Best Books for NDA Preparation 2024 | Maths, English, Current Affairs and More

A good selection of books for NDA written exam will give confidence, focused direction and generate knowledge while appearing for the UPSC conducted exam.

There are two papers under the NDA written examination:

Paper	Marks
1. Maths	300
2. General Ability Test (GAT)	600
Total	900

This UPSC exam is usually conducted once in April and another one in September every year.

The 120 MCQ questions of Maths generally cover the NCERT syllabus of IXth & XIIth which carries 2.5 marks per answer & minus 0.83 marks as negative in case of the wrong answers.

A mandatory mark of 25 per cent in Maths should be maintained to get the second paper ie GAT evaluated after the examination.

The GAT paper marks have an advantage. As there are a total of 150 questions. In which you will be given 4 marks per question for right answers and 1.33 marks deduction for each negative attempt.

If you have a good command of English, have fundamentals of maths, awareness of General science, social studies & current affairs at the time of 11/12th std, your probability to clear the NDA written exam is more than 90%.

If not, the chance of failure is inevitable because of a lack of preparation in the initial stage itself.

There are more than five lakh students who seriously appearing the NDA written examination every 6 months. In most cases, the students are miserably unable to get cut-off marks even if he/she studies very sincerely with dedication.

The main reason for this failure of the NDA written examination is not choosing the right books and reference books before beginning serious preparations for the written exam.

Most of the time, students only have the Pathfinder test book and in some cases, they have the Pathfinder PDF book only. Although the Pathfinder NDA book is good, it is not sufficient to get a good score as this exam is conducted at an all-India level.

The early preparation starting from Xth std will give me enough time to become a master of all subjects to get sufficient marks during the NDA written exam and other competitive exams such as JEE, NEET etc.

In this article, we will discuss the recommended books to keep with your bookshelf subject-wise preparation of each subject:

Best Books for NDA Preparation 2023

>> Best Books for NDA Maths

1. Quantitative Aptitude for Competitive Examination

This book is widely popular and used by many to crack their aptitude tests, and placements and ace their competitive exams

This is one of the best books for aspirants preparing for NDA, to improve their quantitative aptitude. The book includes over 5500 questions with easy-to-understand core concepts and solved solutions

The book will cover all your major topics which are expected for any competitive examination and is recommended for all kinds of national examinations like NDA, UPSC Exams, GMAT, etc.

It also provides short-cut formulas, examples, and well-explained theory concepts. And is a must-have, if you are looking to prepare well for your examination

2. Pathfinder NDA/NA (National Defence Academy & Naval Academy)

Pathfinder NDA & NA Exam Book is another book by Arihant Publication which has been one of the best books if you are preparing for your NDA/NA Exam

This is divided into three major parts which include mathematics, English, and General studies.

Hence covering all your main papers you require to clear the written exam.

This book offers more than 8000 objective questions which are going to help the candidates get full knowledge of all the subjects for the exam.

It gives a comprehensive guide with chapter-wise detailed explanation for the mathematics section (including key formulae to help you increase your speed in completing questions)

Overall, if you are looking to practice every day and prepare for your NDA/NA exam, this book is going to help you get everything you need to clear the written exam.

>> Best Current Affairs Book For NDA

1. Pratiyogita Darpan’s General Studies

Pratiyogita Darpan’s Book on the Indian economy is one of the best books on current affairs. It is one of the most updated, authentic and reliable sources of information you can find to learn about various sectors of the economy as well as the standing of India in global indexes

It covers almost all details of the Indian govt including various programmes, schemes, missions, etc

This is a recommended book for aspirants preparing for their competitive exams like NDA, Other UPSC exams, Banking, MAT, etc.

I think the authors could have opted for better print material for this book. But other than that, you can take a lot of value while reading and learning from this book

2. Competition Success Review

Competition Success Review has been the most popular and easily recommended book from a very young age.

I used to have a subscription-based buy of competition success review, where they used to mail me a new issue every month.

It was easy to read, helped me go through figures and facts quickly and keep myself updated.

Down the line, the Competition Success Review magazine is a great source for preparing for your national examination. And now you can get their book which covers a whole year’s facts and current affairs to help you prepare better.

The book covers all major events and even gives solved papers for your competitive exams.

This current affairs magazine is very useful from starting your written exam to SSB preparation(purchase last one-year copies only)

>> Best Book for NDA History/ General Science/ Geography

Lucent’s General Knowledge

Lucent’s General Knowledge needs no introduction. It is a comprehensive guide that covers an exhaustive range of topics and is built to help students clear competitive exams.

It covers all the topics from Social Sciences to Pure Sciences, and the content list includes subjects like Geography, History, Indian Polity, Indian Constitution, General Sciences, and Indian Economy.

To make sure you don’t get overwhelmed with all this knowledge, the author has put all the information in a systematic and organized manner and this is one of the best books for NDA gk and other competitive exams

>> Best Book for NDA English

1. Word Power Made Easy

Word Power Made Easy is a comprehensive vocabulary‑building system that provides a simple, step‑by‑step method to increase your knowledge and mastery of the English language.

This guide will provide you with:

• Learning the proper usage of grammar
• Provide you with meanings of commonly used words along with their origin
• Train you in using the right words while communicating
• Teach you the correct ways of completing a sentence
• Build your vocabulary & pronunciation skills

It will cover all major topics to help you in your defence NDA exam which would be a simple walkthrough if you are practising every day with the “Word Power Made Easy”

English has risen to be an important language medium for national and international use.

And this book will not only help you crack your English section in defence exams, but will later help you in real-life situations, interviews, and even for future opportunities (both in defence and outside)

2. Wren & Martin High School English Grammar and Composition Book

Wren and Martin’s High School English Grammar & Composition is another popular and is one of the best English grammar bbooksfor NDA

This book will give you full knowledge of English grammar and give you a clear description and examples for you to understand very easily.

This book will play a major role in improving your English grammar and will help you crack your defence examination as well as improve your communication skills

>> Best Book for NDA Science

Science is an important part of the GAT section of the paper where you will be asked questions about Physics, Chemistry and Biology concepts.

The questions are mainly covered in your NCERT books of 11th and 12. You can also refer to NCERT Exemplar books to get better guidance for the same.

>> Best Book for NDA Paper Practice

10 Practice Sets NDA/NA Defence Academy & Naval Academy

This is a set of 10 Practice set papers for the NDA/NA examination by Arihant publications.

It follows the latest exam patterns and provides detailed as well as explained solutions for better understanding. Consider this book as a last month’s exam preparation after you are well prepared for your NDA exam.

You can of course get such papers for free online that can be downloaded and practised during your preparation.

This book is meant to help you to time and give your exam. See where you went wrong and go through the detailed answers for the same. Something you won’t be able to get by just downloading practice papers online.

And also saves you a lot of time in the search for an explanation for your right answers.

So don’t just rely on reading and learning concepts. Make sure you solve as many papers as you can, and this book is a good choice for that.

Conclusion

UPSC conducts the National Defence Academy/Naval Academy examination every 6 months where over 5 Lakh students write the written examinations.

It is really important to be able to prepare for your NDA exam in the right way. The above best books for NDA preparation 2023 will help you cover all your key concepts.

In the end, I will personally recommend you to practice by timing yourself. A lot of candidates miss easy marks just because they were not able to complete the paper on time.

Other Articles You Should Read

• An Officer’s Personality is crucial to becoming a potential officer in the Armed Forces, Improve it from Day 1 with the Best Personal Development books

• Want some Study tips for NDA? Click Here to Know More

• Take The Next Step in achieving your goal, Read a complete guide on how to prepare for SSB