Pune and the Armed Forces
Home of the National Defence Academy and the Army's Southern Command, Pune has been a military city for more than two hundred years.
Quick facts
- Army HQ:
- Southern Command
- Academy:
- National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla
- Cantonments:
- Pune, Khadki, Dehu Road
A military city
Pune has been an important military centre since the time of the Peshwas. The British set up a large Cantonment here after 1818, and today the Army, Navy and Air Force all have important establishments in and around the city.
Main establishments
- National Defence Academy (NDA), Khadakwasla: where cadets of the Army, Navy and Air Force train together before going to their own academies.
- Headquarters Southern Command: one of the main commands of the Indian Army.
- Armed Forces Medical College (AFMC): which trains doctors for the armed forces.
- College of Military Engineering (CME), Dapodi: the training centre of the Corps of Engineers.
- Bombay Engineer Group, Khadki, and the Air Force station at Lohegaon, which shares its runway with Pune airport.
- DRDO research laboratories at Pashan and Dighi, the Defence Institute of Advanced Technology at Girinagar, and ordnance factories at Khadki and Dehu Road.
Cantonments
Pune has three cantonment boards: Pune (Camp), Khadki and Dehu Road. Their wide roads, old bungalows and churches still carry the feel of the nineteenth century.
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Questions and answers
Where is NDA in Pune?
The National Defence Academy is at Khadakwasla, on the south-west edge of Pune.
Sources: Written by PuneDiary. Facts checked 10 October 2026.