NDA Eligibility Criteria 2023-24

NDA eligibility criteria are those criteria that will decide if you can enrol in the National Defence Academy training. Before you fill out the NDA application form, you must read the NDA eligibility criteria in detail. There are many aspects of these criteria. You must examine each of these criteria carefully to see that you satisfy all of them. Remember, NDA Exam gives you the opportunity to be a part of the country’s topmost security forces, that is, the Indian Armed Forces. Hence, you can expect the examining authority to be equally strict about the eligibility criteria. 

NDA Eligibility Criteria At A Glance  

Nationality 

The candidate must be

• A citizen of India or

• A subject of Nepal or 

• A subject of Bhutan or

• A Tibetian refugee who came to India before 1st January 1962, or

• An Indian origin person migrated from Pakistan, Srilanka, Burma, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi, Zaire, Ethiopia or Vietnam.

Note - Apart from the Indian candidates, the other candidates must have certificates of eligibility issued to them by the Government of India. However, the Nepalese origin Gorkha candidates do not need to furnish certificates of eligibility. 

Age Limits 

The candidates who wish to join the NDA must be between 16.5 and 19.5 years of age i.e. they must be born between 2 July 2001 and 1 July 2004. This is an important NDA Eligibility Criteria that must not be overlooked.

The UPSC only accepts the Matriculation or Secondary school leaving certificate as the proof of age. The Matriculation certificate must be from a recognised central or state board. Any other proof that is recognised as equivalent to matriculation or Secondary certificate is valid too. You don’t need to present the proof age before the declaration of the written test. Other types of documents that have your date of birth will not be accepted.

Be very careful while recording the date of birth in your application form. You will not be able to change that in the future.

Marital Status 

You cannot marry until you complete your full NDA training. If you marry during any part of the entire selection and training process, you will be ousted. In fact, if you are married and still undergo the NDA training, you will be ousted and you have to refund the expenses borne by the government.

Educational Qualification 

The NDA eligibility criteria, as far as education is concerned, are different for Army and Navy/Airforce candidates. The rules are described below in detail - 

→ For NDA Army Wing - You need to pass class 12. The pattern must conform to the 10+2 system. Your class 12 passing certificate must be from a recognised central or state board.

→ For NDA Naval or Air Force Wing - You must be class 12 pass. The pattern must conform to the 10+2 system. If you had studied Maths and Science in class 12, only then you can enter this wing. 

Exceptions - At times, the commission may recommend a candidate who does not have the required educational qualifications. The commission does this when it sees that a candidate has such exceptional qualifications and skills that would make him a prized asset in the Indian armed forces.

Note - If you are studying class 11, you are not eligible for the NDA exam or training. 

Physical Standards 

The NDA Eligibility criteria also talk about physical standards. There is an exhaustive document published by the UPSC that reveals what it means to be physically fit. You can find the document on the official website. Some of these physical standards are mentioned below:

• The candidates should be strong. Any evidence of weak constitution, immaturity of any organ or system or deformities and you will be rejected.

• The candidate must not have any swelling or case of fistula.

• His ENT system must be healthy.

• There should be no bone disease, no nasal deformities and no chronic tonsillitis.

• The candidate’s heart, lungs, kidney, liver and brain must be healthy.

• The candidate must not have high or low blood pressure.

• The candidate must be psychologically healthy.

• Candidate must have a normal hearing ability.

• Except the tribal candidates, no other candidates should have any kind of tattoos on their forearm, elbow to wrist portion, palm, or back portion of the body.

There are other conditions that the candidate must fulfil. You can see the detailed list of the rules regarding the physical standards by clicking on the link above.

Those who want to be a pilot must follow this list of eligibility criteria:

• The length of the legs must be between 99cm to 120cm.

• The length of the thighs must be 64 cm.

• The candidate should have a powerful vision. The distant vision should be 6/6 in better eye and 6/9 in the worse eye.

• The height of the applicant must range between 157cm and 162.5cm.

• The sitting height of the candidate should be between 81.5 cm to 96 cm. 

• The candidate should not have any spectacles.

Here is a brief summary of the NDA eligibility criteria.

NDA Eligibility Criteria: Brief Overview

Are Girls Eligible For NDA Entry?

Unfortunately, NDA is meant only for male cadets. NDA trains those cadets who would join the Permanent Commission in the army. Because girls are only eligible for the Short Service Commission, the doors of NDA are closed for them. These NDA eligibility criteria can change soon as the government is trying to increase the female-representation in the army. As of now, girls can enter the army through CDS. 

NDA Exam 2022

This year's NDA exam was scheduled to be held in April. However, due to the Coronavirus pandemic and the consequent lockdown, the exam got postponed. The date has now been revised to 4th September 2022. There will be a written exam and an interview. The written exam will have two papers - Maths and GAT. The Maths will be of 300 marks and the GAT paper will be of 600 marks. Candidates who pass the written exam will be called for the SSB interview. The 5-day long interview will have 900 marks. Based on a total of 1800 marks, the final result of the NDA exam will be published by the UPSC. 

Therefore, you now know that the first hurdle in your path to the hallowed grounds of NDA is the NDA eligibility criteria. If you find out that you are eligible, don’t rejoice - start working hard for the written exam and the SSB interview. Best of luck.