Joining the band of brothers

Updated on: Monday, July 05, 2010

The National Defence Academy (NDA) examination, to be conducted on August 22, 2010, is an excellent opportunity for those who wish to choose a career in the Air Force, Army or the Navy as Class I Commissioned Officers at the National Level. The best part of joining the Armed Forces is that you can opt for a career from a range of diverse specialisations such as administration, logistics, meteorology, accounts, engineering, computer sciences, signals and communication technology academics, apart from sailing, flying, architecture and so on.

The forces is one place where professional growth takes place at every step. NDA cadets are awarded Bachelors degrees in Arts, Science or Computer Science on completion of training. If you join the technical stream, you will acquire a graduate and a postgraduate degree in engineering from some of the finest institutes of technology with all expenses taken care of. Selection for the prestigious Defence Services Staff College course results in the award of an M.Sc. in Defence and Strategic Studies. What’s more, you can also get study leave for two years to further your skills. You could even get into Research and Development, if you have the aptitude. The Forces run some of the country’s most prestigious academies and institutes, from engineering to medicine, administration to strategy, armament technology to management, you name it and they have it!

Crack the NDA
The NDA entrance examination is conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC)
during April and August every year. The entrance examination is objective type and of the 10+2 level. An aspirant needs to be between 16 to 18 years at the time of writing the examination, with 10+2 passed or in the final year

of any discipline. After having completed the graduation course at NDA, you automatically branch out either in the Army, Navy or Air Force depending upon the choice given.

The selection
The selection process for the NDA involves two stages. Stage one is a written examination (900 marks). The first paper of this has maths (matrices and determinants, algebra, trigonometry, analytical geometry of two and three dimensions, differential and integral calculus, equations vector algebra, statistics and probability) amounting to 300 marks. The second paper is on general ability (English, physics, chemistry, biology, economics, geography, history, political science, international and national affairs) and is of 600 marks.

After the written examination comes the Service Selection Board (SSB) Interview (of 900 marks). This includes tests of basic perception, psychological ability, a group testing series (indoor and outdoor tests conducted via group discussions, group planning exercises etc). The last component is the personal interview (indoor and sequential). Acing this segment requires continuous practice and you need to know yourself well.

The final national merit list of the NDA is the sum total of the results of the written examination and SSB. The reason why the marks of the written examination become important in the end is that the maximum amount of marks possible for an individual to score in the SSB would only be about 40-50 per cent. So, the trick is to do well in the written exam as this affects the final merit list.
Good luck!

Joining the band of brothers

More Education news