NDA SSB Interview 2023: Date, Eligibility, Medical Standards

The first phase of the exam will be held on 16 April 2023 and after that, the NDA 1 SSB interviews will take place. After the NDA 1 SSB interviews are over, the final merit list will be prepared. For your convenience, the same will be made available here once the exam is concluded.

The second phase exam date is 03 September 2023. The NDA 2 SSB interview 2023 will be held by the board following the announcement of the results. The final merit list will be created following the conclusion of the NDA 2 SSB interviews. The same is made available here for your convenience.

The Ministry of Defence, India, establishes the NDA SSB (Service Selection Board). NDA SSB is the body that schedule, organise & conduct the SSB interview of the aspirants applying for Indian Military Forces. The SSB interview the candidates for the Army, Navy & Air Force.

This procedure will be organised at the NDA SSB centres (designated by NDA SSB). The NDA SSB interview 2023 also involves intelligence and personality test. Aspirants applying for the Air Force have to separately qualify for the CPSS (Computerised Pilot Selection System) & PABT (Pilot Aptitude Battery Test).

The NDA SSB interview date 2023 has yet to be announced. But along with the most recent official notice, the administration will reveal the SSB interview dates for the exam.

Eligibility Criteria for Indian Army 10+2 TES Entry: The TES stands for Technical Entry Scheme. As the name suggests, entering the Indian army as an officer is a technical entry. The TES is more or less like UES & TGC entries of the Indian army, but in the case of UES & TGC aspirants applying for it after doing their engineering from the outside; TES is an opportunity for the candidates to join the technical branch of the Indian army after 10+2, but according to the vacancies aspirants can join other fields also such as infantry, artillery, etc.

• Nationality: An aspirant 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 1st of January 1962 to permanently settle in India, or

(v) A person of Indian origin who has migrated from Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Burma, and East African countries of Kenya, Uganda, Zambia, the United Republic of Tanzania, Malawi, Zaire, Ethiopia, and Vietnam to permanently settle in India.

Provided that an aspirant belonging to categories (ii), (iii), (iv) & (v) above, shall be a person in whose oblige a certificate of eligibility issued by Govt. of India is necessary, may be admitted to the examination provisionally subject to the compulsory certificate being given to him by the Govt. before the declaration of result by NDA SSB or join the training.

• Age: 16½ years & above 19½ years
• Education: Only those aspirants who have passed the 10+2 Examination or its equivalent with a minimum aggregate of 70 percent marks in Physics, Chemistry & Mathematics from a recognized education board are eligible to apply for this particular entry. The eligibility condition for calculating the PCM percentage of various state or central boards will be based only on marks obtained in the 12th Class.

Note: Height relaxable up to 2.5 centimeters may be allowed where the Medical Board authorizes that the aspirant is likely to grow & meet the required standard on completing his training.

Indian Army 10+2 TES Entry Training: The comprehensive training will be five years; details are as follows:

• Basic Military Training: 1 year (Officer Training Academy Gaya).
• Technical Training: (i) Phase-I (Pre Commission Training): 3 Years (CME Pune or MCTE Mhow or MCEME Secunderabad), (ii) Phase-II (Post Commission Training): 1 year at CME Pune or MCTE Mhow or MCEME Secunderabad.

• Award of Degree: The aspirants will be awarded an Engineering degree after the successful conclusion of training as given out in Para 6 (a) & (b) above. No ante date seniority preference will be admissible to aspirants because of this Engineering degree. Suppose any candidate fails to qualify for the following year's examination. In that case, the similar will result in loss of seniority them & they will forfeit seniority to the period of delay in passing the Engineering degree examination. If candidates fail to qualify within 3 years of commissioning, their commission will be terminated.
• Type of Commission: On completing four years of the course, cadets will be granted Permanent Commission in the Army in the rank of Lt.
• Seniority: Cadets will be granted seniority on total order of merit of the three technical institutes combined, i.e., CME, MCEME, MCTE, and in case the date of commissioning coincides with that of the IMA, Dehradun, cadets will be placed en-block junior to IMA (NDA or ACC or DE Course).

The following is the selection procedure for 10+2 TES Entry in the Indian Army:

• Aspirants will be shortlisted based on the cut percentage as decided by the Rtg Dte.
• The shortlisted candidates will be intimated via e-mail or SMS regarding their Selection Centre allotment.
• Once the selection centre has been allotted, aspirants will select their NDA SSB dates by logging on the first cum first serve basis. The Selection Centre links are forwarded via e-mail.
• The shortlisted candidates will be put via NDA SSB interview.
• The duration of the NDA SSB interview is 5 days. During their stay at NDA SSB, aspirants are put through psychological tests, group tests & and interviews.
• Aspirants will be put through Stage 1 of the selection procedure on the first day. Only successful aspirants shall be retained for the balance of the testing. Aspirants failing to qualify in stage 1 will be returned on the first day. Stage 1 is psychologically originated tests, including an intelligence test.
• The successful candidates at the NDA SSB will be required to undergo medical tests lasting 3-5 days excluding Sundays & gazetted holidays.
• Aspirants recommended by the NDA SSB & declared medically fit will then be appointed for training in the order of merit as per the number of vacancies available.
• The finally selected candidates will execute all the bonds or certificates as prescribed for the NDA cadet's entry.

NDA 2023 is a national-level entrance examination conducted by UPSC twice a year to recruit eligible candidates for the Army, Navy, and Air Force wings of the National Defence Academy. Below are the subjects of the written examination, the time allowed & the maximum marks allotted to each subject:

The NDA SSB interview procedure consists of a two-stage selection process: Stage 1 and Stage 2. Aspirants who qualify for stage 1 only are allowed to appear for stage 2. The entire procedure for NDA interview is given below:

• Stage 1: This stage comprises OIR (Officer Intelligence Rating) tests and PP & DT (Picture Perception & Description Test). Stage 1 is a screening test. Aspirants will be shortlisted based on combined performance in the OIR Test and PP & DT.
• Stage 2: This stage is conducted for 4 days. Stage 2 comprises Psychology Tests, GTO Tasks (Group Testing Officer Tasks), interviews and conferences.

Five Days NDA SSB Selection Procedure

Day 0 (Reporting): Aspirants must report to the selection centre on this day. The aspirant’s original documents, along with the photocopies, will be verified. After the documents verification process, PIQ (Personal Information Questionnaire) Forms will be filled.

Day 1 (Screening Test): On the next day, it will be Stage 1. Aspirants have to give an Intelligence Test (Verbal and Non-Verbal) & Picture Perception Test. In the PP test, a slide (hazy/clear) is shown for 30 seconds, and aspirants must write the story. After completing this test, the GD (Group Discussion) round occurs. This sequence is commonly called PPDT (Picture Perception and Discussion Test).

Day 2 (Psychology Tests): It is a set of written tests organized by a Psychologist. In these tests, the aspirant’s psychological suitability will be checked to be an officer. These tests include:

• Thematic Apperception Test (TAT): This test is called Picture Story writing. This test is very similar to PPDT. In this test, around 11 pictures will be shown to candidates. Each picture will be displayed for 30 seconds, and aspirants must write a story based on the picture within 4 minutes. After 4 minutes, another picture will be displayed & the same procedure will be followed till the last slide. The 12th slide will be blank, where an aspirant is supposed to write any story of their own choice.
• Word Association Test (WAT): This is the second psychological test of the NDA SSB selection procedure. In this test, sixty words will be shown for 50 seconds. Aspirants have to write the first thought which comes to their mind for those words.
• Situation Reaction Test (SRT): In this test, aspirants will get a booklet with sixty situations written on it. Aspirants have to write their responses based on those sixty situations.
• Self-Description Test (SD): In this test, aspirants have to write their opinion about their parents, themselves, friends, teachers and others. The time will be allotted is 15 minutes.

Day 3 and Day 4 (Group Testing Officer Tasks): These tests are interactive indoor & outdoor activities as a combination of mental & physical work. These tests are as follows:

• Group Discussion: In this test, a particular situation or topic (mostly current affairs topics) is given to a group of candidates. They are expected to discuss several aspects of the issue. The Group Task Officer observes each aspirant during the group discussion.
• Group Planning Exercise (or Military Planning Exercise): In this test, a model of real-life practical circumstances is presented before a group of applicants. They have to write their plan of action for the mentioned problem.
• Progressive Group Tasks (PGT): In this test, the group of aspirants has to cross some obstacles with the help of supporting materials like rope, plank, wood log etc.
• Half Group Tasks: This test is the same as PGT, but the total numbers of group members will half. Aspirants get more chances to show their potential.
• Individual Obstacles: In this test, candidates must attempt ten obstacles individually.
• Group Obstacles Race/Snake Race: In this test, all group members will compete with the other groups. Aspirants are required to cross specific obstacles with the snake-like rope.
• Command Task: A candidate will be a commander in this round. He will be needed to cross some obstacles with the help of 2 to 3 subordinates.
• Lecturette: In this task, each individual has to give a lecture for 3 minutes on the topic selected by them.
• Final Group Task: It is similar to that of PGT. Aspirants have another chance to show their potential. On the same day, the aspirant’s interview will be conducted. It includes a personal conversation with an Interviewing Officer.

Day 5 (Conference): On the last day, candidates and all the NDA SSB board members sit together & have a chat with candidates to ask some general questions. The conference is just to decide whether one is recommended as an officer in the Indian defence forces. Aspirants must come before the complete Board of Examiners, which comprises the President, Deputy President, all the psychologists & Technical officers, and all the GTOs.

Within one hour, the NDA SSB result will be announced after the completion of the board meeting. The selected aspirants undergo a medical test for additional 3 or 5 days. After qualifying for the aspirant’s medical test, the final merit list will be declared.

Any candidate cannot get selected in NDA SSB Interview if the candidate is not physically & medically fit. So, it is advisable for the aspirants to not only study hard for the exams but at the same time keep themselves physically & mentally fit through physical exercises to clear the physical & medical tests.

Physical Standards for NDA SSB

Height and Weight: The minimum acceptable height is 157 cms (and 162.5 cms. for Air Force). For Gorkhas & individuals belonging to hills of North-Eastern areas of India, Garhwal & Kumaon, the minimum acceptable heights will be 5 cm. less. In the case of aspirants from Lakshadweep, the min. acceptable height can be reduced by 2 cm. The height and weight standards for NDA SSB interview are given below:

Note: The height relaxable up to 2.5 cm may be allowed where the Medical Board verifies that the aspirant is likely to grow & come up to the required standard on completion of his training.

Chest Measurement: The Chest should be well developed. A fully expanded chest should not be less than 81 cm. The minimum range of expansion after complete inspiration should be 5 cm.

Visual Standard:

NDA SSB Tattoo Policy: Tattoos are quite common nowadays & if one is planning to get inked and aims to join NDA then to know about the tattoo policy is a must.

• Aspirants belonging to a tribe or a community where having a permanent tattoo is a part of their culture are permitted to join NDA, according to the tattoo policy.
• The other candidates having a tattoo on the inner face of forearms, such as from inside of the elbow to the wrist of both the hands & reverse side of the palm or back (i.e. dorsal) side of both the hands are permitted to give NDA SSB interview.
• The condition for these candidates is that the nature of tattoos must not be offensive. The tattoo policy also says that NDA doesn’t permit indecent, sexist/racist tattoos.

Below are a few bodily defects that make an aspirant face medical permanent rejection in NDA SSB interview:

• The granulomatous disease of the spine.
• Arthritis or spondylosis.
• Scoliosis more than 15 Degree as measured by Cobb’s Method (i.e. 10 Degree for Army).
• Herniated nucleus purposes.
• Sacaralisation Disease.
• More than mild Kyphosis or Lordosis.
• Spondylolisthesis or Spondylosis.
• Compression fracture of Vertebra.
• Atlanto-occipital & atlantoaxial anomalies.
• Cervical ribs with demonstrable neurological/ Circulatory deficit.
• Presence of Schmorl’s node at more than one level.
• Incomplete Sacaralisation Unilateral/Bilateral.
• Spinabifida other than SV 1 & LV 5.
• The signs of functional or organic disease of the heart & blood vessels come under NDA medical permanent rejection.
• Enlargement of liver/spleen.
• Any confirmation of disease of the abdomen's internal organs will cause rejection in the NDA SSB interview.
• Urine examination will be done & if any abnormality is detected, it will be aspirants’ rejection in NDA SSB.
• Any skin disease likely to cause disability or disfigurement will come under permanent NDA medical rejection.
• The flat-foot falls in NDA medical permanent rejection. A flat foot means having no arch in the inner and central portions of the foot. This condition could be acquired/congenital.
• Aspirants with Knock-Kneesare unfit for the NDA interview, Knock-Keens is not having a 1 to a 5-centimetre gap between the knees when standing straight with heels joined.
• Bow-Legs come into the NDA medical permanent rejection. It means having too much gap, more than 8 cm, between the knees when standing straight with heels joined.
• Aspirants with pigeon-chest are unfit for NDA interview. If a candidate has the central axis and lower portion of the rib cage bulging out, then one is considered pigeon-chested.