NDA PYQ: Previous Year Question Papers 2016–2026

This page lists NDA previous year question papers for 11 years, 2016 to 2026, with 72 official PDFs (question papers and answer keys). NDA (National Defence Academy & Naval Academy Examination) is conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) and covers Mathematics and General Ability Test (GAT). Pick a year below for the paper, answer key and a timed practice plan; confirm dates and pattern on upsc.gov.in.

Explore: Question papers by year · Syllabus & pattern · Pattern changes · FAQ

Year-wise question papers

Prefer to practise one topic at a time? NDA topic-wise PYQs lists all 5670 questions from 42 official NDA papers by topic, with the official answers.

About NDA

The NDA and NA exam is how Class 12 students enter the National Defence Academy at Khadakwasla, for the Army, Navy and Air Force wings, and the Indian Naval Academy’s 10+2 cadet entry scheme. You can apply while you are in Class 12 if you are within the age limit, and successful candidates start training straight after school. Candidates for the Air Force, the Navy and the Naval Academy need Physics and Mathematics in Class 12. The Army wing is open to any stream.

The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) conducts the written exam twice a year. NDA I is held in April and NDA II in September. Candidates who clear the written cut-off go to a Services Selection Board (SSB) interview, which carries the same 900 marks as the written exam, and then a medical examination.

Past papers suit NDA very well because the pattern has not changed in decades and UPSC publishes the question papers itself. That gives you twenty full papers from the last ten years alone, all in the exact format you will face. UPSC’s NDA papers also have a recognisable style. The Maths paper leans on a few chapters, and the GK part of GAT returns to the same science ideas and historical facts again and again. The full syllabus and eligibility rules are on the NDA syllabus and pattern page.

How the paper has changed since 2016

The written pattern has stayed the same throughout the years on this hub. What changed were the circumstances: one combined exam in 2020, and women candidates from 2021.

Both papers are offline, on an OMR sheet, and are held on the same day. In Maths, each correct answer earns 2.5 marks and a wrong answer loses 0.83, which is a third of the question’s marks. GAT has 50 English questions (200 marks) and 100 general knowledge questions (400 marks), at 4 marks each with 1.33 off for a wrong answer. The written total is 900.

UPSC’s notification also sets out how the GK part of GAT is divided: Physics, Chemistry, General Science, History and the freedom movement, Geography and Current Events. Physics is the largest single block, followed by History and Geography. Check the notification for the exact split in your year.

NDA I and NDA II

Each year gives you two independent papers. They are not shifts of the same exam and they are not normalised. Each sitting has its own cut-off. For practice this is very helpful: every year on this hub contains two full sets of papers, and you can treat them as separate mocks.

If you plan to take both sittings in a year, keep one error log that runs across both. The gap between NDA I and NDA II is about five months, which is enough to fix the weak chapters you find in April.

What the papers show, paper by paper

Mathematics (120 questions, 300 marks)

NDA Maths is wide and fairly fast. You have 150 minutes for 120 questions, so a little over a minute per question. The paper rewards students who know their Class 11 and 12 formulae well enough to use them quickly.

Algebra (sets, complex numbers, quadratic equations, sequences and series, permutations and combinations, binomial theorem, logarithms), matrices and determinants, trigonometry, and differential and integral calculus together make up most of the paper. Coordinate geometry in two and three dimensions, vectors, and statistics and probability make up the rest. Past papers show many questions that can be done by substituting options or checking special values. Learning to spot those saves a lot of time.

Many students score poorly in Maths because they attempt too many questions they are unsure of. A wrong answer costs a third of a correct one, so ten wrong answers wipe out more than three right ones. In your review, count your wrong answers by chapter. The chapters that produce the most negatives are the ones to fix or skip.

GAT: English (50 questions, 200 marks)

The English part is short and reliable. It has spotting errors, sentence improvement, synonyms and antonyms, fill in the blanks, ordering of sentences or parts of sentences, and short comprehension passages. Each question is worth 4 marks, so English is one of the highest-value sections in the exam per minute spent.

Most errors come from a small set of grammar rules and from vocabulary you half-know. Keep a list of the words and rules you missed in past papers, and revise it a few times a week. That list grows quickly at first and then slows, which tells you your vocabulary is catching up with UPSC’s.

GAT: General Knowledge (100 questions, 400 marks)

This part decides many NDA results. It covers Physics, Chemistry and General Science at about Class 10 level, Indian history and the freedom movement, Indian and world geography, and current events. Polity and economy questions appear too, usually at a basic level.

The science questions are conceptual and often come straight from NCERT ideas: units, motion, light, sound, electricity, magnetism, acids and bases, metals, the periodic table, and human biology. They also repeat across years. When you miss a science question, go to the relevant NCERT chapter rather than a GK book. For history and geography, keep a short list of the facts that came up and revise it weekly. For current events, old papers show the kind of thing UPSC asks about (defence exercises, awards, sports events, international organisations), but the events themselves will not come back.

Notes on recent years

2023 to 2025 are the closest papers to what you will sit. Save at least two sets of these for your last month, and sit Maths and GAT on the same day with a break in between, as in the real exam.

2022 was the first year both sittings were open to women. The papers themselves follow the usual pattern.

2021 is remembered for the Supreme Court’s interim order in August that allowed women to take NDA II 2021. That sitting was held in November. The papers are normal practice papers.

2020 had only one exam, since NDA I and NDA II were held together in September because of the pandemic. So the year gives you one set of papers instead of two.

2016 to 2019 are in exactly the current format. They are ideal for chapter-wise Maths practice and for building your science and GK lists early.

UPSC releases official answer keys for NDA only after the final results of that cycle are declared. For recent papers, coaching keys may be all that is available. If one looks wrong, check the answer yourself before trusting it.

Using old papers at different stages of preparation

In Class 11 or early Class 12

Use NDA Maths questions as chapter practice. Once you finish a chapter at school, solve the NDA questions from that chapter for a few years. You will see what UPSC asks and how quickly you need to be. Start reading NCERT science alongside, and try the GAT English section once a month.

With about six months to go

Sit one full Maths paper and one full GAT paper each week, on the same day if you can. Keep three error logs: Maths, English and GK. Spend most of your weekday study on those logs. If board exams are near, balance the two, since Class 12 Maths and Physics overlap well with NDA.

In the last two months

Sit full papers twice a week, with Maths in the morning and GAT after a break, as on exam day. Use the 2023 to 2025 papers for these. In the last two weeks, revise your vocabulary list, your science notes and your history and geography lists every day, and stop starting new topics. The SSB comes later, so do not let it distract you before the written exam.

Mistakes students make with past papers

The most common mistake in Maths is attempting everything. A full attempt with poor accuracy often scores less than a careful attempt of 70 to 80 questions. Use past papers to find your own best number of attempts.

The second is preparing GAT from a big GK book and ignoring past papers. The science questions in particular repeat ideas so often that a careful review of ten years of papers covers a large part of what will be asked.

Students also tend to neglect English because it is only 50 questions. It carries 200 marks, as much as two-thirds of the Maths paper, and it takes less time to improve.

Last, many students prepare only for the next sitting and treat the one after it as a fresh start. Keep one error log across NDA I and NDA II, so the lessons from April carry into September.

FAQ

Where can I get NDA previous year question papers?

UPSC publishes NDA question papers on upsc.gov.in under previous question papers. Each year page here has the official PDFs, with a link to UPSC’s original, and adds notes on what the paper tested.

What is the NDA exam pattern?

There are two papers on the same day. Mathematics has 120 questions for 300 marks in 2½ hours. The General Ability Test has 150 questions for 600 marks in 2½ hours, with 50 English and 100 general knowledge questions. Wrong answers lose a third of the question’s marks. Check the current notification before your exam.

How many years of NDA papers should I solve?

Try to solve all papers from the last ten years. Since there are two sittings a year (one in 2020), that is about nineteen sets. If time is short, do 2019 to 2025 as full papers and use the older years for chapter-wise Maths and GK practice.

Are NDA I and NDA II papers different?

Yes. They are separate exams with separate papers and separate cut-offs, about five months apart. There is no normalisation between them. For practice, treat each as a full mock.

How many questions should I attempt in NDA Maths?

There is no fixed number. Wrong answers lose a third of the marks, so careful attempts usually beat attempting everything. Track your accuracy over several past papers and find the attempt level where your score is highest.

How do I prepare the GK part of GAT using past papers?

Go through the science questions from ten years of papers and trace each to an NCERT chapter. Keep short lists for history and geography facts that came up, and revise them weekly. Old current events will not repeat, but they show the kind of news UPSC asks about.

When does UPSC release the NDA answer key?

UPSC releases the official answer key only after the final results of that cycle, which comes months after the written exam. Until then, coaching keys are the only option. Check doubtful answers yourself.

Can women apply for NDA?

Yes. Women first sat NDA II 2021 after a Supreme Court order, and both sittings have been open to them since 2022. The written papers are the same for all candidates. Check the notification for current eligibility rules.

Where to get the official papers

UPSC publishes NDA notifications, question papers, answer keys and results on upsc.gov.in. We host the official papers on each year page and add notes, but the current UPSC notification is the final word on dates, pattern and eligibility.