NDA 2 & CDS 2 Answer Key 2026: Provisional Keys Out

UPSC NDA 2 & CDS 2 2026: the provisional answer keys are out — and the objection window matters more

The Union Public Service Commission has published the provisional answer keys for the two defence examinations held on 13 September 2026 (a Sunday): the National Defence Academy & Naval Academy Examination (II), 2026 and the Combined Defence Services Examination (II), 2026. The keys went up on UPSC's official answer-key pages on 16 September 2026, three days after the exam — an unusually fast turnaround that candidates should take advantage of, because the representation window that comes with these keys is short and unforgiving.

The keys available are:

Each PDF is set-wise (booklet series A, B, C, D). Download the key for your series, not the first one you find — the questions are the same, but the answer order is not, and most "the key is wrong" panics are series mix-ups.

How to estimate your score correctly

Everything about the marking scheme here is mechanical. Work it exactly, or your estimate is fiction.

NDA & NA (II) 2026 — 394 vacancies (Army 208, Navy 42, Air Force 120, Naval Academy 10+2 Cadet Entry 24). Written total: 900 marks.

• Mathematics: 120 questions, 300 marks. Each question carries 2.5 marks; a wrong answer costs one-third of that — −0.83.
• GAT: 150 questions, 600 marks (Part A, English: 200 marks; Part B, General Knowledge: 400 marks). Each question carries 4 marks; a wrong answer costs −1.33.

CDS (II) 2026 — written total 300 marks for IMA/INA/AFA, 200 for OTA.

• English: 120 questions, 100 marks — 0.83 per correct, −0.27 per wrong.
• General Knowledge: 120 questions, 100 marks — same marking.
• Elementary Mathematics: 100 questions, 100 marks — 1 per correct, −0.33 per wrong. OTA candidates do not write this paper; their written score is English + GK out of 200.
• CDS also carries a per-subject minimum qualifying requirement (candidates must secure the prescribed minimum in each paper, traditionally around 20%) — a high aggregate does not rescue a failed paper.

The formula is: score = (correct × marks per question) − (wrong × one-third of marks per question). Unattempted questions cost nothing. Remember that these are provisional keys — if UPSC accepts a representation and revises a key, scores are recalculated for everyone, and a small number of candidates near the cut-off move across it in both directions. Recent cycles put the NDA written cut-off in the mid-300s out of 900, and CDS academy cut-offs roughly in the 90–150 band depending on the academy — treat those as orientation from past cycles, not predictions for this one.

The representation window: 16–20 September, online only, now closed

Because the keys are provisional, UPSC opened its Online Question Paper Representation Portal (QPRep) for objections against questions and provisional answers. Representations for this cycle ran from 16 September 2026 to 20 September 2026, up to 6:00 PM. The procedure, for the record and for future cycles:

• Go to the QPRep portal via upsconline.nic.in and select the examination (NDA & NA (II) or CDS (II), 2026) and "Make Representation."
• Log in with your roll number and date of birth.
• Select the paper and question, state what you contend the correct answer is, and attach or cite supporting material (a standard textbook or an official source carries far more weight than a coaching note).
• Submit before the deadline and keep the acknowledgement.

Representations sent by email, post or hand are not accepted, full stop — UPSC's notice for the cycle said so expressly, as it does every cycle. If you missed the 20 September deadline, there is no second window; your remaining route is to prepare for what's next. UPSC's subject experts review the representations received, and the final answer key that results from that review is what the written result is computed from. The final key is published on upsc.gov.in after the result process concludes.

What happens next in both examinations

Written result. UPSC declares the written result on upsc.gov.in as a roll-number PDF. For NDA, that list is the call-up for the SSB interview; for CDS, written qualifiers go before the Services Selection Boards of their respective services. SSB testing runs over several days — screening on day one, then psychology tests, group tasks and the personal interview — followed by the medical examination for recommended candidates. The final merit list combines written and SSB marks, and it is the final list, not the written result, that decides who joins.

What this means timing-wise: shortlisted candidates register for SSB dates through the respective service selection portals after the written result. Keep your documents ready now: Class 10 certificate (proof of date of birth), Class 12 marksheet, identity proof, category certificate if applicable, and for CDS graduates, the degree or provisional certificate — SSB document checks are strict about originals.

Eligibility, briefly, for those already thinking of the next cycle: NDA & NA (II) 2026 was for unmarried candidates in the 16½–19½ age band (born between 1 January 2008 and 1 January 2011), Class 12 passed or appearing (Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics required for the Air Force and Naval wings and the 10+2 Cadet Entry). CDS is a graduates' examination with academy-specific age bands and qualifications (engineering for the Naval Academy, Physics and Maths at 10+2 or an engineering/physics background for the Air Force Academy). Both examinations run twice a year, so a miss in the (II) cycle is a six-month wait, not a year.

Mistakes that burn candidates at the answer-key stage

• Scoring against the wrong booklet series. The single most common error, and the easiest to avoid.
• Trusting coaching-institute keys over UPSC's. Coaching keys came out earlier and got plenty wrong; the official provisional key is the only one that feeds your score.
• Filing representations without evidence. A bare "option C is correct" is discarded; a representation anchored to a standard reference is what gets a key changed.
• Assuming a changed key only helps. Revisions recalculate everyone — if you scored a question "correct" under the provisional key and it flips, you lose the marks and take the negative. Estimate your range, not a single number, until the final key is out.
• Waiting to prepare for SSB. SSB preparation — psychology practice, current-affairs depth, physical conditioning — takes weeks; starting only after the written result puts you behind everyone who started at the answer-key stage.

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