Know why National Defence Academy is the cradle of India's future heroes

New Delhi: The National Defence Academy of India is the premier national institute of military sciences, and fundamental training college for all prospective officers of the Indian Army, the Indian Air Force and the Indian Navy. The NDA is located in Khadakwasla near Pune, Maharashtra. It is the first tri-service academy in the world. NDA alumni have led and fought in every major conflict in which the Indian Armed Forces has been called to action since the academy was established. The alumni include 3 Param Vir Chakra recipients and 9 Ashoka Chakra recipients. In 1941, Lord Linlithgow, then Governor-General of India received a gift of £100,000 from a grateful Sudanese Government towards building a war memorial in recognition of the sacrifices of Indian troops in the liberation of Sudan in the East African Campaign during World War II. At the end of the war, Field Marshal Claude Auchinleck, then Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army, drawing on experiences of the army during the war, led a committee to study various military academies around the world and submitted a report to the Government of India in Dec. 1946. The committee recommended the establishment of a Joint Services Military Academy, with training modelled on the United States Military Academy at West Point. After the independence of India in Aug. 1947, the Chiefs of Staff Committee immediately implemented the recommendations of the Auchinleck report. The committee initiated an action plan in late 1947 to commission a permanent defence academy and began the search for a suitable site. It also decided to set up an interim training academy, known as the Joint Services Wing (JSW), which was commissioned on 1 Jan. 1949 at the Armed Forces Academy (now known as the Indian Military Academy) in Dehradun. Initially, after two years of training at the JSW, Army cadets went on to the Military wing of the AFA for two years of further pre-commission training, while the Navy and Air Force cadets were sent to Dartmouth and Cranwell in the United Kingdom for further training.Following partition, India's share of the monetary gift received from Sudan, amounted to £70,000 (the remaining £30,000 went to Pakistan). The Indian Army decided to use these funds to partly cover the cost of construction of the NDA. The foundation stone for the academy was laid by then Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru on 6 Oct. 1949. The National Defence Academy was formally commissioned on 7 Dec. 1954, with an inauguration ceremony held on 16 Jan. 1955. The JSW program was transferred from the AFA to the NDA. Course The NDA is the foundation for a career in the Indian military services. The three-year compulsory course includes all subjects for a University Degree and also basic training of fundamental military sciences and, in the final year, specialization into the specific branch of the Indian military services that a cadet desires to join. On successful completion of the three-year course, the cadet passes out with a University Degree and goes on to the training establishments of the Service he has opted for. Army cadets go to the IMA at Dehra Dun, Air Force cadets to the ab-initio flying training establishments and the Naval cadets for Midshipman training to the Training Ships. Admission Admission to the NDA is conducted twice a year via an entrance examination, held every six months by the UPSC, and a multiple-round physical and medical examination. All applicants must be under the age of 19 and have passed the 12th Grade of schooling. Only the citizens of India and Nepal may apply, but cadets from nations enjoying a special relationship with the Indian Government are also at times privileged to attend training courses through Government to Government agreements.