UPSC NDA and CDS — results, SSB, medicals and RTI

NDA and CDS differ from most UPSC exams in one structural way: the written score is only the gate. The final merit list is built after the SSB interview and medicals, conducted by the Services, not UPSC. That split decides where each of your records sits — and therefore where each RTI goes.

1. Notification and application on upsc.gov.in — one notification per cycle, with the examination calendar carrying both NDA and both CDS editions each year
2. Written examination — objective papers; the answer keys are published after the exam on the UPSC portal
3. Written result — a roll-number list of those qualifying for SSB, followed by marks disclosure once the cycle completes
4. SSB — the two-stage interview over about five days: screening, psychology tests, group tasks and the personal interview, then the conference result
5. Medicals — the Special Medical Board examines recommended candidates; an unfit finding carries the right to an Appeal Medical Board within 42 days, and a Review Medical Board beyond that in defined circumstances
6. Final merit — written-plus-SSB, medical fitness permitting; the joining instructions follow the merit list

Every cycle produces two distinct numbers: the written cut-off that called candidates to SSB, and the final cut-off after SSB marks. Comparing your case against the wrong one misreads it by a wide margin — and both, with the marks of non-qualified candidates, are published after the cycle and reachable by RTI before that.

• UPSC records — raw and qualified marks, cut-off computation, answer-key objections, the evaluation record: file with UPSC's CPIO on rtionline.gov.in, ₹10
• SSB records — the interview is conducted by the Services Selection Boards under the Ministry of Defence; psycho and interview assessments sit with the board and the directorate concerned, and requests route to the appropriate SSB centre or the Ministry
• Medical records — board proceedings are medical records held by the authorities running the board; ask for the findings and the appeal outcome, not a second medical opinion
• Answer sheets — evaluation records are information under CBSE v. Aditya Bandopadhyay (Supreme Court, 2011); ask for the marks record and the evaluation, not a re-evaluation order

A workable UPSC application:

1. My paper-wise marks in NDA (II) 2026, roll no. ___.
2. The cut-off applied to qualify candidates for SSB in my paper
   combination, and the number qualified.
3. The methodology note or record showing how the cut-off was fixed.
4. The number of candidates who appeared, qualified the written
   stage, and were recommended finally.
5. The date of publication of the answer key and the objections
   received on question ___ of paper ___.

Real example. Kashvi Pathak's CDS written score sat a few marks above her expectation but below the published qualifying line in her subject combination. One RTI brought the subject-wise break-up and the cut-off computation — which showed her optional-combination cut-off had moved four marks above her total. No wrong had occurred, but the exact arithmetic replaced a season of doubt, in 28 days and ₹10.

• Collect the unfit findings in writing — a rejection without stated findings invites a demand for the record
• Appeal to the Appeal Medical Board within 42 days, with the prescribed fee where the rules levy one, addressing the appeal as the notification directs
• Where the AMB also returns unfit, the Review Medical Board route exists in defined cases
• The record trail — findings, appeal, outcome — is reachable through the medical authorities and the parent ministry, and RTI fetches it when the file goes quiet

Twice each — the UPSC calendar carries NDA and Naval Academy Examination I and II, and CDS I and II, every year.

Yes — an Appeal Medical Board within 42 days of the unfit finding, and a Review Medical Board beyond that in defined circumstances.

Yes — UPSC is a public authority; marks, cut-offs and evaluation records answer under the Act, filed at ₹10 through rtionline.gov.in.

Evaluation records are information — the Supreme Court's 2011 ruling in the CBSE case — through the authority's own disclosure procedures first, RTI where the file stalls. The full route is on the answer-sheet page.

• Answer sheets under RTI — the 2011 judgment
• IBPS PO — cut-offs and the CIC's custodian ruling
• SSC CGL — answer keys, marks and RTI
• RBI Grade B — selection and RTI
• Challenge result and revaluation 2026
• The RTI Playbook book

• upsc.gov.in — examination calendar and notifications, NDA and CDS cycles
• CBSE v. Aditya Bandopadhyay, (2011) 8 SCC 497 — examination records are information
• rtionline.gov.in — CPIO filing for UPSC examination records

Last reviewed: 26 August 2026. The twice-yearly cycle confirmed against the UPSC calendar; the 42-day Appeal Medical Board window re-checked against the SSB medical procedure as published for NDA entries.