Are you an aspirant of Defence Exams? Get the latest information on all the upcoming Defence exams in India such as NDA, CDS, CAPF and AFCAT exam in the article.
The Defence exams are conducted to recruit eligible candidates in the Indian Armed Forces. Through various Defence exams, candidates get admission in the various Defence training academies such as –
- Indian Military Academy (IMA) – Dehradun
- Indian Naval Academy (INA) – Ezhimala
- Air Force Academy (AFA) – Hyderabad
- Officers’ Training Academy (OTA) – Chennai
Every year lakhs of candidates appear for various defence exams to fulfil their dream of being a part of the armed forces, which is undoubtedly highly admired in India. This article aims to provide relevant information on the defence exams in India for aspirants to prepare conveniently for upcoming Defence exams.
Candidates willing to appear for other Government exams can go through the link for information on upcoming exams.
| Eying for a future in Defense services? Complement your Defence exams preparation with the following- |
Upcoming Defence Exams
Defence exams offer prestigious, dignified and lucrative career opportunities. Most of the defence exams in India are conducted by the UPSC – Union Public Service Commission. However, there are individual organisations also that conduct their own exams to fill up various vacancies.
The information related to the following Defence exams are given in the article-
- CAPF – Central Armed Police Force
- NDA – National Defence Academy/ Naval Academy
- CDS – Combined Defense Services
- AFCAT – Air Force Common Admission Test
Lets us have a close look at various Defence exams in India-
Defence Exams – Dates
The exam dates for all Defence exams are announced by the conducting body through the official notification or on the official exam calendar.
The important dates of upcoming Defence exams 2021 are as follows-
| Defence Exam Dates 2021 | ||
| Defence Exams | Notification | Exam Dates |
| NDA | NDA 1 – December 30 2020
NDA 2- June 9th 2021 |
NDA 1 – April 18th 2021
NDA 2- September 5th 2021 |
| CDS | CDS 1- October 28th 2020
CDS 2- To be notified |
CDS 1- February 7th 2021
CDS 2- To be notified |
| CAPF | April 15th 2021 | August 8th 2021 |
| AFCAT | November 28th 2020 | 20th, 21st, and 22nd February 2021 |
Candidates can know the relevant dates of Defence exams 2020 in the article.
Defence Exams – Notification
The notification for CAPF, CDS and NDA exam is released by the UPSC while the AFCAT exam is conducted by the Indian Air force itself. The notification details of these defence exams for the year 2020 are as follows-
CAPF Exam
CAPF is an All India level exam conducted annually. The notification for CAPF exam is released to recruit various Group A and Group B officers in the seven security forces of India.
UPSC announced the notification of CAPF 2020 on August 18th to recruit Assistant Commandant (group A officers).
The table below highlights Defence exam 2020 dates for CAPF-
| Defence Exam 2020 – CAPF Dates | |
| Official Notification | August 18th, 2020 |
| Online Application | August 18th to September 7th 2020 |
| Admit Card | November 2020 |
| CAPF Written Exam | August 9, 2020 (Postponed)
December 20th 2020 (New Date) |
| CAPF Result | To be notified |
| CAPF Interview | February 2021 |
Aspirants of CAPF exam can go through CAPF Recruitment for further information.
NDA / NA Exam
NDA/NA is an all India defence entrance exam that is conducted by UPSC twice a year, in April and in September. Candidates who qualify NDA exam get admission to Army, Navy and Air Force wings of NDA & Indian Naval Academy Course -INAC.
The details of this defence exam for 2020 is given in the table below-
| Defence Exam Date – NDA 2020 | ||
| NDA exam events | NDA I Exam | NDA II Exam |
| NDA Notification & commencement of application | January 8th 2020 | June 16th 2020 |
| Last date for NDA Online application | January 28th 2020 | July 6th 2020 |
| NDA 2020 Written exam | April 19th 2020 (postponed)
September 6th 2020 (new date) |
September 6th 2020 (along with NDA I exam) |
| NDA Result | October 9th 2020 | October 9th 2020 |
Candidates can check the detailed NDA notification on the linked page for further details.
CDS Exam
CDS is a national level defence entrance exam which is again conducted by the Union Public Service Commission. CDS exam is conducted biannually, CDS I in February and CDS II in September. The important dates of the CDS defence exam are as mentioned below-
| Defence Exam 2020 – CDS Dates | ||
| CDS exam event | CDS 1 | CDS 2 |
| CDS notification | October 30th 2019 | August 5th 2020 |
| CDS Online Application | October 30th- November 19th 2019 | August 5th to 25th 2020 |
| CDS Admit Card | January 9th 2020 | 15 days before the exam |
| CDS Written exam | February 2nd 2020 | November 8th 2020 |
| CDS Result | March 23rd 2020 | December 2020 (tentative) |
Detailed information on CDS notification and relevant details are given on the linked article.
AFCAT Exam
The Indian Air force conducts the AFCAT exam to select candidates for multiple posts in the Air Force such as Flying Officers, Officers in Ground Duty – Technical Post, and Officers in Ground Duty -Non-Technical Post.
The AFCAT exam is also conducted biannually, once in February and then in August. Aspirants from across the country can apply for this Defence exam. The notification for AFCAT 2020 1 and 2 examinations was released in November 2019 and June 2020, respectively.
The details of important events for AFCAT defence exam is highlighted in the table below-
| Defence Exam 2020- AFCAT Dates | ||
| AFCAT 2020 | AFCAT 1 | AFCAT 2 |
| AFCAT Notification | November 23, 2019 | June 9th, 2020 |
| AFCAT Registration | December 1st to 30th, 2019 | June 15th to July 14th, 2020 |
| AFCAT Admit Card | February 3rd, 2020 | September 4, (postponed)
September 15th 2020 (new date) |
| AFCAT exam date | February 22nd and 23rd 2020 | September 19th and 20th 2020 (postponed)
October 3rd, 4th and 5th, 2020 (New dates) |
| AFCAT Result | March 17th 2020 | November 2020 (Tentative) |
Further details regarding AFCAT can be checked on the AFCAT Notification page.
Defence Exam Eligibility
Aspirants of various Defence exams have to fulfil the basic eligibility requirement as mentioned by the conducting body in the respective exam notification.
Every citizen of India, irrespective of class, caste, religion and community is eligible to appear for defence exams provided they meet the criteria such as physical standard, age and educational qualification.
The criteria for Defence exams eligibility are as follows-
Defence Exam Age Limit
The age limit for different Defence exams in India are different which is highlighted below-
| Defence Exam Age Limit | ||
| Exams | Minimum Age | Maximum Age |
| CAPF | 20 years | 25 years |
| NDA | 16 years | 19 years |
| CDS | 19 years | 22 years – INA
23 years – AFA 24 years – IMA 25 years – OTA |
| AFCAT Exam | 20 years | 24 years – Flying Branch
26 years – Ground Duty |
Defence Exam Education Qualification
The minimum education qualification required to appear for the defence exam is 12th Board pass. The details for education requirements for different Defence exams is as follows-
| Defence Exam Educational Qualification | |
| Exams | Minimum Education Requirement |
| CAPF | A Bachelor’s degree from any Government recognised University Or Deemed to be University |
| NDA/NA Exam | 12th Class pass of the 10+2 pattern of School Education or equivalent examination |
| CDS Exam | Graduation/Bachelors from a Government recognised University |
| AFCAT Exam | A Graduation degree from any Government recognised University |
All the Defence exams have certain physical and medical standards that are mandatory to be fulfilled by the candidates in order to be eligible for the examination. Aspirants can go through the detailed eligibility requirements of various Defence exams on the links provided below-
Defence Exam Vacancy
The Defence exam vacancies are announced by the conducting bodies along with the release of the official notification.
Candidates can go through the Defence exam vacancy for various Defence exams in India highlighted below
| Defence Exam Vacancy 2020 | ||
| Defence Exams | Exam 1 Vacancy | Exam 2 vacancy |
| NDA/NA | NDA – 370
Naval Academy – 48 |
NDA – 370
Naval Academy – 43 |
| CDS | Army/Navy/Air Force – 177
Officers Training Academy – 241 |
Army/Navy/Air Force – 158
Officers Training Academy – 186 |
| AFCAT | 249 | 256 |
| CAPF | 209 Assistant Commandants in (SSB, ITBP, CISF, BSF, CRPF) | |
For detailed information on Defence Exam vacancy please refer to the notification page for respective exams.
Defence Exam Syllabus & Exam Pattern
The UPSC and Air Force, reserves the right to set and make changes in the exam pattern and syllabus of CDS, NDA, CAPF and AFCAT respectively.
The notification published by the conducting body mentions the Defence exam syllabus and exam pattern in detail.
Aspirants of various defence exam in India can go through the highlights of patterns and Defence exam syllabus given below-
| Defence Exam Syllabus & Exam Pattern | ||
| Defence Exams | Exam Pattern | Syllabus |
| CAPF | Paper-I – Objective; 250 marks
Paper-II – Subjective; 200 marks Physical Efficiency Test – on qualifying Paper I & II Personality test/Interview – 150 marks |
Paper I – General Ability and Intelligence
Paper-II – General Studies, Essay and Comprehension |
| NDA | Written Exam ( Part I – Maths – 300 marks, Part II – GAT – 600 marks)
SSB Interview – Two stages – 900 Marks |
Written exam – broadly covers subjects like Maths, English, and General knowledge |
| CDS | Written Exam – (INA/IMA/AFA – 300 marks & OTA – 200 marks)
SSB Interview |
English, General knowledge and Elementary Mathematics |
| AFCAT | Written test (compulsory for all branches) – 300 marks
EKT(Only for Technical) – 100 marks |
Written test– General Awareness, Verbal Ability in English, Numerical Ability and Reasoning and Military Aptitude Test
EKT– Mechanical, Computer Science and Electrical & Electronics |
Candidates can check the detailed Defence exam syllabus for different exams on the link provided below –
Aspirants of various Defence exams in India must be willing to know the remuneration, perks and allowances admissible to candidates selected in these exams. Hence, they can refer to the links provided below to know the Defence exam salary-
| Defence Exam Salary | |
| CDS Salary | NDA Salary |
| CAPF Salary | AFCAT Salary |
Defence Exam Result
The various exam conducting bodies announce the Defence exam result within a month’s time span after the completion of the examination. This section will highlight the information regarding Defence exam results.
- CAPF Result – Since the exam for CAPF 2020 is scheduled to be conducted on 20th December 2020, the result for the same can be expected in February 2021. Details on CAPF results are elaborated on the CAPF exam page.
- NDA Result – UPSC has announced the result of NDA 1 and NDA 2 exam 2020 on October 9th. The common exam for NDA 1 and 2 was conducted on September 6th 2020. Check the details on NDA Result in the given link.
- CDS Result – The commission will announce the Defence exam result for CDS 2 in December 2020 as the exam is scheduled to be conducted on November 8th 2020. UPSC has announced the CDS 1 result on March 23rd, the exam for which was conducted on February 2nd 2020. Go through the detailed information on CDS Result in the linked article.
- AFCAT Result – The Indian Air Force announced the result of AFCAT 1 on March 17th 2020. The exam was conducted on February 22nd and 23rd. However, the result for AFCAT 2 released on October 21st 2020. Check further details on the AFCAT result page linked here.
Defence Exam Preparation
Aspirants of various Defence Exams in India must follow a strategic approach for defence exam preparation. They can follow the below-given tips for preparation of Defence exam-
- Set a schedule for your Defence exam preparation and make sure you stick to it.
- Socialize with people who are preparing for the same or have already qualified for the exam. Utilise this time to discuss preparation and clarifying doubts.
- While studying for the Defence exam, make notes as you go through the study material. These are short and effective and help for last-minute revision.
- Listen to the short news and do not waste time listening to unnecessary news based on discussion unless the topic demands it.
- Speed up your learning by following some memory techniques.
- Give tests and practice writing answers frequently.
- Practice mock papers, identify your mistakes and the area where you lack knowledge. This is an essential part of regular preparations for successful candidates. Also, it helps to increase your speed to solve the exam on time.
Candidates can go through preparation strategies for competitive exams to do diligent preparation for the examination.
Aspirants can also details related to Government exams after 12th in the given link.
Candidates who aspire to appear for various government exams can check the links below for relevant details-
