Dear Aspirant,

to join the defence services in our country, there are a coouple of exams you can choose to give deoending on your ages, such as,

• NDA Exam - 16 to 19 years
• CDS Exam - Minimum Age 19 years
• AFCAT Exam - Minimum age 20 years
• CAPF - 20 to 25 years

Most of the defence exams syllabuses consists of subjects such as Mathematics, General Knowledge and English.

With regards to studying the nest way is to keep practicing everyday, seek out your weak parts and work on them. Keep a few topics that you are confident in so you can use those topics to score. Best way to study would be by solving the previous years question papers as well as using the recommended textbooks.

Hello,

To become an IPS officer you have to give the UPSC CSE exam. There are three stages in the CSE selection process :

1. Stage I: Preliminary Examination

2. Stage II: Mains Examination

3. Stage III: UPSC Personality Test

Prelims

It is a qualifying exam and candidates have to get a minimum of 33 % to be qualified for the Mains.Consists of 2 compulsory papers- General Ability Test (GAT) and the Civil Service Aptitude Test (CSAT). All questions are objective in nature with negative marking for each wrong answer, where One-third of marks allotted to each question is deducted for a wrong answer.

Mains

It is a written descriptive examination and comprises 9 papers and these are as follows: Paper-A (Compulsory Indian Language); Paper –B (English) which are qualifying in nature, while the other papers like Essay, General Studies Papers I, II, III, and IV, and Optional Papers I and II are considered for the final ranking. Candidates who score above the prescribed cut-off marks in the IAS exam (Mains) will get the summons for the Personality Test. The final ranking is based on the marks obtained by the candidate  in the Main Examination and Personality Test/Interview Round of the IAS exam.

Interview

This is a face-to-face discussion round with the board members where the candidates are assessed by the board members on their personality traits to know if they are fit for a career in the civil services or not. The UPSC personality test will be held only in the UPSC Bhavan in New Delhi.

Now coming to the preparation part, First of all you should start with understanding what UPSC is and the exams it conducts and the exam patterns, eligibility criteria, dates, syllabus and all such details.

Next you can decide to take some extra help/guidance from some institution in the form of  classroom coaching after your college hours or go for online classes. Online coaching would be a good option if you find it difficult to travel after classhours and would prefer to study from your home/hostel. Apart from the lectures, online coaching  provides the students with guidance, study materials and mock tests.

Next set a timetable. This helps in bringing discipline, which is very important when you are preparing for such competitive examinations.

Start reading newspapers, NCERT books from class 6 to 10, Decide on an optional subjectand gather material for it. while preparing make sure to note down important points.

Take regular tests to assess your preparation level  and to identify the areas where you need to improve.

NEVER TAKE YOUR HEALTH FOR GRANTED . Get proper sleep, eat healthy food and keep your self hydrated. Ensure that you do not stress your self too much and give enough time to relax and take breaks. Always remember that if you are stressed out then take a break as it would not bring out any good results when you put yourself in more stress.

Following these I am sure you will be able to make India proud one day.

To get into the Defence sector then The National Defence Academy (NDA) and the Combined Defence Services (CDS), both are exams conducted by the UPSC to join The Triservice in India.

Below I have mentioned some differences between both the exams:

Below I have provided some tips for preparing for the NDA exam:

• The most important thing that has to be done first is to understand the exam pattern, the dates and the syllabus . This helps you to understand which topics you will have to spend more time on and plan your timetable accordingly. I will share with you a link where you will find information about the exam patterns: https://competition.careers360.com/articles/nda-exam-pattern The below link will give you the syllabus: https://competition.careers360.com/articles/nda-syllabus

• Once you get to know about the syllabus and the dates, now you can set a timetable. You can decide how many days or hours you will be keeping for each subjects, revision and to practice previous year papers and mock tests. Manage time in a way that you spend enough time on difficult topics and also ensure that you have ample time for revision and practice.

• Another important thing to keep in mind is to find the correct books for you . Some books may be hard to follow, so try to get materials that are written in a student friendly language. Below I have given a link where you can find details about the best study materials

https://competition.careers360.com/articles/best-books-prepare-for-nda

• While studying the subjects make sure you keep note of important points and equations in a separate book . This will come in handy at the time of revision.

• Once you are done studying the subjects start revising and doing previous year papers and mock question papers on a daily basis . This helps you to recollect the formulas, gives you an idea on where you have to improve and will also help you to manage time better. Make it a point to solve atleast one paper every day during the month you have kept apart for revision and practicing question papers.

Below I have shared a link where you can get sample question papers.:

https://competition.careers360.com/articles/nda-question-papers

• Another important thing is that don’t study anything new at the last minute and this can create confusions.

• NEVER TAKE YOUR HEALTH FOR GRANTED . Get proper sleep, eat healthy food and keep your self hydrated. Ensure that you do not stress your self too much and give enough time to relax and take breaks. Always remember that if you are stressed out then take a break as it would not bring out any good results when you put yourself in more stress.

• Finally, on the day of the exam relax and don’t get tensed. Keep your mind clear and give the exam.  You will surely be able to do well.

Hope this helps

Good Luck