Akansha Mehta | Updated: Apr 6, 2022 18:28 IST
The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) conducts the NDA exams, to select candidates for admission to the Army, Navy, and Air Force wings of the Indian Naval Academy Course (INAC) and National Defense Academy (NDA). The UPSC NDA is conducted twice a year in two tiers: a written test and SSB Interview. Every year lakhs of applicants appear for this exam, which is why there is always stiff competition to get through. Hence aspirants need a thorough preparation strategy in order to clear the selection process. One of the most important aspects of the preparation process is going through the UPSC NDA Exam Analysis of the previous years’ exams.
Hence we have curated this article to provide you with a detailed subject-wise analysis of UPSC NDA exam for UPSC NDA 1 and UPSC NDA 2. Candidates can refer to the analysis and frame their study schedule accordingly.
The UPSC NDA 1 Exam for the year 2022 is scheduled to take place on the 10th of April 2022. Candidates can continue reading this article for the previous year’s analysis of the UPSC NDA exams so as to understand the difficulty level of the exam and understand the topic-wise weightage well enough to prepare your last-minute exam schedule accordingly.
As mentioned above, the UPSC NDA Recruitment is conducted in two phases, that is the UPSC NDA Exam is held twice a year. Hence here we have provided the subject-wise analysis of the UPSC NDA 1 exam held on 18th April 2021. The UPSC NDA exam comprises two papers being – General Ability Test and Mathematics. The next few sections will have a detailed subject and topic-wise analysis of them.
The details regarding the difficulty level and a number of good attempts are out and are updated below.
| Subject | Good Attempt | Difficulty Level |
| Mathematics | 55 – 60 | Moderate |
| General Ability Test | 90 – 105 | Easy to Moderate |
Below is the topic-wise UPSC NDA Exam Analysis for Mathematics section –
| Topic | No. of Questions | Difficulty |
| Sets, Relations, and functions | 06 | Easy to Moderate |
| Complex Number | 05 | Easy to Moderate |
| Quadratic Equations | 04 | Easy to Moderate |
| Permutations and Combinations | 03 | Easy to Moderate |
| Binomial Theorem | 04 | Moderate |
| Sequences and Series | 08 | Easy to Moderate |
| Matrices and Determinants | 10 | Moderate |
| Vector Algebra | 05 | Moderate |
| Three-dimensional Geometry | 05 | Easy to Moderate |
| Straight Lines | 06 | Easy to Moderate |
| Circles | 02 | Easy to Moderate |
| Conic Sections | 02 | Easy to Moderate |
| Trigonometric Functions | 13 | Easy to Moderate |
| Inverse Trigonometric Functions | 02 | Easy to Moderate |
| Heights and distance | 02 | Easy to Moderate |
| Limit and Continuity | 04 | Easy to Moderate |
| Differentiation | 04 | Moderate |
| Applications of Derivatives | 05 | Moderate |
| Integral Calculus | 07 | Easy to Moderate |
| Differential Equations | 04 | Easy to Moderate |
| Statistics | 10 | Easy to Moderate |
| Probability | 05 | Moderate |
| Miscellaneous | 04 | Easy to Moderate |
The General Aptitude Test is conducted for 600 marks. A total number of 150 questions are asked. The difficulty level of the examination is easy to moderate. Below is a detailed analysis of GAT.
| Topic | No. of Questions | Difficulty |
| English | 50 | Moderate |
| History | 15 | Moderate |
| Geography | 18 | Moderate |
| Polity | 4 | Moderate |
| Current Affairs | 5 | Moderate |
| Economics | 1 | Easy-Moderate |
| Static GK | 2 | Easy |
| Defense Specific | 2 | Easy-Moderate |
| Physics | 22 | Easy-Moderate |
| Chemistry | 17 | Moderate |
| Biology | 11 | Moderate |
| Sports | 3 | Moderate |
Check the detailed UPSC NDA Paper Analysis 2019 here. Know the questions asked and their difficulty level.
| Topics | Number of questions |
| Set theory, Relations, and Functions | 8 |
| Calculus | 17 |
| Trigonometry | 20 |
| Geometry | 14 |
| Complex Number | 6 |
| Binary Number | 1 |
| Sequence and Series | 6 |
| Quadratic Equations and Inequality | 4 |
| Permutation and Combination | 4 |
| Binomial Theorem | 3 |
| Logarithm | 4 |
| Matrices and Determinants | 10 |
| Vector Algebra | 4 |
| Statistics | 5 |
| Probability | 12 |
| Miscellaneous | 2 |
| – | 120 |
Check the detailed UPSC NDA 2019 Exam Review for GAT here. UPSC NDA General Knowledge Analysis 2019
| Subjects | No. of Questions |
| Geography | 15 |
| History | 11 |
| Economy | 7 |
| Polity | 8 |
| Physics | 22 |
| Chemistry | 17 |
| Biology | 8 |
| Current Affairs | 9 |
| Static | 3 |
| – | 100 |
Here we have provided the subject-wise analysis of the UPSC NDA 2 exam held in the latter half of the year. As per the experts, the UPSC NDA 2 Mathematics paper was moderately difficult as compared to the previous attempt, whereas GAT was easier. The next few sections will have a detailed subject and topic-wise analysis of them.
The details regarding the difficulty level and a number of good attempts are out for the Mathematics as well as GAT paper. The good attempts and difficulty levels are as follows:
| Subject | Good Attempt | Difficulty Level |
| Mathematics | 58 – 66 | Moderate |
| General Ability Test | 105-112 | Moderate |
The detailed topic-wise exam analysis for the Mathematics section is as follows.
| Topics | No. of Questions |
| Matrices & Determinants | 8 to 10 |
| Trigonometry | 20 |
| Analytical Geometry | 20 |
| Differentiation | 15 |
| Integration | 10 |
| Statistics | 10 to 12 |
| Vectors | 5 to 7 |
| Misc/Algebra | 20 to 25 |
The detailed topic-wise analysis for the GAT paper and the number of questions asked are as follows:
| Topics | No. of Questions |
| English | 50 |
| Geography | 10 to 12 |
| Current Affairs | 5 to 8 |
| Static GK | 4 to 5 |
| Biology | 10 |
| Chemistry | 15 |
| Physics | 18 to 21 |
| Indian Polity | 9 |
| Economy | 8 |
| History | 10 to 13 |
Aspirants will be appearing for two papers which are the mathematics and General Ability Test. The exam pattern of which will be as follows –
| Papers | Subject | Questions | Maximum marks | Duration |
| Paper 1 | Mathematics | 120 | 300 | 150 minutes |
| Paper 2 | General Ability Test | 150 | 600 | 150 minutes |
Going through the UPSC NDA Exam Analysis of the previous years is extremely important. This analysis would help the candidates know the topic-wise and subject-wise weightage to help frame an effective study schedule. Hope that our article could serve you as an informative guide on the analysis of the UPSC NDA Exam help every year.
The UPSC NDA Exam is held twice a year.
The UPSC NDA Exam is conducted for 2 papers, the General Ability Test and Mathematics section for a total of 900 marks and 150 minutes for each paper.
Yes, there is a negative marking in the UPSC Exam 2022, which is 0.83 marks for Mathematics and 1.33 marks for GAT
Yes. In order to curate an effective study plan, it is important to walk through the expected and previous years’ UPSC NDA Exam Analysis.
As per the Supreme Court judgment, even a female can apply for the UPSC NDA Exam.