A Rajasthan family choosing between staying home and sending a child to GS India Defence Academy in Dehradun is trading a nearby coaching market for a residential academy 485 to 512 km away. That is a real cost in travel, and this page does not pretend otherwise. What it offers is the facts needed to decide: the road and rail options from Jaipur, Sikar and Jhunjhunu, the five Rajasthan UPSC centres, the state’s Sainik Schools, and what the academy provides, namely classroom coaching, separate boys’ and girls’ hostels, a mess and SSB-focused preparation.
What changes if a Rajasthan student moves to Dehradun?
The comparison below sets out only things that can be checked. It says nothing about the quality of any institute in Sikar, Jaipur or Kota, because no public data allows a fair ranking.
| Question | Studying in Sikar or Jaipur | Studying in Dehradun |
|---|---|---|
| Distance from home | Home or a short ride away | Sikar 485 km, Jaipur 512 km, Jhunjhunu 418 km by road |
| A visit home | Often possible on the same day | A full day on the road or a night on a train |
| Living arrangements | Home, a rented room or another institute’s hostel | Separate hostels for boys and girls, with a mess, at the academy |
| Where the UPSC paper is written | Chosen at the time of application | Unchanged: any listed centre, including Jaipur |
| Surroundings | A large coaching town | The city that houses the Indian Military Academy |
| Class 10 students | Schooling and preparation arranged separately | The NDA Foundation course combines Class 11 and 12 schooling with NDA preparation |
Rajasthan has its own residential defence-coaching market, and Sikar in particular shows up in searches for NDA coaching with a hostel. Families should compare on fees, hostel rules, supervision and results that can be verified, and visit before deciding. Our guide on how to choose NDA coaching lists the questions to ask any academy, ours included.
How do you get from Sikar, Jaipur or Jhunjhunu to Dehradun?
Rajasthan is poorly served by direct trains. Jaipur has one weekly service, the 19565 Okha-Dehradun Uttaranchal Express, which leaves Jaipur at 04:10 on Saturdays and reaches Dehradun at 19:20 (15h 10m). Our timetable source shows no train from Sikar or Jhunjhunu to either Dehradun or Haridwar. The usual alternative is a bus or a car through Delhi, and UTC, the Uttarakhand Transport Corporation, lists a Dehradun ISBT-Jaipur service via Delhi Kashmiri Gate. Trains were read from erail.in on 12 October 2026; confirm on IRCTC or NTES.
| Town | Road to the academy | Drive estimate | Rail and bus in our data |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jhunjhunu | 418 km | 5.8 h | No train to Dehradun or Haridwar |
| Sikar | 485 km | 6.6 h | No train; UTC lists Dehradun ISBT-Khatu Shyamji via Delhi Kashmiri Gate, and Selaqui-Khatu Shyamji via Delhi and via Haridwar |
| Jaipur | 512 km | 6.4 h | Okha-Dehradun Uttaranchal Express on Saturdays; UTC Dehradun ISBT-Jaipur via Delhi |
Khatu Shyamji is in Sikar district, so those two UTC services are the nearest published links to Sikar. A family that starts from Delhi can use the station choices on our Delhi page. Drive times assume free-flowing roads. If you would like to plan a first visit, call or WhatsApp +91 70170 31757 for free counselling.
Which Rajasthan cities host the UPSC NDA and CDS papers?
UPSC’s NDA and Naval Academy Examination (II), 2026 notice names five Rajasthan centres: Ajmer, Alwar, Jaipur, Jodhpur and Udaipur. The CDS (II) 2026 notice names the same five. Kota, Sikar and Jhunjhunu do not appear in either list. For Sikar the nearest centre by straight line is Jaipur, about 103 km; for Jhunjhunu it is Hisar in Haryana, about 120 km, but Hisar is an NDA centre only and is not in the CDS list. Allotment is first-apply-first-allot up to a ceiling and UPSC does not change a centre on request, so students from Sikar, Kota and Jhunjhunu should apply early to secure a nearby city.
Which Sainik Schools are in Rajasthan?
The Sainik Schools Society’s list of existing schools includes two in Rajasthan, Sainik School Chittorgarh and Sainik School Jhunjhunu. Jhunjhunu is 64 km from Sikar by straight line and 133 km from Jaipur. Entry to either is by the All India Sainik Schools Entrance Examination, conducted by NTA, into Class VI or Class IX.
A Ministry of Defence list of 23 partnership approvals, released in September 2023, names four Rajasthan schools: Good Day Defence School in Hanumangarh, Shri Bhawani Niketan Public School in Jaipur, Shri Hanwant Senior Secondary English Medium School at Chopasni in Jodhpur, and Bhartiya Public School in Sikar. Approval does not mean a school is operating or admitting, so check the Society’s New Schools page and the NTA bulletin. See our Sainik School coaching page and the admission guide.
How does RIMC treat Rajasthan?
RIMC’s admission page says one vacancy per State is generally allotted, some States with larger population get up to two, and seats may vary every year. It publishes no Rajasthan figure. From the December 2026 examination, for the July 2027 term, the application is online through NTA, the test is at NTA centres and the age window is 12½ to 14 years; no form is issued through State Government authorities. The college stands in Dehradun. Our RIMC admission guide and RIMC coaching page cover the rest.
What about girls, and students who have just finished Class 10?
UPSC accepts unmarried women as well as men for the NDA. Our NDA coaching for girls page covers girls from Rajasthan, and the academy’s girls’ hostel is separate from the boys’ hostel, with a mess; see hostel and mess. For a student who has just passed Class 10, the NDA Foundation course combines schooling in Classes 11 and 12 with NDA preparation, and the guide on joining the NDA after Class 10 and 12 explains the routes.
Which Rajasthan places carry a defence name?
HQ South Western Command, also called Sapta Shakti Command, is in Jaipur. Sainik School Jhunjhunu is one of Rajasthan’s two Sainik Schools, and the district’s notable people include Param Vir Chakra recipient Piru Singh. These are local references only; neither is a partner of the academy.
Which Rajasthan town pages will you find here?
The Jaipur page is live. Students from the Shekhawati belt can read the Sikar page and the Jhunjhunu page.
Questions from Rajasthan families
FAQs
Questions parents ask us.
Can't find yours? Ask on WhatsApp; a counsellor usually replies within working hours.
Ask on WhatsAppWhich Rajasthan cities are UPSC centres for the NDA?
UPSC's NDA (II) 2026 notice lists Ajmer, Alwar, Jaipur, Jodhpur and Udaipur. The CDS (II) 2026 notice lists the same five. Kota, Sikar and Jhunjhunu are not centres.
Is there a train from Sikar or Jaipur to Dehradun?
Our timetable data shows no train from Sikar. Jaipur has one weekly direct train, the 19565 Okha-Dehradun Uttaranchal Express on Saturdays, taking 15h 10m. Confirm on IRCTC before booking.
How far is Dehradun from Sikar?
About 485 km by road, with a free-flowing drive estimate of 6.6 hours. UTC lists Dehradun ISBT-Khatu Shyamji via Delhi Kashmiri Gate; Khatu Shyamji is in Sikar district.
Which Sainik Schools are in Rajasthan?
The Sainik Schools Society lists Sainik School Chittorgarh and Sainik School Jhunjhunu. Partnership-mode approvals are separate, and each needs checking for operating status.
Can girls from Rajasthan stay in a hostel at the academy?
Yes. The academy has separate hostels for boys and girls, with a mess. Call or WhatsApp +91 70170 31757 to ask about a visit.
Does a Rajasthan student have to write the exam in Dehradun?
No. The centre is chosen on the UPSC application from the notice's list, and Jaipur, Ajmer, Alwar, Jodhpur and Udaipur are all listed. Centres fill on a first-apply-first-allot basis.
Sources
UPSC notices: NDA and NA (II) 2026 and CDS (II) 2026, dated 20 May 2026. RIMC: admission page. Sainik Schools Society: existing schools and new schools; each school’s state is taken from its own website. Partnership approvals: Ministry of Defence list of 23 schools, September 2023. Buses: UTC route list. Trains: erail.in, to be re-checked on IRCTC or NTES. Road distances and drive times: OSRM routing over OpenStreetMap, approximate. Command headquarters and district notes: Wikipedia pages for Jaipur and Jhunjhunu, as listed in our city research. Facts verified on 12 October 2026.
A Rajasthan student who has finished Class 12 can start with our NDA coaching in Dehradun, taught in classrooms at the academy; the fee structure page shows how fees are confirmed.
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