Two Sainik School Punglwa Cadets Crack the NDA Exam — AIR 61 and 125, and What It Means for AISSEE Parents
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📅 Nov 7, 2026
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⏱️ 4 min read
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📅 Nov 7, 2026
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⏱️ 4 min read
Last verified: 7 November 2026. The two cadets’ names and ranks, the 157th Course, and the principal’s statement are ✅ CONFIRMED from Nagaland Post (7 November 2026, 3:05 PM IST). The AISSEE 2027 dates in this article are ✅ CONFIRMED from the official NTA Information Bulletin published on 3 November 2026.
Photo: Pexels
If you are sitting with the AISSEE 2027 form open this evening, wondering whether all this effort is worth it, here is your answer — and it arrived today.
Two cadets of Sainik School Punglwa, in Dimapur, Nagaland, have cleared the prestigious National Defence Academy and Naval Academy (NDA/NA) Examination for the 157th Course. Cadet Dev Dagar secured All India Rank 61. Cadet Anshik Yadav secured All India Rank 125. Both have earned selection for training at the National Defence Academy, on the way to becoming officers in the Indian Army.
That is the whole story in one paragraph. But if you are a parent weighing a Sainik School for your 10- or 11-year-old, it is worth five more minutes — because this is what the school is actually for.
Sainik School Punglwa announced the result on 7 November 2026. The school’s officiating principal, Lt. Col. Amit Chaudhary, congratulated both cadets and their families, and put the achievement down to sustained hard work, discipline and dedication — by the institution and by the two boys themselves. His message to the younger cadets was simple: draw inspiration from this, and keep going.
Here is the part that matters for AISSEE parents. Punglwa’s NDA story has been building all year. On 14 October 2026, nine cadets of the school cleared the NDA written examination. Today’s announcement is the next stage of that same journey — the written exam cleared, the selection process completed, and two of those cadets now heading to the Academy.
That is the pattern worth understanding. A Sainik School does not produce an NDA officer in one exam. It produces one over six or seven years of early mornings, sport, discipline and study — and then the NDA written exam is simply the first gate the cadet walks through. Dev Dagar and Anshik Yadav walked through it with ranks most candidates would dream of.
The AISSEE 2027 application window is open right now — 3 November to 2 December 2026 — and the exam is on 31 January 2027. If your child gets in, this is the road ahead of them: Class 6 entry, years of structured schooling, and then the NDA as the natural next step, not a distant fantasy.
Look, no school guarantees an NDA rank. Anyone who tells you otherwise is selling you something. What a Sainik School does is put your child in the room where that dream is normal — where seniors clear the NDA written exam every year and the whole timetable is built around it.
Which two Sainik School Punglwa cadets cleared the NDA exam?
Cadet Dev Dagar, who secured All India Rank 61, and Cadet Anshik Yadav, who secured All India Rank 125, in the NDA/NA Examination for the 157th Course.
What is the NDA 157th Course?
It is the incoming batch of the National Defence Academy. Clearing the NDA/NA written examination and the SSB selection earns a cadet a place in training at the Academy, on the way to becoming a commissioned officer in the Indian Armed Forces.
How many Punglwa cadets had cleared the NDA written exam earlier this year?
Nine cadets of Sainik School Punglwa cleared the NDA written examination, as reported on 14 October 2026. Dev Dagar and Anshik Yadav are among the cadets who have now gone on to final selection.
How can my child join Sainik School Punglwa?
Through AISSEE 2027. Applications are open from 3 November to 2 December 2026 on exams.nta.nic.in/sainik-school-society, and the exam is on 31 January 2027.
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