The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has released the notification for the Combined Defence Services (CDS) Examination (I), 2025, as well as the National Defence Academy (NDA) and Naval Academy (NA) Examination (I), 2025, on its official website. Candidates interested in these prestigious exams can visit the UPSC website to access complete details about the exams and submit their applications.
To apply for the CDS and NDA exams 2025, applicants need to submit their applications online via the official UPSC website, upsconline.nic.in. The first step is to register on the One Time Registration (OTR) platform, which is a one-time process that candidates can complete at any time throughout the year. Once registered, candidates can proceed to fill out the application form for the relevant exam. Those who are already registered can skip this step and move directly to the application process.
To apply, candidates need to follow these steps: First, visit the official UPSC website at upsc.gov.in. Then, click on the link for NDA (I) 2025 or CDS (I) 2025 on the homepage. On the next page, select the link for Registration and complete the registration process. Afterward, candidates should fill out the online application form, upload the necessary documents, and pay the application fee as specified. Finally, candidates must download the confirmation page and keep a printed copy for future reference. For convenience, a direct link to apply for the CDS and NDA vacancies 2025 is also available.
Candidates should take note of the important dates for the NDA exam 2025. The last date for submitting the online application is December 31, 2024. The last date for modification of the registration is January 7, 2025. The correction window for application forms will be open from January 1, 2025, to January 7, 2025. The NDA exam is scheduled to take place on April 13, 2025.
For the NDA exam 2025, the vacancies are divided among the Army, Navy, Air Force, and the Naval Academy. The Army has 208 vacancies, including 10 reserved for female candidates. The Navy has 42 vacancies, with 6 reserved for female candidates. The Air Force has 92 vacancies for the flying branch, with 2 for female candidates, 18 for the ground duties (technical), including 2 for females, and 10 for ground duties (non-technical), including 2 for females. The Naval Academy (10+2 Cadet Entry Scheme) has 36 vacancies, including 5 for female candidates. In total, there are 406 vacancies available for the NDA 2025 exam.
The NDA exam pattern includes two main components: the written exam and the SSB interview. The written exam consists of two papers: Mathematics and General Ability Test (GAT). The Mathematics paper has a duration of 2.5 hours and is worth 300 marks, while the GAT paper also has a duration of 2.5 hours and is worth 600 marks. The total marks for the written exam are 900, and the SSB interview is also worth 900 marks.
Similarly, the CDS exam 2025 is conducted to recruit candidates for various defence academies in India. Important dates for the CDS exam include the last date for online application submission, which is also December 31, 2024, and the last date for modification of registration, which is January 7, 2025. The correction window for the CDS application forms is open from January 1 to January 7, 2025, with the exam scheduled for April 13, 2025.
The vacancies for the CDS exam 2025 are for various courses, including the Indian Military Academy (IMA), Indian Naval Academy (INA), Air Force Academy (AFA), and Officers' Training Academy (OTA). The total number of vacancies across all courses is 457. For IMA, 100 vacancies are available, for INA 32, for AFA 32, and for OTA 275 vacancies for men and 18 for women.
The CDS exam pattern comprises a written examination followed by an interview for intelligence and personality assessment. For admission to IMA, INA, and AFA, the written exam consists of three subjects: English, General Knowledge, and Elementary Mathematics, each worth 100 marks, with a duration of 2 hours each. For OTA, the written exam consists of English and General Knowledge papers, each worth 100 marks and with a 2-hour duration.
Both the written exam and the interview are assigned equal marks, with each carrying 300 marks for IMA, INA, and AFA candidates, while for OTA, the maximum marks for each component are 200. All subjects in the examination will have objective-type questions, and the question papers for General Knowledge and Elementary Mathematics will be available in both Hindi and English.
Candidates can find detailed information about the NDA and CDS exams, including eligibility criteria, application procedures, and exam syllabus, by visiting the official UPSC website.
