Do you intend to take the defence exams? The article provides the most recent information on the future defence tests in India, including the NDA, CDS, CAPF, and AFCAT exam. Defence Exams 2023 – Dates Of Upcoming Defence Exams in India

The Indian Armed Forces conduct the defence tests to select qualified candidates. Candidates are admitted to the numerous defence training academies, including through a variety of exams.

  • Indian Military Academy (IMA) – Dehradun
  • Indian Naval Academy (INA) – Ezhimala
  • Air Force Academy (AFA) – Hyderabad
  • Officers’ Training Academy (OTA) – Chennai

Candidates interested in taking additional government exams should click the link to learn more about upcoming exams.

Defence Exams 2023 - Dates Of Upcoming Defence Exams in India

Defence Exams 2023 – Dates Of Upcoming Defence Exams in India

Upcoming Defence Exams

Exams for the military provide prestigious, honorable, and lucrative job options. The Union Public Service Commission, or UPSC, administers the vast majority of the defence tests in India. 

  • CAPF – Central Armed Police Force
  • NDA – National Defence Academy/ Naval Academy
  • CDS – Combined defence Services
  • AFCAT – Air Force Common Admission Test

Lets us have a close look at various Defence exams in India-

Defence Exams – Dates

The conducting board publishes the exam dates for all defence exams in the official announcement or on the official exam calendar.

Defence Exam Dates 2023
Defence Exams Notification Exam Dates
NDA NDA 1 – 21st December 2022

NDA 2- 17 May 2023

NDA 1 – April 16th 2023

NDA 2- September 3rd 2023

CDS (1,2) CDS 1- 21st December 2022

CDS 2- 17 May 2023

CDS 1- April 16th 2023

CDS 2- September 3rd 2023

CAPF April 26th 2023 August 6th 2023
AFCAT November 26th 2022 24-26 February 2023

Defence Exams – Notification

 

CAPF Exam

CAPF Exam

An annual exam at the All India level is called the CAPF. The announcement of the CAPF Recruitment 2023 will take place on April 26, 2023, and Papers 1 and 2 will be held on August 6, 2023. The Central Armed Police Forces get thousands of applications each year from those hoping to be chosen as Assistant Commandants. Check the CAPF exam date 2023 for details on the various stages of the hiring process.

On April 26, 2023, UPSC will publish the CAPF ACs 2023 Notification. Dates for the CAPF-Defence Exam 2023 are highlighted in the table below.

Defence Exam 2023 – CAPF Dates
Official Notification 26 April 2023
Online Application 26 April 2023 to 16 May 2023
Admit Card July 2023
CAPF Written Exam 06 August 2023
CAPF Result To be notified
CAPF Interview To be notified

Along with the UPSC CAPF Notification 2023, the new openings to be filled through the UPSC CAPF 2023 Exam will be made public. The previous year’s openings are listed below:

UPSC CAPF (AC) Vacancies 2022
Security Forces Vacancies
Border Security Force (BSF) 66
Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) 29
Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) 62
Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) 14
Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) 82
Total 253

NDA / NA

The UPSC holds the NDA/NA exam, an all-India defence admission exam, twice a year, in April and September. 

On December 21, 2022, the UPSC posted a PDF of the NDA announcement 2023 announcing the openings for boys and girls to be hired for the National Defence Academy and Naval Academy’s FY 2023. According to the notification pdf, the UPSC NDA-I 2023 Offline Written Examination will be held on Sunday, April 16, 2023, while the NDA-II will be held on Sunday, September 3, 2023.

NDA / NA Exam

NDA / NA Exam

The table below provides information on this defence test for 2023.

Defence Exam Date – NDA 2023
NDA exam events NDA I Exam NDA II Exam
NDA Notification & commencement of application 21st December 2022 17th May 2023
Last date for NDA Online application 12th January 2023 06th June 2023
NDA 2023 Written exam 16th April 2023 3rd September 2023
NDA Result May 2023 September 2023

A total of 395 spots at the National defence Academy (NDA) and Naval Academy (NA) will be filled this year using the NDA 1 Exam 2023, with 352 going to the NDA and the remaining 42 to NA. See the table below for a detailed breakdown of the NDA 1 exam openings in 2023.

Sr. No. Academy Vacancies 2023
1. Naval Academy (10+2 Cadet Entry Scheme) 25 (Only for Male Candidates)
2. National Defence Academy
  • Air Force
  • Flying: 92 (including 02 female candidates)
  • Ground Duty (Tech): 18 (including 02 female candidates)
  • Ground Duty (Non-Tech): 10 (including 02 female candidates)
  • Navy: 42 (including 03 female candidates)
  • Army: 208 (including 10 female candidates)
Total 395

CDS Exam

 The CDS exam is given twice a year, in February and September.

CDS Exam

CDS Exam

Along with the UPSC Calendar for 2023, UPSC has also issued the CDS exam dates for the CDS I and II exams. According to the calendar, the CDS I 2023 test will be given on April 16, 2023, and the CDS 2 exam will be given on September 3, 2023.

Defence Exam 2023 – CDS Dates
CDS exam event CDS 1 CDS 2
CDS notification 21st December 2022 17th May 2023
CDS Online Application 21st December 2022- 10th January 2023 17th May 2023 to 06th June 2023
CDS Admit Card 24th March 2023 August 2023
CDS Written exam 16th April 2023 03rd September 2023
CDS Result May 2023 September 2023

341 openings for the Indian Air Force, Indian Military Academy, Indian Naval Academy, and Officer’s Training Academy have been advertised for this year. Look at the distribution of vacancies.

CDS (I) 2023 Vacancies
Academy Course Total Vacancies
Officers’ Training Academy, Chennai 33rd SSC Women (Non-Technical) Course commencing in April 2024 17
Officers’ Training Academy, Chennai 119th SSC (Men) Course (NT) commencing in April 2024 170
Air Force Academy, Hyderabad (Pre-Flying) Training Course commencing in January 2024 32
Indian Naval Academy, Ezhimala Course commencing in January 2024 Executive (General Service)/ Hydro 22
Indian Military Academy, Dehradun 156th (DE) course commencing in January 2024 100
Total 341

The linked article provides comprehensive data about CDS notice and other pertinent information.

AFCAT Exam

To choose applicants for a variety of positions in the Air Force, including Flying Officers, Officers in Ground Duty – Technical Post, and Officers in Ground Duty – Non-Technical Post, the Indian Air Force administers the AFCAT exam.

Additionally, the AFCAT test is given twice a year in February and August. For this defence exam, candidates can apply from anywhere throughout the nation. 

AFCAT Exam

AFCAT Exam

The chart below highlights the essential dates for the AFCAT defence exam.

Defence Exam 2023- AFCAT Dates
AFCAT 2020 AFCAT 1 AFCAT 2
AFCAT Notification 27 November 2022 May 2023
AFCAT Registration 1 December 2022 to 31 December 2022 June 2023
AFCAT Admit Card 10 February 2023 July 2023
AFCAT exam date 24, 25, and 26 February 2023 August 2023
AFCAT Result 13 March 2023 September 2023

 The positions up for grabs are for Ground Duty and Short Service Commission in the Flying Branch. (Non-technical and technical branches).

AFCAT 1 2023 Vacancy
Entry Course Number Branch Vacancies (Women)- 33 Vacancies (Men)- 225
NCC Special Entry 215/24F/PC/M and

215/24F/SSC/M&W

Flying 10% seats out of CDSE vacancies for PC and 10% seats out of AFCAT vacancies for SSC.
AFCAT Entry 214/24G/SSC/M & W Ground-Duty(Non-Technical) Weapon System (WS) Branch: 02

Admin: 05

Accts: 02

Lgs: 02

Edn: 02

Met: 02

Weapon System (WS) Branch: 15

Admin: 43

Accts: 11

Lgs: 19

Edn: 08

Met: 07

214/24T/SSC/ 104AEC/ M & W Ground-Duty(Technical) AE(L): SSC – 10

AE(M): SSC – 03

AE(L): PC – 23, SSC – 80

AE(M): PC – 07, SSC – 26

215/24F/SSC/M & W Flying SSC – 05 SSC- 05

Defence Exam Eligibility

Candidates for a variety of defence tests must meet the minimal eligibility requirements outlined by the administering authority in the relevant exam notification.

Defence Exam Age Limit

Defence Exam Age Limit
Exams Minimum Age Maximum Age
CAPF 20 years 25 years
NDA 16 years 19 years
CDS-2 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

Passing the 12th Board is the minimal educational requirement to sit for the defence exam. 

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

 On the pages below, candidates can review the comprehensive eligibility requirements for the various defence exams.

  • CAPF Eligibility
  • NDA Eligibility
  • CDS Eligibility
  • AFCAT Eligibility

Defence Exam Vacancy

Defence Exam Vacancy 2023
Defence Exams Exam 1 Vacancy Exam 2 vacancy
NDA/NA NDA – 370

Naval Academy – 25

NDA – To be announced

Naval Academy – To be announced

COMBINE DEFENCE SERVICES Army/Navy/Air Force – 154

Officers Training Academy – 187

Army/Navy/Air Force – 154

Officers Training Academy – 185

AFCAT Men- 225

Women- 33

To be announced
CAPF To be announced for Assistant Commandants in (SSB, ITBP, CISF, BSF, CRPF)

Defence Exam Syllabus & Exam Pattern

The CDS, NDA, CAPF, and AFCAT test patterns and syllabuses are subject to set-up and alteration at any time by the UPSC and Air Force, respectively.

The highlights of patterns and the syllabus for the various defence exams in India are provided 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-1 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 –

  1. CAPF Syllabus
  2. CDS Syllabus
  3. NDA Syllabus
  4. AFCAT Syllabus

The pay, benefits, and allowances available to those chosen in India’s different defence tests must be of interest to applicants. learn more about the Defence exam salary:

Defence Exam Salary
CDS Salary NDA Salary
CAPF Salary AFCAT Salary

Defence Exam Result

Within a month of the exam’s conclusion, the various exam conducting bodies release the results for the defence exam. 

  1. CAPF Result – Since the CAPF 2020 exam is likely to take place on December 20, 2020, the results might be anticipated in February 2021. The CAPF exam page elaborates on results information.
  1. NDA Result –On October 9th, UPSC released the results for the 2020 NDA 1 and NDA 2 exams. Visit the provided website to view the NDA Result information.
  1. CDS Result – Since the exam is slated to take place on November 8, 2020, the commission will announce the results of the CDS 2 defence exam in December 2020. Read the attached article for more information on CDS Result in-depth.
  1. AFCAT Result – On March 17, 2020, the Indian Air Force released the AFCAT 1 results. The test took place on February 22 and 23. 

Defence Exam Preparation

Defence test candidates in India must adopt a strategic approach to exam preparation. They can use the advice provided below to prepare for the defence exam:

  1. Make sure to stick to your preparation schedule for the defence exams.
  2. Make notes as you read through the study materials as you prepare for the Defence exam. 
  3. If the subject doesn’t call for it, only listen to the brief news and save your time for the important stories.
  4. Use these memory strategies to quicken your learning.
  5. Give tests and constantly practise answering questions.
  6. Practise mock papers, pinpoint your errors and your knowledge gaps. 

To thoroughly prepare for the exam, candidates might read up on preparation tactics for competitive exams.