asked in both the English and Hindi languages.

NDA Exam Pattern 2024: Highlights

Exam Mode	Offline
Number of papers	GAT and Mathematics
Duration of test	GAT – 2 ½ hours Mathematics – 2 ½ hours
Exam time	GAT - 10 am to 12.30 pm Mathematics - 2 pm to 4.30 pm
Number of questions	GAT – 150 Mathematics - 120
Language of question paper	English and Hindi
Total marks	Written Exam: 900 (600 for GAT and 300 for Mathematics) SSB Interview: 900

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NDA Exam 2024 - Internal Links

NDA Exam Information

NDA Exam Registration Form

NDA Exam Pattern 2024 for Written Exam

Papers	Subject	Maximum marks	Duration
Paper 1	Mathematics	300	2 ½
Paper 2	GAT	600	2 ½
Total		900	5 hours

Distribution of GAT

Sections	Sections	Maximum marks
Part A - English		200
Part B - General Knowledge	Physics	100
	Chemistry	60
	General Science	40
	History, Freedom Movement, etc.	80
	Geography	80
	Current Events	40
	Total	600

Marking Scheme for NDA written Exam:

The marking scheme of the NDA Exam Pattern 2024 is designed by UPSC. There are negative marks for every wrong answer. 1/3 of the marks allotted to every question will be deducted for each wrong answer. Also, there is no deduction in marks in the NDA exam for unanswered questions.

Given below is the marking scheme of the NDA Exam. Have a look.

Sections	Marks for the correct answer	Marks for an incorrect answer
GAT	4	1.33
Mathematics	2.5	0.83

NDA Exam Pattern 2024 for SSB Interview:

The NDA Exam SSB Interview is divided into two stages. Candidates who will qualify for Stage 1 will be called for the Stage 2 exam. Stage 1 of the SSB Interview incorporates Officer Intelligence Rating (OIR) tests and Picture Perception and Description Test (PP&DT). Stage 2 incorporates Group Testing Officer Tasks, Psychology Tests, and the Conference. This stage contains a total of 900 marks.

Candidates can check the pattern of SSB interviews from the below table.

Stages		Tests
Stage 1	Screening Test	Verbal and non-verbal tests. PDT
Stage 2	Psychological Test	Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) Word Association Test (WAT) Situation Reaction Test (SRT) Self Description Test (SD)
	Group Testing Officers Test	GD GPE PGT HGT IoT Command Task Snake race/Group Obstacle Race Individual lecture FGT
	Personal Interview	-
	Conference	-

Marking Scheme:

Right, Answer: Every right answer is worth 2.5 marks.

Wrong Answer: Every wrong answer has a negative marking of 0.83 (Mathematics) and 1.33 (English & General knowledge) marks.

NDA Exam Written Exam Pattern:

Only Objective type of Questions will be asked in the NDA examination.

Category	Mathematics (Paper I)	General Ability (Paper-II)
Total No. of Questions	120	150
Total No. of Marks	300	600
Duration	2 hours 30 minutes	2 hours 30 minutes

NDA Exam Subject wise Exam Pattern

Subject	No. of Questions	Total Marks	For correct answer	For incorrect 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	-	-

NDA Exam Pattern 2024 - Important Notes:

The candidates are not allowed to use calculators or log tables in the test. Candidates who pass the first test will move on to the 2nd test. The UPSC will have the full discretion of the qualifying marks for the NDA Exam.

NDA Year Interview Pattern

Second Round	Duration	Maximum Marks
SSB Interview	4-5 days	900

Important Topics for the NDA Exam:

The questions in the Mathematics section as per the NDA Syllabus, examine a candidate’s calculative skills. Questions will be based on the syllabus of Class 10, 11, and 12. For the Mathematics section, aspirants can prepare the given topics:

Arithmetic
Mensuration
Algebra
Geometry
Trigonometry
Statistics, etc.

The GAT section of the NDA Exam question paper encompasses questions from English and General Knowledge. For the English section, aspirants should focus on grammar, comprehension, and reading abilities. In General Knowledge, aspirants must focus on current affairs, chemistry, physics, general science, history, etc.