The Supreme Court today passed interim order to allow women to take the admission exam to National Defence Academy(NDA) scheduled for November 14. The result of NDA exam would be subject to final adjudication of the petitions A division bench comprising Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Hrishikesh Roy passed the interim order in a writ petition filed by Kush Kalra seeking permission for women candidates to appear for the NDA exam
The present public interest petition raises the issue of violation of Articles 14, 15, 16 and 19 of the Constitution of India by denying the opportunity to eligible and willing female candidates to join the National Defence Academy and afford them a chance to enrol, train and develop themselves in the National Defence Academy into future leaders of the Indian Armed Forces. According to the petitioner, the eligible and willing female candidates are being denied the opportunity of entry to the National Defence Academy on the basis of their sex
thereby systematically and categorically excluding eligible female candidates the opportunity to train at the premier joint training institute of the Indian Armed Forces which, at a later point of time, becomes a hurdle in the career advancement opportunities for Female Officers in the Armed Forces
“The eligible female candidates having adequate 10+2 level of education are denied the opportunity to take the National Defence Academy and Naval Academy Examination on the ground of their sex and the consequence of this denial is that at the 10+2 level of education, the eligible female candidates do not have access to any mode of entry to join the Armed Forces as Officers. Whereas, equally and similarly situated male candidates with 10+2 level of education have the opportunity to take the Examination and after qualifying join the National Defence Academy to get trained to be commissioned as Permanent Commissioned Officers in the Indian Armed Forces. This is a clear violation of the Fundamental Right to Equality of Opportunity in Matters of Public Employment and the Fundamental Right to Protection from
Discrimination by the State on the Ground of Sex in Respect of any Employment or Office under the State.” the plea states. The petition has also stated that the categorical exclusion of women to train at the National Defence Academy and get commissioned into the Armed Forces of the Country as Permanent Commissioned Officers solely on the basis of their sex is a denial of the Fundamental Right to Practice any Profession and it is not justifiable within the contours of the Indian Constitution. The petitioner was represented by Senior Advocate Chinmoy Pradip Sharma, along with Advocates Mohit Paul, Sunaina Phul and Irfan Hasieb.
What is NDA & NA (I) and (II) Exam?
The NDA exam is conducted by UPSC for admission to the Army, Navy and Air Force wings of the NDA. This exam is a gateway for candidates looking forward to joining Defence Forces including Army, Navy and Air Force.
This is a national level exam conducted twice a year: NDA I and NDA II to help candidates make a career in Defence services. National Defence Academy & Naval Academy (NDA & NA) Examination will be a two-step process where candidates first need to take the exam and then qualify the personality test or interview conducted by the Service Selection Board (SSB). The UPSC is solely responsible for issuing guidelines for selection and the final conduct of the entrance examination.
NDA 2021 Exam Highlights
| Exam name | National Defence Academy & Naval Academy Examination (NDA & NA) |
| Conducted by | UPSC |
| Exam level | National |
| Total vacancies | 400 |
| Exam category | After Class 12 |
| Exam Frequency | Twice a year |
| Exam stages | Written Test and SSB Interview |
| Exam mode | Offline |
| Exam duration | Five hours (Mathematics: 2 ½ hours, General Ability Test (GAT): 2 ½ hours) |
| Exam syllabus | Mathematics: Algebra, Matrices and Determinants, Trigonometry, Analytical Geometry of two and three dimensions, Differential Calculus, Vector Algebra, Statistics and ProbabilityGAT: English, General Knowledge, Physics, Chemistry, General Science, Geography, Current Events, etc. |
| Exam pattern | GAT: 150 objective-type questions Mathematics: 120 objective-type questions |
| Language | English and Hindi |
| Exam purpose | For admission to National Defence Academy (NDA) and Indian Naval Academy Course (INAC) |
| Test cities | NDA I: 41NDA II: 75 |
| Exam helpdesk | 011-23385271/011-23381125/011- 23098543 |
| Official website | upsc.gov.in |
NDA (II) 2021 Notification
UPSC had released NDA (II) 2021 notification on June 9. The notification was released in PDF form and contains exam-related information such as the exam date, number of vacancies, eligibility criteria, selection process, etc. NDA (2) 2021 notification was released for admission to the Army, Navy and Air Force wings of the NDA for the 148th Course and for the 110th Indian Naval Academy Course (INAC) commencing from July 2, 2022.
NDA Eligibility Criteria 2021
Candidates need to fulfil the following eligibility criteria in order to be eligible for the exam:
Age limit: For NDA 1 exam, candidates must have born not earlier than July 2, 2002, and not later than July 1, 2005. For NDA 2 exam, candidates must have born not earlier than January 2, 2003, and not later than January 1, 2006.
Educational qualification: The educational qualification is different for different academies. Candidates can check the educational qualification prescribed for different academies below:
| Army Wing of National Defence Academy | Passed Class 12/HSC or equivalent from a recognised board or university. |
| Air Force, Navy and Naval Academy of National Defence Academy | Passed Class 12/HSC with Physics and Mathematics |
NDA Dates 2021
The dates of NDA I and II exams have been announced. Candidates can check below NDA dates 2021.
NDA I Dates 2021
| Events | Dates | Salient Features |
|---|---|---|
| Notification | 30-Dec-2020 | The complete schedule along with other details were released |
| Application form | 30-Dec-2020 | Registrations for the recruitment exam had started on this date |
| Last date to apply | 19-Jan-2021 | Candidates could submit their application forms online |
| Application withdrawal | 27-Jan-2021 to 02-Feb-2021 | The facility to withdraw the application form of NDA was made available online |
| Admit card | 26-Mar-2021 | All registered candidates were issued admit cards for the exam |
| Written exam | 18-Apr-2021 | The exam was conducted in two shifts: morning and afternoon across 41 cities spread throughout the country |
| Declaration of written result | 30-Jun- 2021 | The result of the written exam was declared online and displayed the roll numbers of shortlisted candidates |
| SSB Interview | July to Sept 2021 | SSB Interview is conducted for the shortlisted candidates of written exam in two stages |
NDA 2 Dates 2021
| Events | Dates | Salient Features |
|---|---|---|
| Notification | 09-Jun-2021 | NDA 2 notification was released in PDF format |
| Application form | 09-Jun-2021 | Application forms were made available along with the notification |
| Last date to apply | 29-Jun-2021 | Candidates could apply within the application deadline |
| Written exam | 14-Nov-2021 | The written exam of NDA II has been postponed. Earlier, it was scheduled to be conducted on September 5. |
| Admit card | October 2021 | The admit card will be released online for registered candidates |
| Declaration of written result | December 2021/January 2022 (Tentative) | The result of the written exam is declared on the official website in PDF form |
| SSB Interview | January 2022 to April 2022 (Tentative) | SSB Interview is conducted in two stages |
