NDA Vs MNS Which One Is Good For You?

Ashish Tiwari
January 4, 2022
2284

Jai Hind future warriors today we are going to answer one of the doubts female defence aspirants in senior secondary have, as NDA Entry also has now seats for them. We will first look at the career prospects, selection procedures, eligibility criteria and then move on to make a verdict.

About NDA and Selection Procedure (in-brief)

The National Defence Academy (NDA) is the Joint Services academy of the Indian Armed Forces, where cadets of the three services, the Army, the Navy, and the Air Force train together before they go on to pre-commissioning training in their respective service academies. The NDA is located in Khadakwasla near Pune, Maharashtra.
Selection Process: There will be an all-India written exam conducted by UPSC for the eligible candidates and selected candidates will have to undergo a 5-day interview process at one of the SSBs. Candidates recommended by SSB and declared medically fit by the respective military hospitals will be issued joining letters as per their ranks based on aggregate marks of SSB+Written.

How to prepare for the NDA Exam?

Take the best NDA Exam Online Course by SSBCrackExams.
Take the NDA Exam Mock Test Series to boost your prep.
To Crack SSB Interview ENROLL NOW: SSB INTERVIEW ONLINE COURSE

Scheme of Exam: The written examination will be conducted by UPSC comprises of two sections MAT(Mathematics) and GAT(General Ability Test). Both the exams will be conducted separately as MAT will be conducted from 10:00 A.M. to 12:30 P.M. and GAT will be conducted from 02:00 P.M. to 04:30 P.M.

Marking Scheme:

(a) MAT

· There will be a total of 120 questions

· Each correct question will fetch you +2.5 marks thus total marks of MAT will be 300 marks

· There will be a negative marking of -0.83 for each wrong answer while no answer will fetch you zero marks.

(b) GAT

· There will be a total of 150 questions comprising two parts:

1. Part A: English of 50 questions

2. Part B: General Knowledge of 100 questions

· Each correct question will fetch you +4 marks thus total marks of GAT will be 600 marks

· There will be a negative marking of -1.33 for each wrong answer while no answer will fetch you zero marks.

Syllabus: For the syllabus and other details of the written exam you can refer to our blog: NDA 1 2022 Exam Syllabus, Marking Scheme, Subject, Exam Pattern

Admit Cards: UPSC will issue admit cards at least three weeks prior to the Written Exam on their website and candidates can access it using their registration number(received after filling the form). This will contain details like Roll Number and Centre of Examination.

SSB Interview

Candidates who clear the written exam are called for interviews at one of the following SSB Centres

For Army Wing Candidates:
- SCE Allahabad
- SCC Bhopal
- SCS Bengaluru
- SCN Kapurthala
For Air Force Wing Candidates:
- 1 AFSB Dehradun
- 2 AFSB Mysore
- 3 AFSB Gandhinagar
- 4 AFSB Varanasi
- 5 AFSB Guwahati

33 SSB Bhopal
12 SSB Bengaluru
NSB Kolkata
NSB Vishakhapatnam
NSB Coimbatore

Process of SSB:

The SSB interview will be conducted in two stages and only candidates who get recommended will have their medical tests conducted at one of the military hospitals.

· Stage I – Officer Intelligence Rating (OIR), Picture perception, and Description Test.

· Stage II – Group Testing Officer Tasks, Psychology Tests and Conference

For detailed SSB Procedure candidates should refer to: Complete 5 Day SSB Procedure

Medically fit candidates who have secured the rank are in the final merit list (based on total scores of Written and UPSC) will be issued joining letters for the academy
Latest vacancies for in NDA(149^th course) was:

About MNS and Selection Procedure (in-brief)

Indian army conducts MNS entry to admit candidates suitable for commissioning as Permanent Commission/Short Service Commission in the Military Nursing Services.
The aim of the MNS is to provide medical care to the hospitalized soldiers and their dependents in peace and field location.
The officers work as a Nursing Officer and have separate uniform from the Army Medical Corps. The perks, salary and promotions are comparable to an officer in the armed forces.
Selected candidates undergo four year B.Sc(Nursing) Course at one of the following institutions
CON, AFMC Pune
CON, CH(EC) Kolkata
CON, INHS Ashwini
CON, AH(R & R) New Delhi
CON, CH(CC) Lucknow
CON, CH(AF) Bengaluru

Total Number of vacancies as of 2021 are attached in the picture below:

Selection Procedure:

Eligible candidates who fill the form and get their admit cards will have to appear for a Computer Based Examination
The exam will be of 150 marks with a time limit of 90 minutes .
The questions will be MCQ (Multiple Choice Questions) type.
There will be no negative marking
The subject wise division of marks and duration is given below:

MNS Exam 2022 Study Materials:

For detailed syllabus log on to: MNS Syllabus and Indian Military Nursing Service (MNS) Exam Eligibility Syllabus And Pattern 2022
Candidates who qualify the written exam will be called for interview and medical examination at one of the centers decided by the Army. Only those candidates who are declared medically “fit” will be considered for final selection. Candidates declared “unfit” can apply for re-medical (Appeal/Review Medical Board) to get themselves checked again.
Final merit list will be based on combined merit of online exam and interview, subject to medical fitness of the candidates, choice and vacancy in each college.

Eligibility Criteria:

For MNS

Only Female candidates who are Citizen of India and are unmarried unmarried / divorced / legally separated / widow without encumbrances

For 2022 age limits were: Born between 01 Oct 1998 and 30 Sep 2006 (both dates inclusive).

Passed 10+2 or its equivalent from a recognized board with aggregate of 50% marks with Physics, Chemistry, Biology (Botany and Zoology), and English among the subjects.

For NDA Entry

(a) Age Criteria

Candidates of the age group 16.5-19.5 years(at the time of joining) are eligible to apply.
So for NDA 1 2022 candidates born between 02^nd July 2003 and 01^st July 2006 will be eligible. The date of birth on the Matriculation Certificate will only be accepted.

(b) Educational Qualifications:

Candidates need to have passed 10+2 or can pass and procure marksheets before commencement of course.

Specific requirements for the different wings are:

1. For Army Wing: Candidates of any stream can apply for the Army wing.

2. For Air Force and Navy/Naval Academy: Candidates who fill Air Force and Navy/ Naval Academy as their first choice need to have Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics as one of the subjects in class XII

Tips for Preference

First thing, you can apply for both the exams(if you satisfy the above mentioned criteria)
If you don’t have Biology in your class XII then question of MNS ends there, but if you have Biology but don’t have Maths, then solely go for MNS preparation as preparing for NDA maths requires a long time if you have no base in it, plus you will also lose out on your boards exam
As far as job satisfaction is given, nothing beats the olive-green uniform and training in one of the most prestigious military academies (NDA) not just in India but around the world is an opportunity very few people get. Also an officer life is better than an officer-like life(MNS). This surely doesn’t mean MNS is a bad choice, but compared to NDA well it doesn’t hold ground
The best stream would be PCMB in class XII if you want to keep both as your options, in case if you aren’t able to make it to NDA, MNS entry will still there be for you.

Conclusion

At the end its your own choice and if you have picked one, stay motivated towards it, no matter what others say. Stay tuned for more posts related to defence exams and SSB preparation

How to prepare for the MNS and NDA Exam?