UPSC to hold NDA, NA, CDS 2026 exam 1 on April 12; shifts, timings

The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) will conduct the National Defence Academy (NDA), Naval Academy (NA), and Combined Defence Services 1 exam 2026 on April 12. As per the schedule, UPSC will conduct the NDA and NA 2026 mathematics paper from 10 am to 12:30 pm and the general ability test from 2 pm to 4:30 pm.

As per the UPSC notice, CDS exam 1 will be conducted for English subjects from 9 am to 11, general knowledge from 12:30 pm to 2:30 pm, and the elementary mathematics exam from 4 pm to 6 pm.

UPSC NDA 2026 recruitment drive aims to fill a total of 391 vacancies, and the CDS drive aims to fill 451 vacancies.

As per UPSC exam guidelines, candidates are required to arrive at their respective exam centres at least 30 minutes before the commencement of the exam, as late entry will not be permitted. All candidates will be issued an e-admit card on the last working day of the week preceding the examination date, which will be available on the official UPSC website.

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UPSC NDA, CDS exam pattern 2026

UPSC CDS 2026 exam pattern consists of papers in English, General Knowledge, and Elementary Mathematics, followed by a personality test conducted through an interview. Each paper carries 100 marks. For UPSC NDA 2026, the Mathematics paper is worth 300 marks, while the General Ability Test carries 600 marks.

Candidates who qualify the written stage will appear for the SSB interview, which is conducted for 900 marks. Both the UPSC CDS and NDA 2026 papers will have negative marking for all objective-type questions.