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More than 5500 candidates take NDA exam in Punjab
Out of the total 5,696 candidates, only 1,738 were females; while in the CDS exam, 512 men appeared against 1,250 women
LUDHIANA: A total of 5,696 candidates appeared in the National Defence Academy (NDA) examination conducted in 14 centres in various schools and colleges in Ludhiana on Sunday. Only 1,738 females took the exam, as opposed to 3,958 males.
After the Supreme Court’s landmark judgement on August 18, 2021, which opened the doors of NDA for women cadets, the females outnumbered men in the exam held in November last year.
Out of a total of 6,355, who took the exam in November last year, 5,208 were women, and 1,147 were men. The position reversed in April this year, wherein out of the total 8,535 candidates who took the exam, 5,905 were men, while 2,630 were women.
In Sunday’s exam, a total of 3958 male candidates took the offline exam in two shifts (mathematics 10 am - 12:30 pm and general ability test from 2 pm -4:30 pm), while a total of 4552 students gave the exam a miss.
Aditya Dachalwal, the joint commissioner of the municipal corporation, said that Ludhiana was the only district for the exam in Punjab and candidates from distant districts of Punjab and a few from other neighbouring states appeared in the exam.
CDS exam
The combined defence services examination was also conducted on Sunday in three shifts across five centres in Ludhiana.
Out of a total of 3,669 eligible candidates for the CDS exam in the state, only 1,762 candidates took the exam which included 512 males and 1250 females.
A CDS candidate Vivek Kumar, who is pursuing a BTech from GNE College, Ludhiana, wants to serve in the Indian Air Force.
“My uncle is an officer in the Indian Air Force (IAF) and that inspired me,” said Kumar.
Puneet Singh Kalsi, another GNE student, also wants to join the IAF.
“The exam was a valuable learning experience,” Kalsi said.
