To achieve success in the NDA 2023 Exam, it’s important to stay up-to-date on the latest information regarding the exam’s structure and content. This can be achieved by familiarizing oneself with the NDA 2023 Exam Pattern, also known as the Exam Format or Exam Blueprint. By doing so, candidates can gain insight into the specific topics and subjects covered on the exam and prepare accordingly
The National Defense Academy is a dreamy destination for many students. Some students live for this dream and push themselves every day to chase it. The NDA exam takes place twice a year and recruits’ students for the Army, Navy, and Air Force wings of the National Defense Academy and Indian Naval Academy Course (INAC).
Checkout: CDS Eligibility 2023, Age Limit, Qualification, Physical Standards
NDA Exam Pattern
The NDA exam has two papers, Mathematics, and General Ability Test, and each exam has to be completed in 2.5 hours each. It’s crucial to understand the exam pattern before beginning the preparation. NDA 2023 exam pattern will give you a direction for preparation and save you a lot of time for multiple revisions and mock tests.
To ease your work, we have given the NDA 2023 exam pattern. Go through it and understand the entire structure of the recruitment process, including the negative marking, SSB interview, written exam, marking scheme, etc.
Table of content
NDA 2023 Exam Pattern
The exam pattern will give you a clear picture of the paper format. It will give you the necessary topics and make you choose your priority subject, making your preparation easy and compact.
The NDA 2023 exam has two stages-
- Stage 1: Written test of Mathematics and GAT
- Stage 2: Intelligence and Personality Test (SSB)
Highlights of the exam-
- The mathematics section consists of 120 questions for 300 marks and needs to be completed in 2.5 hours.
- General Ability consists of 150 questions for 600 marks and needs to be completed in 2.5 hours.
- SSB Interview carries 50 questions of 900 marks.
- The total mark for NDA 2023 exam is 1800.
NDA Paper Pattern: Overview
Take a glance at the overview of the NDA exam pattern below consisting of the number of sections, mode of the exam, paper type, etc.:
| Particulars | Details |
| Mode of Exam and medium | Offline (Pen Paper mode) in English and Hindi |
| Number of Sections | 2 |
| Questions type | Multiple Choice Questions (Objective) |
| Number of Questions | 270 Questions (120 from Mathematics and 150 from GAT) |
| Total Marks for Entrance Test | 900 Marks (300 Marks for Mathematics and 600 Marks for GAT) |
| Negative Marking | – 0.83 marks for Mathematics and – 1.33 marks for GAT |
| Duration of Exam | 2.5 hours (Each Section) |
NDA Written Exam Pattern
The written exam for NDA 2023 exam has two subjects –
Mathematics and GAT and will take place on 16 April 2023 in two shifts.
Both the exam will be in pen and paper mode.
NDA Math’s Exam Pattern
The vital topics for the NDA mathematics exam are Differential calculus, Matrices, Determinants, Statistics & Probability, etc. The exam carries 300 marks, and the duration is 2.5 hours. Given below is a detailed NDA exam pattern for the mathematics paper:
NDA Exam Pattern for Math’s
| NDA Exam Pattern for Maths | |
| Maximum Marks | 300 Marks |
| Total No. of Questions | 120 |
| Marks for Correct Answer | 2.5 marks |
| Marks deducted for each wrong answer | 0.83 |
| Total duration of Mathematics Paper | 2 Hours 30 Minutes |
NDA GAT Marking Scheme
General Ability Test has the maximum weightage in the NDA exam. It carries around 150 questions for 600 marks. Therefore, candidates need to prepare for this section well to crack the NDA 2023 exam. Here are the subjects that you need to prepare for GAT.
- English – All the tenses and grammatical rules should be on your tips. You should know comprehension, cohesion, vocabulary, English grammar, and usage.
- General Knowledge is a vast subject and requires good potential. To prepare for Gk, the candidate must prepare in Physics, Chemistry, General Science, History, Freedom Movement, Geography, and Current Affairs.
| Particulars | Total number of Questions | Total Marks |
| NDA GAT Paper | 150 Questions | 600 Marks |
| English | 50 Questions | 200 marks |
| GK | 100 Questions | 400 marks |
| Marks for Correct Answer | + 4 marks in each section | |
| Marks for Incorrect Answer | – 1.33 marks in each section |
NDA 2023 Exam Pattern for SSB Interview
SSB Interview is the last and most vital stage of the NDA exam. It carries 900 marks and is relatively tough. A candidate preparing for NDA 2023 exam must also prepare for the SSB interview. It tests your personality, intelligence, and reaction toward a particular situation.
SSB interview has two stages. Here are the details of the stages.
Stage 1- Officer Intelligence Rating (OIR) through Picture Perception & Description Test (PP & DT).
Stage 2
– Interview
– Group Testing Officer Tasks
– Psychology Tests
– Conference
Frequently Asked Questions on NDA 2023 Exam Pattern
Q1- Can you please tell me about the NDA GAT exam pattern?
A1- Here are the details for NDA 2023 exam pattern for GT. General Ability Test comprises of two subjects-, English and General Knowledge. Here is the NDA exam pattern for GAT –
- Candidates must solve 150 questions in 2.5 hours and will get 4 marks for every correct answer.
- Every wrong answer will give you -1.33.
- General Ability Test has two sections- English and General Knowledge. English carries 50 questions for 200 marks and Gk 100 questions for 400 marks.
- The total mark for GAT is 600.
Q2-What is the NDA exam pattern for mathematics?
A2- Here is the NDA exam pattern for mathematics-
- There will be 120 questions carrying 300 marks.
- Every correct answer will give you 2.5 marks.
- Every wrong answer will give deduct 0.83 marks.
- The candidate must complete the exam in 2.5 hours.
Q2-Does NDA 2023 exam pattern see any changes this year?
A2- No, NDA 22023 exam pattern will not see any changes this year. There is no official statement released by UPSC regarding the changes in the NDA exam pattern.
Q3- How many marks will you get for every correct answer?
A3- Here is the marking scheme of the NDA 2023 exam pattern,
- Every correct answer in mathematics will give you 2.5 marks.
- Every correct answer in GAT will give you 4 marks.
- No marks for unattempt questions.
Q4- Can you tell me about the qualifying marks for the NDA 2023 exam?
Ans- The qualifying marks for NDA 2023 exam is 25% marks in each subject