The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has released the schedule for the National Defence Academy (NDA) and Naval Academy (NA) Examination (I) 2026. The exams will be conducted offline across India on April 12, 2026.
For the NDA and NA exams, the Mathematics paper will be held on the first shift from 10 am to 12:30 pm, followed by the General Ability Test (GAT) from 2 pm to 4:30 pm.
The Combined Defence Services (CDS) exam will also take place on April 12. The schedule for CDS is as follows:
WHO CAN APPLY AND VACANCIES
The NDA and NA exams are conducted twice a year to select candidates who have completed Class 12 for admission into the Army, Navy, and Air Force wings of the National Defence Academy and Indian Naval Academy programmes.
For 2026, a total of 394 vacancies are available:
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Army: 208
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Navy: 42
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Air Force: 120
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Naval Academy: 24
This includes 370 vacancies for male candidates and 24 for female candidates.
IMPORTANT INSTRUCTIONS FOR CANDIDATES
Candidates must use a black ballpoint pen only for writing and marking answers on the OMR sheet. Use of pencils or pens of any other colour is not allowed.
Any error in filling in details on the OMR sheet, such as roll number or test booklet series code, may result in the rejection of the answer sheet.
The exam follows a negative marking system for incorrect answers in the objective-type papers.
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