Every Defence exam on one page: what is open today, which exams you can apply for, how they compare, and free practice with previous year papers.
Step 1
Pick your qualification and age. Exams you can apply for stay highlighted, with the standard age relaxation for your category added.
Showing all 5 Defence exams.
Step 2
Where each entry stands today, who can apply and what it pays. Defence notices set birth-date windows with no category relaxation, so check the finder result against the notice.
National Defence Academy and Naval Academy Examination
Written result (likely): Oct 2026 (tentative)
Combined Defence Services Examination
Written result (likely): Oct 2026 (tentative)
Air Force Common Admission Test
Exam held 8 Aug 2026; result declared
Indian Army Agniveer Common Entrance Exam (Agnipath scheme)
CEE for recruiting year 2027 held in June 2026; next notice not published yet
Indian Air Force Agniveervayu Intake (Agnipath scheme)
Applications closed 26 Jul 2026
Exam, interview and application dates from each notice, UPSC’s 2027 calendar and the official portals. UPSC says its calendar dates can change; month-only ranges are tentative.
How each entry selects, from its latest notice. The officer entries share English and general knowledge and end in a Services Selection Board; the Agniveer entries replace the SSB with a physical fitness test. A half dot means only one option or academy; a dash means the notice does not say.
| Part of the exam | NDA | CDS | AFCAT | Agniveer | Agniveervayu |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mathematics / numerical ability | – | ||||
| English | – | ||||
| General knowledge / awareness | – | ||||
| Physics or science section | – | ||||
| Reasoning / military aptitude | – | ||||
| SSB / AFSB interview | |||||
| Physical fitness test with a timed run | |||||
| Medical examination |
Tested Some posts only Not tested
Officers are commissioned at Pay Level 10 with Military Service Pay; Agniveers get a fixed monthly package for four years. Figures as printed in each notice; allowances are extra.
Vacancies stated in each notice, newest cycle highlighted. The Army and the Air Force do not publish Agniveer totals in their notices.
Vacancies appear once the notice is added.
Vacancies appear once the notice is added.
Vacancies appear once the notice is added.
The latest official cut-off of each entry, once it is added from the result notice. Enter a mock score to see where you stand.
Official cut-offs appear here as soon as they are added from the Defence result notices. Predict your rank from a mock score →
Notifications, admit cards, answer keys and results, each linked to the official notice.
Defence notifications, admit cards, answer keys and results appear here as soon as they are posted. See all govt job updates →
The path most Defence exams follow. The notice of each exam has its own dates and stages.
UPSC publishes NDA and CDS twice a year; the Air Force publishes AFCAT and Agniveervayu; Army Recruiting Offices publish Agniveer notices district by district. Source
NDA and CDS on upsconline.nic.in, AFCAT on afcat.edcil.co.in, Agniveervayu on iafrecruitment.edcil.co.in, Army Agniveer on joinindianarmy.nic.in. Source
NDA: Maths and General Ability; CDS: English, GK and Maths; AFCAT: one 100-question paper; Agniveer: an online entrance test. Source
Officer entries go to a Services or Air Force Selection Board; Agniveer entries run 1.6 km and take strength tests. Source
A service medical board checks fitness; merit lists are drawn up against the vacancies and your preferences. Source
Tick them off as you go. Your list stays on this device.
Three steps that work for every Defence exam.
See the exact level Defence sets, with an instant result, your rank among everyone who took it, and solutions.
Start a paperAfter every test we show the topics that cost you marks and give you a short practice set for each.
Practise by topicTen exam-level questions every day, with the answers explained, so preparation never stops.
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Answers from UPSC, Army and Air Force notices, with the source linked.
Ask the study assistant anything about Defence exams.
UPSC NDA & NA (unmarried men and women, 12th pass; Physics, Chemistry and Maths for the Air Force and Navy wings), IAF Agniveervayu (12th with 50% and 50% in English, or an engineering diploma) and Army Agniveer (10th pass for General Duty, 12th for Technical and Clerk categories).
UPSC CDS (Indian Military Academy, Indian Naval Academy, Air Force Academy and Officers’ Training Academy) and IAF AFCAT (Flying and Ground Duty branches). Both lead to a commission as an officer after training.
No. NDA, CDS, AFCAT, Army Agniveer and Agniveervayu notices set a single birth-date window for every category. The only relaxation in these notices is for Commercial Pilot Licence holders, who can apply for AFCAT Flying and the CDS Air Force Academy up to 26.
Yes, with limits set by each notice. NDA & NA (II) 2026 had 24 vacancies for women. In CDS, women are considered only for the Short Service Commission course at OTA. AFCAT and Agniveervayu are open to men and women. In the Army, women apply for Agniveer General Duty (Women Military Police).
Yes. NDA candidates must be unmarried and must not marry until training ends. CDS needs unmarried men for IMA, INA and OTA, and for the Air Force Academy candidates below 25 must be unmarried. AFCAT candidates must be unmarried when the course starts. Agniveers must stay unmarried for the four years.
In NDA and CDS one third of a question’s marks is deducted for a wrong answer. AFCAT gives 3 marks for a correct answer and deducts 1 for a wrong one. Agniveervayu deducts 0.25. The Army Agniveer notice does not state a deduction.
Candidates who clear the NDA or CDS written exam are tested by a Services Selection Board. Stage I is an intelligence test and a picture perception test; those who pass stay four more days for the interview, group tasks, psychology tests and a conference. In NDA the SSB carries 900 marks. AFCAT candidates go to an Air Force Selection Board.
On commission, a Lieutenant (and equivalent Sub Lieutenant or Flying Officer) is at Pay Level 10, ₹56,100 – ₹1,77,500, plus Military Service Pay of ₹15,500 a month. Cadets get a fixed stipend of ₹56,100 a month during training at the academy. Allowances are extra.
An Agniveer package of about ₹30,000 a month in the first year, rising to ₹40,000 in the fourth, plus risk, hardship, dress and travel allowances. 30% goes into a corpus fund with an equal Government share, paid out as a Seva Nidhi of about ₹10.04 lakh (excluding interest) after four years. Up to 25% of each batch can join the regular cadre. There is no pension or gratuity.
NDA ₹100 and CDS ₹200, with women, SC and ST exempt (NDA also exempts some wards of JCOs, NCOs and ORs). AFCAT and Agniveervayu ₹550 plus 18% GST. Army Agniveer ₹250 per category.
Agniveervayu 02/2027 online test on 22–23 September 2026. NDA & NA (II) and CDS (II) 2026 were held on 13 September 2026, with written results likely in October. UPSC’s 2027 calendar lists the NDA (I) and CDS (I) 2027 notices for 2 December 2026, applications till 22 December and the exam on 11 April 2027.
Eligibility, pay, fees, patterns, vacancies and dates on this page come from these official documents, last checked on 14 Sept 2026. Stages, cut-offs and updates come from our records of official notices. Always confirm in the notice on upsc.gov.in, joinindianarmy.nic.in or the IAF recruitment portals before applying. Sarkari Parcha is not affiliated with UPSC, the Ministry of Defence or the armed forces.
