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Defence Exams 2025 - Upcoming Dates of Defence Exams
The schedule for the Defence exams 2025 has been released by the respective authorities for respective departments. These opportunities include jobs under the Indian Army, Coast Guard, Navy, Air Force, medical & engineering services, JAG’s department or in the Education Corps with prestigious career and overall development.
Every year lakhs of aspirants appear for their Defence exam to fulfill their dream of being a part of the armed forces. Those candidates who are looking for the defence exam 2025 can check the complete list of all upcoming exams for the year 2025. Candidates can check Defence exam calendar 2025 for further details.
Upcoming Defence Exam 2025
Defence exams offer prestigious career opportunities to all the aspirants seeking for it. Most of the Defence exams are conducted by the UPSC – Union Public Service Commission. The list of defence exams are given below –
- CAPF – Central Armed Police Force
- NDA – National Defence Academy / Naval Academy
- AFCAT – Air Force Common Admission Test
- CDS – Combined Defence Services
Defence Exams – Dates
All the dates of Defence exams are announced by the conducting body on the official defence exams calendar 2025 which are as follows –
| Defence Exams | Notification | Exam Dates |
| NDA | NDA 1 – 11th December 2024 NDA 2- 28th May 2025 | NDA 1 – April 13th 2025 NDA 2- September 14th 2025 |
| CDS | CDS 1- 11th December 2024 CDS 2- 28th May 2025 | CDS 1- 13th April 2025 CDS 2- 14th September 2025 |
| CAPF | 5th March 2025 | 30th July 2025 |
| AFCAT | 27th May 2025 | 23rd to 24th August 2025 |
Defence Exams 2025 – Notification
The notification details of these exams (CAPF, AFCAT, CDS, and NDA) for the year 2025 are as given below –
CAPF Exam
CAPF exam is conducted annually as an All India Level exam. The exam is conducted to recruit various officers to Group A and Group B in the seven security forces of India. The notification will be released on March 5, 2025 and the exam date is August 3, 2025. Check the table below for more details
Defence Exam 2025 – CAPF Dates
| Official Notification | 5th March 2025 |
| Online Application | 5th - 25th March 2025 |
| Admit Card | Last week of July |
| CAPF Written Exam | 3rd August 2025 |
| CAPF Result | To be notified |
| CAPF Interview | To be notified |
Previous year vacancy details are given below –
UPSC CAPF (AC) Vacancies 2025
| 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 Exam
NDA exam is also the All India Defence Exam conducted by the UPSC twice a year. The UPSC NDA-I 2025 Offline Written Examination will be conducted on 3th April 2025 (Sunday) & NDA-II will be conducted on 14th September 2025 (Sunday) as mentioned in the notification pdf.
Defence Exam Date – NDA 2025
| NDA exam events | NDA I Exam | NDA II Exam |
| NDA Notification & commencement of application | 20th December 2024 | 18th May 2025 |
| Last date for NDA Online application | 9th January 2025 | 11th June 2025 |
| NDA 2025 Written exam | 13th April 2025 | 14th September 2025 |
| NDA Result | May 2025 | October 2025 |
Previous year vacancy details are given below –
| Sr. No. | Academy | Vacancies 2025 |
| 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
CDS exam is again conducted by the UPSC. CDS exam is conducted biannually in the month of February and September. The important dates for the CDS exam is given below –
Defence Exam 2025 – CDS Dates
| CDS exam event | CDS 1 | CDS 2 |
| CDS notification | 11th December 2024 | 21st May 2025 |
| CDS Online Application | 11th December - 31st December 2024 | 21st May - 10th June 2025 |
| CDS Admit Card | March 2025 | August 2025 |
| CDS Written exam | 13th April 2025 | 14th September 2025 |
| CDS Result | 28th April 2025 | September 2025 |
Previous year vacancy details are given below –
CDS (I) 2025 Vacancies
| Academy | Course | Total Vacancies |
| Officers’ Training Academy, Chennai | 33rd SSC Women (Non-Technical) Course commencing in April 2025 | 18 |
| Officers’ Training Academy, Chennai | 119th SSC (Men) Course (NT) commencing in April 2025 | 275 |
| Air Force Academy, Hyderabad | (Pre-Flying) Training Course commencing in January 2025 | 32 |
| Indian Naval Academy, Ezhimala | Course commencing in January 2025 Executive (General Service)/ Hydro | 32 |
| Indian Military Academy, Dehradun | 156th (DE) course commencing in January 2025 | 100 |
| Total | 341 |
AFCAT Exam
AFCAT exam is conducted to select candidates for multiple posts in the Air forces such as Flying officers, officers in ground duty, technical post and non technical post. The AFCAT exam is also conducted biannually. The details for important events for AFCAT exam are highlighted below –
| AFCAT 2025 | AFCAT 1 | AFCAT 2 |
| AFCAT Notification | 2nd December 2024 | 27th May 2025 |
| AFCAT Registration | 2nd - 31st December 2024 | 2nd June - 1st July 2025 |
| AFCAT Admit Card | 7th February 2025 | August 2025 |
| AFCAT exam date | 22nd, 23rd February 2025 | September 2025 |
| AFCAT Result | 17th march 2025 | October 2025 |
Previous year vacancy details are given below –
| 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 – 10AE(M): SSC – 03 | AE(L): PC – 23, SSC – 80AE(M): PC – 07, SSC – 26 | |
| 215/24F/SSC/M & W | Flying | SSC – 05 | SSC- 05 |
Defence exams 2025 Eligibility Criteria
| Exams | Minimum Age | Maximum Age |
| CAPF | 20 years | 25 years |
| NDA | 16 years | 19 years |
| CDS | 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 exams 2025 Educational Qualification
The minimum education for the Defence exam is 12th board. The details for different exams are mentioned below –
| Exams | Minimum Education Requirement |
| CAPF | A Bachelor’s degree from any Government recognized 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 recognized University |
| AFCAT Exam | A Graduation degree from any Government recognized University |
Defence exams 2025 syllabus and exam pattern
| Defence Exams | Exam Pattern | Syllabus |
| CAPF | Paper-I – Objective; 250 marksPaper-II – Subjective; 200 marksPhysical Efficiency Test – on qualifying Paper I & IIPersonality test/Interview – 150 marks | Paper I – General Ability and IntelligencePaper-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 | 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 marksEKT(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 |
Defence exams 2025 preparation
For the defence exam preparation, aspirants can follow certain tips as mentioned by the best Defence coaching in Kolkata.
1. Make a proper routine and set a schedule for your defence exam preparation.
2. Socialize with the people who are preparing for the same.
3. Socialize with the experts of the defence coaching in Kolkata. Get effective study materials, learning notes, mock tests and a lot more from the defence coaching in Kolkata.
4. Speed up your learning by following some memory techniques
FAQs on Defence Exams 2025
Q1. Which exam is easiest to join Defence?
Ans: - NDA or National Defense Academy is the easiest way to join the Indian Army after 12th. The candidates get their training here and move to their respective training academies for their further training.
Q2. What is the eligibility for defence?
Ans :- An Indian candidate who is unmarried and has completed 12th with Physics and Mathematics as their compulsory subject can apply for the defence exam.
Q3. What is the age limit for defence exams?
Ans: - The age limits for defence exams are 18 to 42 years.
Q4. How many attempts are there in Defence exams?
Ans: - The number of attempts is unlimited for the defence exams. As per the UPSC guidance, there is no cap on the number of attempts in the CDS.
Q5. How many seats are there in defence?
Ans: - Indian Army - 208. Indian Air Force - 92. Indian Navy -60.