NDA chapter-wise weightage, 2017 to 2026
How many questions UPSC has set from each chapter, counted from every NDA/NA paper from 2017 (I) to 2026 (II): in all, on average a paper, as a share of the paper, and in the last four sittings. The biggest in each part: Probability in Maths; Synonyms in English; Electricity and magnetism in General Studies.
UPSC does not publish a syllabus weightage for NDA; these counts are the papers' own record.
Mathematics (120 questions a paper)
| Chapter | 2017–2026 | A paper | Share | 2025 (I) | 2025 (II) | 2026 (I) | 2026 (II) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Probability | 207 | 10.9 | 9% | 11 | 16 | 15 | 16 |
| Trigonometric Ratios and Identities | 199 | 10.5 | 9% | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 |
| Statistics, Correlation and Regression | 163 | 8.6 | 7% | 9 | 4 | 5 | 4 |
| Relations and Functions | 124 | 6.5 | 5% | 10 | 8 | 2 | 8 |
| Coordinates and Straight Lines | 104 | 5.5 | 5% | 5 | 6 | 4 | 7 |
| Three-dimensional Geometry | 98 | 5.2 | 4% | 5 | 6 | 6 | 5 |
| Vector Algebra | 98 | 5.2 | 4% | 5 | 5 | 6 | 5 |
| Limits, Continuity and Differentiability | 97 | 5.1 | 4% | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 |
| Determinants | 96 | 5.1 | 4% | 6 | 7 | 8 | 6 |
| Sequences and Series | 93 | 4.9 | 4% | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Permutations and Combinations | 86 | 4.5 | 4% | 6 | 5 | 4 | 2 |
| Quadratic Equations and Inequations | 83 | 4.4 | 4% | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Matrices | 83 | 4.4 | 4% | 5 | 3 | 1 | 5 |
| Complex Numbers | 79 | 4.2 | 3% | 3 | 3 | 3 | 5 |
| Differentiation | 73 | 3.8 | 3% | 4 | 2 | 5 | 4 |
| Applications of Derivatives | 69 | 3.6 | 3% | 2 | 6 | 4 | 3 |
| Differential Equations | 68 | 3.6 | 3% | 2 | 3 | 3 | 4 |
| Definite Integrals | 64 | 3.4 | 3% | 2 | 2 | 4 | 3 |
| Binomial Theorem | 59 | 3.1 | 3% | 3 | 2 | 6 | 2 |
| Sets | 50 | 2.6 | 2% | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| Properties of Triangles | 44 | 2.3 | 2% | 5 | 0 | 3 | 4 |
| Conic Sections | 42 | 2.2 | 2% | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Indefinite Integrals | 41 | 2.2 | 2% | 0 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
| Inverse Trigonometric Functions | 35 | 1.8 | 2% | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Logarithms | 32 | 1.7 | 1% | 0 | 6 | 2 | 0 |
| Area under Curves | 28 | 1.5 | 1% | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 |
| Heights and Distances | 27 | 1.4 | 1% | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Circle | 26 | 1.4 | 1% | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| Binary Numbers | 12 | 0.6 | 1% | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
English (50 questions a paper)
| Chapter | 2017–2026 | A paper | Share | 2025 (I) | 2025 (II) | 2026 (I) | 2026 (II) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Synonyms | 155 | 8.2 | 16% | 5 | 5 | 10 | 5 |
| Antonyms | 145 | 7.6 | 15% | 0 | 0 | 10 | 10 |
| Spotting the error | 139 | 7.3 | 15% | 2 | 0 | 10 | 7 |
| Sentence completion | 108 | 5.7 | 11% | 5 | 5 | 1 | 2 |
| Ordering words and parts of a sentence | 102 | 5.4 | 11% | 5 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| Idioms and phrases | 91 | 4.8 | 10% | 0 | 0 | 6 | 5 |
| Reading comprehension | 61 | 3.2 | 6% | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Cloze test | 35 | 1.8 | 4% | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Discourse markers and connectors | 25 | 1.3 | 3% | 10 | 10 | 5 | 0 |
| Paired and commonly confused words | 20 | 1.1 | 2% | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Parts of speech | 20 | 1.1 | 2% | 0 | 0 | 5 | 5 |
| One-word substitution and word usage | 18 | 0.9 | 2% | 5 | 5 | 1 | 7 |
| Ordering sentences in a passage | 17 | 0.9 | 2% | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Voice and narration | 14 | 0.7 | 1% | 3 | 5 | 2 | 4 |
General Studies (100 questions a paper)
Questions students ask
Probability (10.9 a paper), Trigonometric Ratios and Identities (10.5 a paper), Statistics, Correlation and Regression (8.6 a paper), Relations and Functions (6.5 a paper), Coordinates and Straight Lines (5.5 a paper), counted over 19 papers from 2017 to 2026.
Mathematics: 120 questions for 300 marks in 2½ hours. General Ability Test: 150 questions for 600 marks in 2½ hours, 50 in English and 100 in General Studies. A wrong answer loses a third of its marks.
Every question of UPSC's 19 NDA/NA papers from 2017 (I) to 2026 (II) was sorted into a chapter and counted; "a paper" is the average over those papers.