🎖️ DEFENCE — NDA · CDS · AFCAT

For: commissioned officer entry into the Army, Navy and Air Force. NDA & CDS conducted by UPSC (upsc.gov.in); AFCAT by the Indian Air Force (afcat.cdac.in).

Confirm eligibility (age, marital status, education, physical standards) on the official notification — defence criteria are strict.

NDA (National Defence Academy — after 12th)

 WRITTEN (UPSC) — 900 marks
     Mathematics       300 marks
     General Ability Test (GAT) 600 marks
        (English + General Knowledge: physics, chemistry, biology,
         history, geography, polity, economy, current affairs)
 SSB INTERVIEW — 900 marks (5-day personality & officer-potential assessment)

CDS (Combined Defence Services — graduate)

 WRITTEN (UPSC):
     For IMA/INA/AFA — English, General Knowledge, Elementary Mathematics
     For OTA (SSC) — English, General Knowledge only
 SSB INTERVIEW → medical

AFCAT (Air Force Common Admission Test — graduate)

 WRITTEN — General Awareness, Verbal Ability (English), Numerical Ability,
           Reasoning & Military Aptitude
 (EKT for technical branches) → AFSB INTERVIEW → medical

What to study on this site

• Mathematics (NDA/AFCAT): CSAT Maths (extend to 11–12 level for NDA)
• Reasoning: CSAT Reasoning & DI
• English: English Language Notes
• General Knowledge / GAT: Polity · History · Geography · Economy · Science & Tech
• Current affairs: Monthly Digest

Defence-specific add-ons

• NDA Maths goes to Class 11–12 (trigonometry, calculus, vectors, matrices) — beyond CSAT level; use an NDA maths book.
• SSB/AFSB interview — officer-like qualities, psychological tests, group tasks: prepare separately.
• Physical fitness and medical standards.

Official links

• NDA/CDS: upsc.gov.in · AFCAT: afcat.cdac.in · joinindianarmy.nic.in
• Live openings: Govt Job Alerts

Two halves: the written test overlaps heavily with the GK/maths/English notes here; the SSB interview and physical/medical are a separate, decisive stage — plan for both.