NDA 2021 Eligibility Criteria:
Nationality:
A candidate must either be (i) a citizen of India, or ii) a subject of Bhutan, or (iii) a subject of Nepal, or (iv) a Tibetan refugee who came over to India before the 01st January 1962 with the intention of permanently settling in India, or (v) a person of Indian origin who has migrated from Pakistan, Burma, Sri Lanka and East African Countries of Kenya, Uganda, the United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi, Zaire and Ethiopia or Vietnam with the intention of permanently settling in India.
- Provided that a candidate belonging to categories (ii), (iii), (iv) and (v) above shall be a person in whose favor a certificate of eligibility has been issued by the Govt. of India.
- Certificate of eligibility will not, however, be necessary in the case of candidates who are Gorkha subjects of Nepal.
Age Limits, Sex, and Marital Status:
- Only unmarried male candidates born not earlier than 02nd July 2000 and not later than 01st July 2003 are eligible.
- The date of birth accepted by the Commission is that entered in the Matriculation or Secondary School Leaving Certificate or in a certificate recognised by an Indian University as equivalent to Matriculation or in an extract from a Register of Matriculates maintained by a University which must be certified by the proper authority of the University or in the Secondary School Exam or an equivalent exam certificate.
- These certificates are required to be submitted only after the declaration of the result of the written part of the exam.
- No other document relating to age like horoscopes, affidavits, birth extracts from Municipal Corporation, service records and the like will be accepted. The expression Matriculation/ Secondary School Exam Certificate in this part of the instruction includes the alternative certificates mentioned above.
Educational Qualifications:
For Army Wing of National Defence Academy: 12th Class pass of the 10+2 pattern of School Education or equivalent examination conducted by a State Education Board or a University.
For Air Force and Naval Wings of National Defence Academy and for the 10+2 Cadet Entry Scheme at the Indian Naval Academy: 12th Class pass of the 10+2 pattern of School Education or equivalent with Physics and Mathematics conducted by a State Education Board or a University.
Candidates who are appearing in the 12th Class under the 10+2 pattern of School Education or equivalent exam can also apply for this exam. Such candidates who qualify the SSB interview but could not produce Matriculation/10+2 or equivalent certificate in original at the time of SSB interview should forward duly self-attested Photocopies to ‘Directorate General of Recruiting, Army HQ, West Block. III, R.K. Puram, New Delhi-110066’ and for Naval Academy candidates to ‘Naval Headquarters, DMPR, OI&R Section, Room No. 204, ‘C’ Wing, Sena Bhavan, New Delhi-110011’ by 24th December 2019 failing which their candidature will be canceled.
- All other candidates who have produced their Matriculation and 10+2 pass or equivalent certificates in original at the time of attending the SSB interview and have got the same verified by the SSB authorities are not required to submit the same to Army HQ or Naval HQ as the case may be.
- Certificates in original issued by the Principals of the Institutions are also acceptable in cases where Boards/Universities have not yet issued certificates. Certified true copies/photo state copies of such certificates will not be accepted.
Note 1: Candidates appearing in the 11th class exam are not eligible for this examination.
Note 2: Those candidates who have yet to qualify in the 12th class or equivalent examination and are allowed to appear in the UPSC Exam should note that this is only a special concession given to them.
Note 3: Those candidates who have failed CPSS/PABT earlier are not eligible for Air Force.
Physical Standards:
- Candidates must be physically fit according to physical standards for admission to National Defence Academy and Naval Academy Exam (I) 2021 as per guidelines are given in Appendix-IV.
- A candidate who has resigned or withdrawn on disciplinary grounds from any of the training academies of Armed Forces is not eligible to apply.