Trends
NDA History 2026 isn't harder than NDA History 2017 — but the chapter mix shifted
The most important pattern in NDA History trends is the ABSENCE of monotonic hardening — UNLIKE Physics, History bounces 19% to 42% HARD across the 10-year window with no trajectory. 2021 was peak HARD (42%); 2026 NDA-1 was the easiest (10%); recent average ~26%. But the chapter MIX shifted dramatically: Modern dominated 2017–2020 (~55% of paper), Ancient surged 9–10 q/yr from 2022 onwards (was ~2 before). Drill all 10 years equally.
- years analysed
- 10
- papers
- 18
- questions tagged
- 260
- chapters tracked
- 4
The headline: %HARD by year (no monotonic trend)
Each year’s HARD share, with the paper-set size for context. 2020 had only NDA-1 (COVID), 2026 has only NDA-1 so far. Notice the oscillation — 2021 had 11 HARDs (42% — the peak); 2026 NDA-1 had only 1 HARD (10% — the trough). 2018 + 2019 + 2021 + 2022 all carried >30% HARD; 2017 + 2025 + 2026 were <25%. No monotonic trajectory.
| Year | Questions | HARD count | % HARD |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 32 | 6 | 19% |
| 2018 | 27 | 10 | 37% |
| 2019 | 37 | 13 | 35% |
| 2020 | 14 | 4 | 29% |
| 2021 | 26 | 11 | 42% |
| 2022 | 30 | 10 | 33% |
| 2023 | 31 | 8 | 26% |
| 2024 | 28 | 8 | 29% |
| 2025 | 25 | 5 | 20% |
| 2026 | 10 | 1 | 10% |
Per-question, the 2026 paper is no harder than the 2017 paper. Translation: don’t over-weight recent papers for difficulty calibration. Drill 2017 papers as seriously as 2024 papers — the difficulty floor is stable, only the year-to-year variance is high. (The CHAPTER MIX has shifted — see the callouts below — but that’s about which chapters appear, not how HARD they are.)
The 4 biggest shifts
%HARD is wavy but the chapter mix has shifted in concrete ways. These four shifts come on top of the noisy difficulty — drill the called-out cohorts.
- The headline: paper has NOT consistently hardened — drill all 10 years equally
%HARD bounces 19% (2017) to 42% (2021 peak) to 10% (2026-1 lowest). 2018 + 2019 + 2021 + 2022 all carried >30% HARD; 2017 + 2025 + 2026-1 were <25%. Recent average (2022–2026): ~26% HARD. There's no monotonic trend to lock in — the paper is genuinely wavy year-to-year. Translation: drill 2017 papers as seriously as 2024 papers. Contrast NDA Physics (2% → 44% over the same window, monotonic hardening) — History doesn't behave that way. The difficulty FLOOR is stable; only the variance is high.
- Ancient India SURGED 2022–2024 (9 + 10 + 8 q/yr) from a ~2 baseline — pre-2022 prep is wrong
Through 2017–2021 the Ancient India chapter held 0–3 q/year (avg ~1.6 q/yr — almost negligible). Starting 2022 it jumped to 9 + 10 + 8 + 6 + 3 q/yr (Apr-2026 NDA-1). The chapter went from ~5% of paper to ~25% in three years. If your coaching-class History prep predates 2022, you're under-investing in Harappan + Literature + Mauryan content — the chapter that was 1 q/yr in 2017 is now ~3 q/yr in 2024. The Literature and Inscriptions subtopic (12 q · 42% HARD) is the biggest beneficiary of this surge.
- Modern India dominated 2017–2020 (~55% of paper) but faded post-2022 — the 47% bank stat is skewed
2017–2020 papers carried 21 + 11 + 17 + 13 = 62 of 110 Modern India q (56% of the chapter's bank in just 4 years × 7 papers, vs the chapter's true 47% bank share). Post-2022 the chapter settled to ~8–11 q/yr (~28% of paper). The headline number 'Modern India is 47%' is skewed by old papers — recent papers are closer to 30–40% Modern. The chapter is still the bank's largest by far, but don't OVER-prep it relative to recent papers. Freedom Movement (56 q) accounts for 46% of the chapter — drill that core regardless of year-balance shifts.
- World History stays small but the 2019 spike (13 q in one year) reminds you not to drop it
2017–2018 had 1 + 5 = 6 World History q. 2019 alone had 13 (35% of the entire 2019 paper!). 2020–2026 settled to 1–6 q/yr (~10% of paper). The chapter is the smallest by bank share (16%) AND has the lowest %HARD (20%) — quick-win territory. The 2019 spike was a single-year anomaly (driven by an unusual Enlightenment + Industrial Revolution batch) but proves the chapter can re-spike unpredictably. Drill the chronology cluster + Enlightenment subtopic cold — they cover all 4 World History subtopics' likely HARDs cheaply.
Year-by-year drift
Counts per year (NDA-1 + NDA-2 combined; 2020 NDA-2 COVID-cancelled, 2026 NDA-2 not yet held — so those columns hold ~half a normal year). Cells are tinted by row magnitude.
| Chapter | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Modern India | 21 | 11 | 17 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 8 | 11 | 10 | 2 |
| Medieval India | 7 | 10 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 4 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 1 |
| Ancient India | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 3 |
| World History | 1 | 5 | 13 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
Recommendation: drill across ALL 10 years
UNLIKE Physics, NDA History doesn’t reward a ‘recent-only’ drill plan. Old papers test the same recall + multi-statement material at similar difficulty (noisy year-to-year but no trajectory). The exceptions: Ancient India surged 2022–24 from a ~2 q/yr baseline to 9 + 10 + 8 q/yr — drill the 2022–25 Ancient cohort with extra weight. Modern India dominated 2017–2020 then faded — its 47% bank stat is skewed by old papers; recent papers are closer to 30–40% Modern.